UCF Department of Anthropology

What are your summer plans? Beach, pool, travel, or summer classes?✨

While Knightro is enjoying the beach, there's still time to make Anthropology part of your summer.

Summer B registration remains open through June 23, and classes begin June 24.

Explore courses including Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Digging Up Disney, Introduction to Archaeology, Language and Culture, S*x, Gender and Culture, and much more.

For more information, visit the UCF Summer and Fall Registration page at https://www.ucf.edu/register-for-summer-fall-classes/

Today we had the pleasure of attending Scott Kent’s retirement celebration.

We are incredibly grateful to Julie and Scott Kent for their generosity and support of the Department of Anthropology. Their contributions made the Kent Family Speaker Series possible, bringing inspiring anthropologists to campus each year since 2018.

Thank you, Julie and Scott, for your lasting impact on our students and department.

Wishing you all the best in this next chapter!

From the archives: revisiting a 2022 Student Research Week feature showcasing how anthropology and technology work hand in hand to preserve the past.

Graduate student Alexander Nalewaik ’21 used digital documentation methods to record one of the last remaining Civilian Conservation Corps watermills in the Ocala National Forest. His research demonstrated how archaeologists are increasingly combining fieldwork with emerging technologies to protect and study historic sites.

Preserving history isn't just about discovering the past—it's also about finding new ways to document and share it for the future.

Wonder where he is now? Since graduating from UCF, Alexander has continued his career in cultural resource management and historic preservation, building on the research interests that first brought him to anthropology.

Read more:
https://www.ucf.edu/news/student-research-week-preserving-history-through-field-work-and-technology/

Connect with Alexander: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-nalewaik-m-a-rpa-a9b3a9186/

CCAMP is in the news again!

The Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project (CCAMP), housed within UCF Anthropology, is featured in a recent Fox News story highlighting archaeological discoveries at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Researchers have uncovered pottery fragments, shell tools, shark tooth artifacts, food remains, and other evidence of Indigenous life along Florida's Atlantic coast. The findings are helping archaeologists better understand the communities that lived in the region centuries before the Space Age. One particularly intriguing discovery continues to puzzle researchers and may represent either a fossil or a whale bone.

We're proud to see the important work of CCAMP and UCF Anthropology recognized on a national platform and helping bring Florida's rich cultural heritage to a broader audience.

Read the full story: https://www.foxnews.com/travel/ancient-artifacts-found-cape-canaveral-space-force-station-one-mystery-stumps-researchers

📂 From the archives: revisiting a 2017 UCF Anthropology feature highlighting the work of Dr. Sandra Wheeler and her research on infants and children in ancient societies.

Through the study of burial practices, care, diet, health, and social roles, researchers can uncover powerful insights into family life, belief systems, personhood, and childhood in the past. Even the smallest lives can reveal meaningful stories about culture, community, and what it meant to grow up in ancient societies.

Anthropology tells stories that span a lifetime—even the very beginning of one.

🔗 Revisit the article here: https://sciences.ucf.edu/news/another-side-anthropology-infants-children/

Summer 2026 Anthropology registration is still open at University of Central Florida!
 
From Biological Anthropology and Archaeology to Language, Culture, Media, and Theme Parks 🌎📺🏺 — there’s still time to enroll in exciting Anthropology courses this summer.
 
⚠️ Summer A classes begin May 13!
Students can still register through May 19 during Late Registration on myUCF. A $100 late registration fee applies.
 
Summer A
• Registration Open Through: May 12
• Late Registration: May 13 – May 19
 
Summer B
• Registration Open Through: June 23
• Late Registration: June 24 – June 30
 
Register through myUCF before classes fill up!
 
🔗 UCF Registration Link:
https://my.ucf.edu/
 
📅 Summer 2026 Academic Calendar:
https://calendar.ucf.edu/2026/summer
 

From the diverse maternal traditions studied across cultures to the maternal figures supporting our students here at home, the bond of “motherhood” is a cornerstone of the human experience. 🌎✨

Today, the UCF Department of Anthropology celebrates all the mothers, grandmothers, and maternal mentors in our Knight community. Thank you for your strength, your guidance, and for inspiring the next generation of ! ⚔️

Wishing everyone a peaceful and happy Mother’s Day. 🌹


ChargeOn

Today and tomorrow, we celebrate our graduating M.A. students, undergraduate majors, minors, and certificate students 🎓✨

The Department of Anthropology is incredibly proud of all you’ve accomplished and can’t wait to see where your next chapter takes you.

Congratulations, graduates!

Long before rockets launched from Cape Canaveral, Indigenous communities were shaping and sustaining life along its shores. Today, UCF Anthropology students are uncovering that history, excavating sites filled with shells, pottery, and animal remains that reflect centuries of human activity. Some findings even point to meals and daily practices from hundreds of years ago, offering a rare tangible connection to the past.

Through the Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project (CCAMP), students are not only gaining hands-on field experience but also helping preserve and interpret a landscape where prehistory and modern science exist side by side.

📰 Article: https://tinyurl.com/3enbc4u4
📸 Photo gallery: https://tinyurl.com/nkpxtm6z
🎥 Video: https://tinyurl.com/585feuj5