Department of Anthropology
Collectively, we study human diversity across time and space. As a discipline, Anthropology attempts to understand the human past, present, and future using tools and techniques from the sub-fields of sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology. We aim to educate students to address real-world problems through a combination of classroom learning, seminars, and hands-on field and laboratory research opportunities. This can include, for example, examining fossil casts or modern human bones, studying at the zoo or in villages in developing countries, and digging for artifacts in the field or just facts in the library.
Areas Of Study
Our faculty pursues research in DNA analysis, GIS, disease diagnostics and other biomarkers, ecological anthropology, forensic anthropology, fossil excavation, modern Mayan cultures, Global and One Health, metabolism and energetics, child growth and development, immunology, and both historic and prehistoric archaeology.
Anthropology Field Work
Research sites include Central and Latin America, the Caribbean, West, East, and South Africa, near Eastern Mediterranean, and Texas. All of these projects offer excellent opportunities for students to participate in primary research working alongside their professors.
Why should I study anthropology?
You are human, what could be more rewarding than studying the origins and diversity of human biology and behavior? By studying Anthropology, you open the door to the opportunity to reflect on how and why different people and populations have developed similar and different characteristics in their biology and behaviors.
We create problem-solvers with excellent critical thinking and written/oral communication skills that employers desire. In Anthropology, we utilize a comparative approach between people/populations and among different species to understand the forces that have shaped their ways of life.
Interested in HEALTH? Anthropology is for you!
Interested in the ENVIRONMENT? Anthropology is for you!
News
More News
Four students of Baylor Anthropology made the Department proud by earning distinctions at the 2022 Texas Academy of Science Conference in Houston, TX.
What does a Ranger do after they retire? For Sergeant Jim Huggins, retirement meant he could start a second career and build a legacy in forensics. Join Jim and his partner, Dr. Lori E. Baker, as they describe how a dedication to higher learning helped create one of the Nation's premier forensic programs. (Run time 9 minutes 20 seconds) This video was made possible by the Texas Rangers Association Foundation.
On Friday before start of Fall 2021 classes, Baylor Anthropology hosted a fun and exciting Open House for our incoming students. Check out information and pictures about this event!
Regents updated on Illuminate, Commission on Historic Campus Representations, student well-being and Lab to Market Collaborative
Anthropology Faculty
The core faculty of the Department of Anthropology are from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds including: cultural, physical, applied, and forensic anthropology, archaeology, and forensic chemistry and biology. Research concentrations and specific projects are reflected in these backgrounds.
State of The Art Facilities
In addition to extensive teaching laboratories that house a range of specimens and equipment, the Department has a number of research facilities, including our own extensive core facility for genomic and biomarker analyses, archaeology and zooarchaeology labs, an anatomy laboratory featuring a plastinated human cadaver, and areas for conducting forensic experiments.