CSU Department of Anthropology and Geography

09/03/2026

CSU students came, they saw, they hiked, they blistered! This summer, students in the Anthropology and History education abroad class, Edge of Empire (ANTH/HIST 306A/HONR392/492), trekked and traveled across northern England for 10 days to get some boots-on-the-ground learning and experience with Roman archaeology and history.

Hadrian’s Wall was a defensive wall built in 122 CE by the Roman emperor Hadrian and marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire.

Thanks to the instructors and students of the course for the images!

Hadrian’s Wall path begins in Burgh-by-Sands where the class is all smiles and lack of blisters. Top row: Dr. Emily Wilson, Brandon Henderson, Jack Callan, Nick Challenger, Christopher Reed; bottom row: Spencer Hewitt, James Hammond, Joseph Turano, Anna Wehrenberg, Dr. Kristin Heineman.

Student Spencer Hewitt poses with his trusty hiking stick, which aided him in hiking the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall, a distance of 84 miles over six days.

Dr. Kristin Heineman climbs a large crag over which Hadrian’s Wall was constructed in 122 CE.

Studebt Nick Challenger pauses to contemplate the remains of Hadrian’s Wall. He is on the south side of the wall, which was Roman territory and is looking across to the northern side which was pict/barbarian territory.

The class stays in bunkhouses along the way, so there’s always a hot shower and comfortable beds at the end of a long day. This particular bunkhouse also had donkeys!

Hikers along the wall. Clockwise from upper left: Dr. Emily Wilson, Jack Callan, James, Hammond, Dr. Kristen Heineman, Joseph Tarr, Nick Challenger, Christopher Reed, Brandon Henderson, and Spencer Hewitt.

The class begins a second day of climbing crags. Hadrian’s Wall Path runs as close to the foundations of the wall as possible, and hikers sometimes are only feet away from the archaeology.

Student Nick Challenger takes a break at the top of the largest crag on the path to contemplate the English countryside.

The wall path takes hikers along layers of English history, including the church where King Edward I’s body lay in state after his death in 1307.

Students James Hammond, Nick Challenger, Spencer Hewitt, and

09/02/2026

A scholar and a gentleman! Congratulations to DOCTOR Alex Pelissero on the successful defense of his Ph.D. dissertation, "The Distribution of Hominin Activiies at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania During the Oldowan-Acheulean Transition: A Geospatial Approach." He is advised by Professor and Department Chair Michael Pante. 🎓

Pelissero now takes his curiosity and expertise to Washington, D.C., where he’ll begin a prestigious Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

For his doctoral research, Pelissero used emerging technologies to ask some very old questions about what it means to be human. Using drones and GIS, he mapped geological exposures and archaeological excavation and survey sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania — a famed paleoanthropological site that has shaped much of what we know about early human adaptation and evolution.

Pelissero used those data to investigate how patterns of early human activity at Olduvai changed between 1 and 2 million years ago during a major technological transition. His project brings new tools and perspectives to questions about how our ancestors adapted to a changing world.

Pelissero traveled to Tanzania several times for his research, supported by the Leakey Foundation and department research funds and scholarships. At CSU, he also put his knowledge and energy into the community as an instructor and GTA and through the Anthropology Graduate Student Society, Graduate Workers Organizing Cooperative, and the Anthropology and Geography Trunk Show K–12 outreach program.

Cheers Alex on research that reaches deep into the human past and shapes the future. We’ll miss you at CSU and can’t wait to see where you take your knowledge, passion, and skills!

Images show:

Alex Pelissero presenting his doctoral dissertation, August 2026;
Pelissero (right) and advisor Dr. Michael Pante;
Pelissero with a drone remote in the field at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania;
Pelissero (right) and fellow doctoral candidate Tewabe Negash Kessaw; and
Pelissero presenting research.

08/21/2026

Welcome aboard to our new class of Anthropology and Geography students! We’re ready to launch into the new school year with our incoming and returning students next week!

08/11/2026

APPLY NOW! Don't miss out on Fermentation, Culture, and History in Belgium, a two-week winter break course in Belgium that will introduce students to b**r, brewing, and culture in Belgium.

In Winter 2027, students will have the opportunity to tour and learn about significant cultural and religious sites, while they also learn about local b**r, brewing, and related culture. This education abroad experience, led by instructor Keri Canada, is paired with a six-week online course, which encourages students to actively analyze and reflect upon the relationship between Belgian culture and their own, fostering a deeper understanding of both the host country and their own cultural framework.

More information and application link: https://myedabroad.colostate.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=12433

07/31/2026

Michael Charney "loved a good story and telling a good story. And he wanted to tell the story of (the Big Thompson flood victims), to give them a voice and identity.” Professor Jason LaBelle speaks to Fox31 about the late professor Michael Charney and his legacy with the 1976 Big Thompson Flood.

Charney and his team spent a staggering two months working to identify those swept away in the floodwaters that night. Many of the victims were unrecognizable, making them hard to ID.

07/31/2026

On the night of July 31, 1976, a violent thunderstorm over the Big Thompson Canyon produced a raging, 20-foot-tall wall of water that killed more than 140 residents, tourists, and campers in the canyon and destroyed hundreds of homes and properties. In the aftermath, emergency managers faced a daunting task trying to identify recovered bodies. They turned to CSU professor of forensic anthropology, the late Michael Charney, to lead the effort.

Read about Charney, the Big Thompson Flood, and his legacy at CSU

With the approach of the 50th anniversary of the Big Thompson Flood near Loveland, Colorado State University is remembering the role of the late forensic anthropologist Michael Charney, who led the successful identification of 139 recovered bodies – and, in the process, helped advance the field of...

07/17/2026

CSU anthropologist Michael Pante and colleagues are challenging long-held assumptions about the hunting habits and fire use of Homo floresiensis—the famous "hobbits" of Indonesia. Read how new evidence is reshaping the story of one of our closest relatives, including whether they dined on komodo dragons and dwarf elephants.

The research, led by CSU and Germany’s University of Tübingen, offers new insights into how Homo floresiensis survived in part due to an unlikely ally, the Komodo dragon.

07/02/2026

Dr. Edward Henry is again completing archaeological surveys at Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park using ground-penetrating radar to understand the cities and lives of mound-building cultures without disturbing historical and cultural earthworks.

WBBJ (ABC/CBS affiliate) in Tennessee reported on Henry's work following a presentation at the park.

Henry has studied at Pinson Mounds for many field seasons, bringing graduate and undergraduate students to support and pursue their own research, including past Archaeology Field Schools.

Saturday, Dr. Edward R. Henry of Colorado State University spoke during “Unearthing Pinson: New Discoveries From the Field.”

06/20/2026

More on recent research, from Prof. Jeff Snodgrass and the Ethnographic Research and Teaching Lab, into role-playing games’ therapeutic value

06/17/2026

Late nights in the middle of June…

Ann Gill Hall is coming! From its former days as the elevated Clark B bridge to its future as a five-story, state-of-the-art hub for learning and gathering… Anthropology and Geography is excited to be at home in the heart of the Clark Building and for the classrooms, offices, and lounges that await us and the College of Liberal Arts!