Tracing the human career from the emergence of the species to the contemporary global moment
Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology faculty conduct ethnographic and archaeological as well as biological research that brings hard-won fieldwork to the development of cutting edge social and cultural theories. Our students and faculty work around the globe: from Ithaca, India and Indonesia to the Caribbean and Central America; from Japan, Africa and Nepal to China and the Caucasus; and from the circumpolar North to the Global South.
This year has been declared a year of “free expression” at Cornell. In this spirit, the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University stands behind all faculty, staff, and students who speak up about ongoing violence and oppression—whether in Palestine/Israel, China, Nagorno-Karabakh, the United States, or elsewhere—including those whose words do not echo those of the university administration. As scholars, we have a responsibility to bring critical analysis and historical context to bear on matters of pressing public concern. As teachers, we wish to express our support for students and fellow educators who have both loved ones and research commitments in Palestine/Israel. We also support members of our community who face reprisal for voicing their positions on the conflict.
The collection “Households in Context: Dwelling in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt” shifts the archaeological perspective from public and elite spaces such as temples, tombs and palaces to everyday dwellings and interactions of families.
Ben Dever-Mendenhall '24 is a quadruple major in Philosophy, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and an Independent Major. He shares his experiences minoring in Anthropology as he reflects on his time at Cornell before graduating.
Collaboration was the theme of the evening at the second annual Community Engagement Awards, held April 16 and hosted by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to celebrate excellence in local and global university-community partnerships.
As the new Milstein Faculty Fellow in the Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity, Adam T. Smith co-developed a new course exploring how the latest technologies are reshaping cultural preservation.
At Cornell’s Johnson Museum of Art, the work of renowned artist Guadalupe Maravilla is on display in the same space as that of Ingrid Hernandez-Franco, a Salvadoran woman whose asylum case was championed by a Cornell professor and her students.
Anthropology provides the global perspective and critical thinking skills that will open doors to a wide range of career paths. The major will also prepare you for graduate study in anthropology.
The Anthropology Collections include approximately 20,000 items representing human activity around the world from the Lower Paleolithic to the present. Archaeological and ethnographic materials are about equally represented.
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York State, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters. This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.