With 11 full-time faculty members and 150 majors, we are one of the largest undergraduate-only anthropology departments in the United States. The Department of Anthropology is committed to a comparative and holistic approach to the study of the human experience. The anthropological perspective provides a broad understanding of the origins as well as the meaning of physical and cultural diversity in the world - past, present, and future. As such, the program in anthropology offers the opportunity for understanding world affairs and problems within the total context of the human experience and for constructing solutions to world problems which are firmly grounded in that context. Cultural anthropologists study people and their cultural practices and beliefs both within and outside of the United States as well as the topics of identity, power, inequality, and social praxis. Archaeologists study the material culture of past peoples in order to reconstruct their cultures, traditions, and practices in order to understand both what came before and how this may help us understand the present. Biological anthropologists study primate evolution and behavioral ecology, human biological variation, biocultural adaptations, bioarchaeology, and human paleontology. Together, we strive to understand both past and present variation in human societies. [ Why study anthropology? ]
News

Lumbee tribal flag now hangs in App State’s student union, honoring the Lumbee people and their history
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University recognized and honored the nearly 60,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and their history ...

Talk: Troubling Colonial Time: Ethnographic Engagements with Shamanic, Tropical and Spirit Time in the Philippines
Dr. Christina Verano Sornito Carter to give guest lecture at Haverford College and Swarthmore College: Troubling Colonial Time: Ethnographic Enga...

Dr. Seth Grooms publishes article in prestigious archaeology journal
BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Seth Grooms, assistant professor in the Appalachian State Department of Anthropology, is the lead author of a new study ...

App State archaeology project partners with Junaluska to document Black history in Boone
App State archaeology project partners with Junaluska to document Black history in Boone...

Appalachian State's Archaeological research team ventures into Linville Gorge Wilderness
Dr. Alice Wright and Dr. Cameron Gokee lead an Archaeological research team into Linville Gorge Wilderness to discover archaeological sites. ...

Talk: Inscribing the Criminal Skin: Underworld Aesthetics and the Flesh of Post-Liberal Futures in Honduras
Dr. Jon Carter to give guest lecture at Princeton University: Jon Carter | Inscribing the Criminal Skin: Underworld Aesthetics and the Flesh of ...
Featured Stories
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Dr. Timothy J. Smith and students highlighted in Appalachian Magazine for Ecuadorian research
In the Summer of 2009, 16 students from Appalachian State University traveled to Ecuador to study indigenous activism and language in the Upper Amazon for three weeks. They came away with a greater appreciation of the impact of oil in the Amazon and its affect on the lives of the indigenous people.
Alumni spotlights
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Dr. David Kilby, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Eastern New Mexico University
Graduating from Appalachian with a B.A. in Anthropology in 1992, David attended Eastern New Mexico University where he completed a Master’s thesis on the geoarchaeology of Anasazi kivas in 1996. Meanwhile he cultivated an interest in Pleistocene archaeology and completed a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 2008, focusing on Paleoindian archaeology.
Faculty spotlights
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Dr. Dana Powell named a "Faculty Member of Distinction" in Appalachian Magazine
Dr. Dana Powell has been named a "Faculty Member of Distinction" in Appalachian Magazine. Her research covers the cultural politics of energy development, political ecology, and critical Native/Indigenous studies.
Student spotlights
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Makenzie Cash, Biological Anthropology major
Makenzie Cash is a third-year Biological Anthropology student and notably, a primatology enthusiast. However, she first came into interest with non-human primates by thinking about what it means to be a human. After encountering situations of interpersonal violence and sexual assault, Makenzie began to inquire about human experience and what defines it, primarily because of the dehumanizing effects that trauma can have. This lead to her first interest in anthropology to be forensic anthropology, so she began taking classes in Biological Anthropology.