Southern Miss Anthropology Program

Today we had the first proposal defense of 2026. Kate Mackey presented her intended research concerning the impact of menstrual periods on the work of both performance and visual artists. It is an underexplored topic that potentially will bring important insights to many in that arena. Wonderful job, Kate!

Did you know yesterday was National Thermos Bottle Day? Or National Pete's Sake Day/ Well, the anthropologists had a great time celebrating both at Keg and Barrel!

ANT231 made their annual trek to the Hattiesburg Zoo for the primate observation project, and we got to see the new juvenile spider monkeys! The poor lemurs with them in the exhibit just sat in the corner still trying to process what the heck was happening. We also got treated to a howler monkey living up to his name.
Thank you again to Nancy Cleveland and Jeremy Cumpton for arranging the visit and giving us a wonderful tour.

Yesterday faculty members Andrew Whitaker and Sharon Young along with graduate students Emily Zylka and Mira Sleasman participated in the Spring Forward Expo in Laurel. There they talked with students from a number of Jones Co high schools, sharing with them the employment opportunities with a major in anthropology. There was an enthusiastic response, and everyone had a great time to boot!
(Please note all skeletal elements are plastic replicas.)

The USM anthropologists raised a glass this past week at The Porter for a happy, healthy, and successful semester for all!

We are so proud of Isabella Ragazzi who was the Standard Bearer in today's undergraduate commencement. She earned this honor by having the highest GPA on the greatest number of credit hours in the Fall 2025 class. Isabella is a double major in Anthropology and Forensic Sciences (Biology), and among her honors are award winning presentations at conferences, service as an officer in numerous organizations, and an internship for a summer with the state forensic archaeologist. Isabella, you are phenomenal!

At the AAA meetings this week in New Orleans, graduate student Zannatun Nahar, along with her co-author Muhammad Nafisur Rahman, remotely presented the paper, "Mongol Shobhajatra: An Archival Research and Visual Taxonomy Analysis of Its Evolution". Their work looks at an urban rally that celebrates the Bengali's new year by manifesting an unprecedented visual identity. The rally was begun by students in the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka in 1986-87. Impressive!

Congratulations to Karolina Nogues on her proposal defense this afternoon! Karolina's thesis involves a bioarchaeological investigation of health patterns in soldiers on the American frontier in the later 1800s using collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. We look forward to seeing what you find out in your research.

Two anthropologists (one current, one alumni) did spectacularly in yesterday's Three Minute Thesis competition. Kate Mackey presented her thesis project looking how students in the performing arts deal with the challenges of menstruation, and Fernanda Veiverberg (Media and Communication) considered the current discourse of anti-pornography laws, which in part builds off her previous anthropology research. We're proud of you both!

Today the Forensic Anthropology began excavation of their units at the mock crime scene. There have been some interesting findings so far. Stay tuned for another report on Thursday!
(Please note: only plastic Halloween bones are involved.)

We congratulate Savannah Logan on the presentation of her thesis research at SEAC this week in Baton Rouge. Entitled "Inside the Walls of the Asylum: Exploring the Lives of Individuals the Mississippi State Asylum (1855-1935)", she shared osteobiographies about seven patients who passed away at the institution in the late 1800s. Great job, Savannah!

You finally found us! The anthropologists are up on the fourth floor of the Liberal Arts Building.