CSU Department of Anthropology and Geography

10/15/2026

Congratulations to Anthropology doctoral student Isabel Heslin who was awarded a Graduate Women in Science National Fellowship from the Ethel Allen Fellowship for Anthropological Research! The funding is supporting Isabel's dissertation field research in Kenya, which started this summer.

Isabel's research aims to measure and quantify the nutritional composition of modern eastern African ungulate carcasses and other available resources consumed by predators like lions and, formerly, by early humans. This work will give insight into early humans' diets and foraging behavior, with a focus on how protein and fat constraints may have shaped key adaptations in our genus.

To get that data, Isabel is tracking lion kills at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya to assess the amount of edible tissue and bone marrow on carcasses and taking samples for nutritional analysis — although sometimes that can mean waiting until the lions finish their lunch!

Isabel is advised by Associate Professor Andrew Du.

Colorado State University Graduate School CSU College of Liberal Arts

09/30/2026

Join Anthropology and Geography faculty for our second annual Halloween lightning-talk night, led by Associate Professor Michaela Howells, on Wednesday, October 7 at 6pm in Clark Hall A1104. This year's theme is "Tattoos, Taboos and Terror!"

This spine-chilling event features lightning talks that explore the "darker" side of humanity through stories of faculty research and engagement! Prepare yourself for eerie insights, spooky scholarship, and plenty of tricks and treats.

Costumes are encouraged but not required—just bring your curiosity and a taste for unnerving realities!

Join us - if you dare!

09/25/2026

🌮🌈 😍 Hanging out with Anthropology and Geography students, faculty, staff and friends is the proverbial taco truck at the end of the rainbow! More than 120 department students gathered for our fourth annual Fall Social last week, kicking off the semester over tacos (Thanks to las catrinas food truck ❤️!) and ice cream sandwiches, some hacky-sack and lots of good conversation. You all make college happen in color!

Thanks to department administrator Valeria Meza Alba and student employees Calla McCluskey and JoJo Cummings and other faculty, staff and students for all their work to make this event happen!

09/14/2026

For more than three decades, Professor of Anthropology Lynn Kwiatkowski asked difficult questions, through her research, about violence, health, inequality, and the ways communities respond to human suffering and violence. Despite the weight of the topics, Kwiatkowski built her career around understanding and improving the world – through empathy, collaboration, and a belief in people’s capacity for resilience and change.

Now, as she retires after 23 years at CSU, Kwiatkowski and her colleagues reflect on the people – the women, families, students, and communities – who shaped her work and gave it meaning.

Read about Kwiatkowski's work and impact

Cultural anthropologist Lynn Kwiatkowski reflects upon and retires after a 23-year-career in medical anthropology.

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...