UA School of Anthropology

MacLean Is Jeff Goldblum’s Dog Expert

It’s a fairly common occurrence for Dr. Evan MacLean, assistant professor and director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center, to get calls from people in the popular media looking for expertise in all things dog. Being asked about his availability to travel to California for filming of “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” took things to another level, as Dr. MacLean explains in this Q & A with Andy Ober for UA@Work. How was it working with Jeff Goldblum? “Incredible,” said Dr. MacLean. Read the Q&A here: https://uaatwork.arizona.edu/lqp/ruffing-it-university-researcher-talks-dogs-actor-jeff-goldblum

For a recent episode of the “Heritage Voices” podcast, host Jessica Yaquinto interviews Dr. Edward A. Jolie (Oglala Lakota and Hodulgee Muscogee), the Clara Lee Tanner Associate Professor at School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona and Associate Curator of Ethnology at the Arizona State Museum. They talk about perishable materials, such as textiles, baskets, nets, and footwear, and why they are understudied, how they offer unique insights into the past, and what they can teach us about diversity and continuity both within and across regions. Throughout the podcast they continually return to the human element of perishable artifacts and associated research, including the movement to tribally driven archaeology.

Perishable Artifacts and Tribally Driven Archaeology - Ep 57 — Heritage Voices On today’s podcast Jessica interviews Dr. Edward Jolie (Oglala Lakota and Hodulgee Muscogee), the new Clara Lee Tanner Associate Curator of Ethnology at the Arizona State Museum and Associate Professor at School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona.

Harkness to Present Award-Winning Research



The Museum Studies Research Paper Presentations, hosted by the School of Art, will take place on December 3, at 3:30 p.m. School of Anthropology Ph.D. student Rebecca Harkness is the recipient of the Ph.D. Prize and will be presenting her research based on a paper she wrote for Assistant Professor Lindsay Montgomery’s class, ANTH 696: Indigenous Theory. Rebecca is currently developing the paper, titled “May the Ancestors Be with You: Indigenous Futurisms in ‘The Force is with Our People’ at the Museum of Northern Arizona,” into a full-length article for a special series with American Anthropologist that Dr. Montgomery is co-editing with Heather Law-Pezzarossi on Indigenous Futurities in Anthropology. Rebecca’s paper and the special series take up the concept of Indigenous Futurities as an alternative lens that rejects narratives of Indigenous erasure, assimilation, and disappearance and instead presents Indigenous peoples as part of modernity. Her paper/article does this by examining how Indigenous communities in Arizona have Indigenized the sci-fi classic Star Wars in ways that assert Indigenous presence within a fictionalized future universe. Find out more about the presentations here: https://anthropology.arizona.edu/news/harkness-present-award-winning-research

More Exciting Lidar Research from Inomata-Triadan Group!



Our lead story: From the team that brought you the oldest and largest Maya monument, Aguada Fénix in Tabasco, Mexico, now we have…“nearly 500 ancient ceremonial sites in Southern Mexico,” to quote the headline from a UANews piece released Monday, October 25. You read that right: The group identified 478 complexes in the states of Tabasco and Veracruz, Mexico, using Lidar, an airborne laser mapping technique. Professor Takeshi Inomata is lead author on a new paper in Nature Human Behavior, and Professor Daniela Triadan is among the coauthors, along with Dr. Greg Hodgins, an SoA-affiliated assistant professor and director of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Lab.

