Learn More About Anthropology at CU Denver
Last week showed the full breadth of Anthropology at CU Denver, from student outreach to hands-on public education to research presentations across the Front Range.
Connecting with future graduate students
On Tuesday, Anthropology graduate students represented the department at the Graduate Program Fair. They met prospective students and shared the pathways, opportunities, and community that define the program.
Inspiring the next generation
On Friday September 25th, the department welcomed 73 fifth graders from Graland Country Day School. The students spent the morning exploring the Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, and Zooarchaeology labs as part of their human evolution unit. Their questions and excitement made it a standout day of public engagement.
Strong showing at the Rocky Mountain Biological Anthropology Meetings
On Saturday September 26th, faculty, students, and alumni traveled to CU Colorado Springs for the Rocky Mountain Biological Anthropology Association Meetings, where CU Denver was strongly represented:
- Dr. Caley Orr, affiliated faculty in CU Denver Anthropology and Associate Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology at CU Anschutz, delivered one of the keynote addresses. He highlighted the recent Nature paper he coauthored on the hand of Paranthropus, an early human relative.
- Sloan Fridrich, one of Orr's graduate students in the MS Modern Human Anatomy Program at CU Anschutz, won the Graduate Student Prize for Best Poster Abstract for "Preliminary Results of a 3D Geometric Morphometric Analysis of the Trapeziometacarpal Joint Complex in Homo sapiens."
- Dr. Patrick Fahey, Anthropology lecturer, presented a poster with co-author Dr. Jamie Hodgkins on climate change and human evolution in South Africa.
- Fiona Lupi-Peate, a recent master's graduate presented her research modeling how bone material properties relate to habitual activity as a potential means for reconstructing behavior of humans in the past, with Dr. Anna Warrener as coauthor.
- Dr. Jamie Hodgkins shared new results from archaeological excavations on the island of Vis, Croatia, and announced a new field school beginning summer 2027. She also served on a professional development workshop panel, answering student questions about undergraduate and graduate programs.
Asked about the events, Jamie Hodgkins said, "Anthropology, being the study of humans, is at its best when it’s shared. Last week we had the opportunity to share all the work we have been doing to groups of all ages, and on research that spans space and time. We have such talented, passionate people in our department; we have so much work to show. Every excavation, every collaboration, every public talk is part of the same mission to make science accessible and show how our shared past shapes our shared future."
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