Biological Anthropology
Biological anthropology explores human biological evolution and variation through time and across space. Biological anthropologists work with contemporary populations to better understand the ways in which different aspects of culture such as political economy, socioeconomics, migration, and stress, affect human diversity. Through the archaeological and fossil record, biological anthropologists seek to understand how the human population has evolved over time and in comparison to other living primates. Biological anthropology encompasses a diverse range of specialties, including primatology, ancient and modern DNA, nutrition and diet, human ecology, human variation, bioarchaeology, biomedical anthropology, biocultural anthropology, and forensic anthropology.
Through an evolutionary understanding of bones, genetics, and morphological variation, biological anthropologists contribute to a greater understanding of health, disease, and human adaptations to environmental conditions. By employing these areas of study, biological anthropologists are ultimately interested in the intersections between the environments we occupy, the cultures we develop, and the physical bodies we inhabit.
Core Biological Anthropology Faculty
Lita Sacks, Assistant Clinical Professor, Ph.D. Indiana University
Katie Starkweather, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Missouri
Sloan Williams, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Ph.D., Northwestern University