Read the whole UANews piece now: https://news.arizona.edu/story/uarizona-led-team-finds-nearly-500-ancient-ceremonial-sites-southern-mexico?utm_source=uanow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=
These news outlets quickly picked up the story:
Reuters, “Remote-sensing reveals details of ancient Olmec site in Mexico” https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/remote-sensing-reveals-details-ancient-olmec-site-mexico-2021-10-25/
Science magazine, “Nearly 500 Mesoamerican Monuments revealed by laser mapping…” https://www.science.org/content/article/nearly-500-mesoamerican-monuments-revealed-laser-mapping-many-first-time
CNN, “Details of ancient Olmec site in Mexico revealed by aerial remote-sensing” https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ancient-olmec-site-mexico-intl-scli/index.html

Hanson Presents at Beer & Bones Lite 2021



Kelsey Hanson (Ph.D. candidate) participated in the Arizona Museum of Natural History Foundation’s Beer & Bones Lite event in Mesa, AZ on October 15. Scientists from a variety of disciplines were stationed in various bars and breweries in Mesa, AZ to talk about their research and answer audience questions. More information about the event can be found on the Arizona Museum of Natural History’s page, https://www.facebook.com/AzMNH1

Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant for Kaya

Ph.D. student Ziya Kaya has been awarded a Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant for his research on digital farming technologies, traditional farming knowledge, and livelihoods in Turkey under the supervision of Dr. Brian Silverstein. Ziya plans to begin his fieldwork in February 2022.

Volunteer Position Opening: CoAS Newsletter Editor

The Society for American Archaeology’s Council of Allied Societies (CoAS) is seeking applicants for its volunteer Newsletter Editor position. CoAS newsletters are produced two times a year (Spring and Fall) with a focus on CoAS member societies’ activities, news, and targeted SAA announcements. (Please review past newsletters at the CoAS webpage.) Applicants do not need to be a member of SAA, through highly encouraged. Anthropology students are encouraged to apply! Valuable experience gained from working with a diverse group of dedicated avocationals can be extremely beneficial and rewarding as students pursue their professional careers. Applicants should be willing to commit to a term ending at the SAA Annual Meeting in April 2023. Previous newsletter experience a plus but not required (CoAS Leadership is here to help!). The Newsletter Editor will work collaboratively with the CoAS Leadership Team to produce a communication product that is beneficial to both CoAS and SAA members. The Newsletter Editor’s principal responsibility will be encouraging CoAS member societies to provide deadline-based content for the newsletter and including all such relevant/timely content in each newsletter. Newsletters will be sent to CoAS member societies via the SAA communication channel as well as posted on the CoAS SAA e-Community and page. Newsletter templates, previous content files and a dedicated editor email address will be provided by CoAS. The CoAS was formed in 1989 for the mutual benefit of professional archaeologists and avocationals, for the advancement of archaeology, and in order to further the objectives of the SAA. CoAS is comprised of state and regional non-profit avocational and public focused-based archaeology societies and an elected CoAS Leadership Team. CoAS seeks to serve as a forum for the exchange of information between its member societies and as a channel of communication with the professional community members of the SAA. Application deadline is February 28, 2021. Newsletter deadline is April 30, 2021 (post 86th SAA Annual Meeting.) Applicants should include contact information and a brief summary of qualifications and what the applicant hopes to achieve and benefit from in the position. Please apply to: [email protected].

TODAY! LEEP Teams with Reid Park Zoo for World Lemur Day!

The Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates (LEEP) is partnering with Reid Park Zoo for a conservation chat about lemurs at 5:30 p.m. on October 30, 2020 (World Lemur day)! The event is free but registration is required. Get your tickets/registration here.
https://reidparkzoo.org/event/conservation-chat-with-lemurs-for-world-lemur-day/?fbclid=IwAR1K7I-eKDha3L7m-Izd7x5yXdxPSWLMwJ3bD4FKAxguk3WVUEinYr6_QYY.

Participants from the SoA will be LEEP director, Dr. Stacey Tecot, Dr. Allison Hays, and laboratory aids Erica Cook and Hannah Corbonneau, who is also a Reid Park zookeeper.

Conservation Chat with Lemurs for World Lemur Day, Reid Park Zoo Reid Park Zoo is committed to providing experiences that inspire adults and children to care for wild animals and wild places.

