UAF Department of Anthropology

Today, UAF Anthropology Professor Ben Potter led a multidisciplinary team of geneticists and archaeologists in evaluating current archaeogenetic data on the peopling of the Americas. They conclude that the data support a late entry into the Americas (after 16,000 years ago), but that details like migration route(s), through the Ice Free Corridor between Canadian Ice Sheets or along the North Pacific Coast, cannot be determined at present, and remain open hypotheses. Further, the redating of the purported 14,500 year old Pre-Clovis Site of Monte Verde, Chile (forming basis of many earlier peopling models) to the much later middle Holocene (after 8200 years ago) is consistent with the genetic record.

The eletter was published today in Science

A mid-Holocene age for Monte Verde challenges the timeline of human colonization of South America Our understanding of the timing of the human colonization of South America has been anchored by the Monte Verde II site in Chile, reported to date to ~14,500 years before the present (B.P.) and regarded as one of the most secure pre-Clovis archeological ...

Thank you to all the guests and contributors to the 2026 Arctic Research Open House. We especially appreciate the young visitors eager to get some practice in archaeological excavation and reindeer herding. This year the UAF College of Liberal Arts was represented by the Departments of Psychology and Anthropology, each sharing the work they are doing, respectively, with the Center for Alaska Native Health Research and Museum of the North, highlighting the CLA collaborations with programs across campus. The Anthropology team would like to extend a heartfelt shoutout to our colleagues in Psychology (top photo) for the experience of the Story Cafe Project provided at the AROH - thank you, congratulations, and happy summer!

Finals week might have you buried in papers—but what about the field?

The CLA StoryWorks Field Intensive gives students the chance to work alongside an active anthropology field school in Tok, documenting real excavation and research as it happens.

This is a rare opportunity to observe, document and engage with fieldwork in real time while building storytelling skills that translate research beyond academia.

📍 Fairbanks + Tok, Alaska
📅 June 7–13, 2026
👥 4 students selected
💰 All expenses covered + $1,000 compensation

🗓 Apply by May 1 at 5pm AKST
👉 https://forms.gle/VDqDPHtrPLDyNnBs9

Made possible by Transformative Experience Funding.

We are very pleased and proud to congratulate UAF Anthropology MA student Kendra Nichols on this well-deserved recognition from the Society for Historical Archaeology! Thank you, Kendra, for the outstanding work you have been doing during your graduate studies!

Step into the field.The CLA StoryWorks Field Intensive offers students the opportunity to work alongside an active archaeology field school in Tok, Alaska, documenting real research as it happens. This summer’s fieldwork explores sites connected to the construction of the Alaska Highway during World War II.

📍 Fairbanks + Tok
📅 June 7–13
💰 All costs covered + $1,000 compensation
👥 4 students selected

No experience required—just curiosity and interest in fieldwork.

👉 Apply now: https://forms.gle/VDqDPHtrPLDyNnBs9
🗓 Deadline: May 1 at 5 PM AKST

This opportunity is made possible through UAF Transformative Experience Funding, supported by the Matriculation Fee.

Why does anthropology matter? “It’s incredibly relevant to anything happening. Ever.”

For Jack Helmericks, an undergraduate Anthropology student, this field is about understanding people—where we come from, how we live, and where we are going next. It is about making sense of the world in all its complexity and learning how to see others with perspective and awareness.

That is what Anthropology at UAF teaches.
And that is what you support when you give.

👉 Give here: https://qrco.de/bgfs3q