Grad Students to Present during Carson Scholars Webinar Series

Two members of the 2020 cohort of University of Arizona Carson Scholars are School of Anthropology graduate students: Amanda Lee and Ziya Kaya. During the month of October the pair will participate in a webinar series, and we thought you’d want to know! Registration is required, so read on:

Register for the four-part Carson Scholars Program webinar series, Intersections of Environment and Justice: From Our Bodies to the Earth. This series brings together the expertise of the 2020 cohort of graduate students to discuss the future of food; management and re-use of resources; environmental, health, and social justice; and environmental stresses and climate impacts. In four one-hour webinars, the 12 Scholars detail the challenges facing communities around the world and innovations that could impact the way we interact with the planet and each other.

The webinars will be live on Zoom on October 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 5 PM MST, with three Scholars presenting each date. See the website for more information and to register: https://arizona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w7eDu2i1SDqGKOGlIl9dzw

Carney, Steig Part of CRFS–Dunbar Pavillion Project

Assistant Professor Megan Carney, director of the Center for Regional Food Studies, and School of Anthropology graduate student A.G. Steig are co-authors, together with Dunbar Pavillion executive director Debi Chess, of an essay posted this week on the Center for Regional Food Studies website. “‘Making Space’ as Strategy for Advancing a New Vision of Health for Black People” describes the Dunbar Wellness Project:
a partnership between Tucson’s Dunbar Pavilion and the UA Center for Regional Food Studies, consists of workshops, lectures, and asset-mapping exercises that collectively promote ancestral and holistic approaches to health and wellness, alternative and complementary medicine, the connection of health to the environment and community, and nourishing diets.

"Making Space" as Strategy for Advancing a New Vision of Health for Black People Until further notice, the University of Arizona, in accordance with the guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encourages all employees to work remotely. Our office is closed to the public, but you can reach the SBS Center for Regional Food Studies, Monday–Friday...

BARA Hunger Walk Team Delivers

Kudos to the BARA team for their showing in last Saturday’s Southern Arizona Community Food Bank Hunger Walk! The eight-member team (plus two canine volunteers)—Dr. Diane Austin (and Precious), Dr. Noah Pleshet, Bea Pleshet (Noah’s daughter), Brittany Franck, Chris Sauer, Sarah Hofstader (and Jasper), Leslie Pilli, and Jennie Doss—raised over $1,000!

Photos: Chris Sauer, Noah Pleshet (in cap), and Bea; Sarah Hofstader with Jasper; Diane Austin (in her Hunger Walk t-shirt!) with Precious; Brittany Franck.

Roth-Gordon Teaches Community Classroom Course

The SBS Community Classroom course “Whiteness and Racial Violence in America” will run October 1 through November 5, 2020, on Thursdays, 4:30– 6:00 p.m. This course, which will be taught by Associate Professor Jen Roth-Gordon, is designed for people of all backgrounds who are interested in: 1) learning more about racial violence and how it works in conjunction with other forms of structural racism, 2) making connections between past and present experiences/situations of racial inequality, and 3) unpacking the ways that we are constantly bombarded with messages that uphold white superiority and racial hierarchy. The course is focused on a critical examination of whiteness and the role that it plays in shaping American society and all people’s understandings of themselves (often by way of contrast). Participants will explore the various sources of white power and privilege in order to shed light on how situations of severe racial inequality are created and maintained. The class will take up an anthropological focus that will offer insight into how to read the cultural messages we are surrounded by through a critical lens. Regardless of whether you have just started to learn more about racial inequality and are hoping to better understand the powerful protests surrounding George Floyd’s brutal murder, or whether you have been living these issues your whole life, this course will offer deeper insight on how race and whiteness structure our world and our daily lives and how you can use this insight in the fight for racial justice. See

Whiteness and Racial Violence in America This course is designed for people of all backgrounds who are interested in: 1) learning more about how racial violence works in conjunction with other forms of structural racism, 2) making connections between past and present experiences of racial inequality, and 3) unpacking the ways we are consta...