Graduate Program in Physical Anthropology
Physical anthropology or biological anthropology is an area of investigation that examines all aspects of the biological domain of humans. As a subdiscipline of anthropology it has its intellectual and academic roots in the social sciences, but it also has strong interdisciplinary connections with the natural sciences, especially biology, psychology, ethology and the earth sciences. Consequently, practitioners of physical anthropology have long embraced a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective that integrates a diversity of approaches from the social and natural sciences. Physical anthropologists acknowledge this paradigm as the most profitable for unravelling the complex theoretical and conceptual issues that underlie the study of human beings. In parallel with the remarkable growth and maturation of the natural sciences, knowledge and expertise in physical anthropology has greatly expanded in recent years beyond the intellectual and technical grasp of individual generalists, and as a result the subdiscipline has witnessed a corresponding degree of sub-specialization. The research programs and interests of the physical anthropologists in our department (Profs. Anton, Di Fiore, Disotell, Harrison, Jolly, and Bailey) intersect many of these major subdisciplinary specialties, including primate socioecology, comparative primate morphology, molecular anthropology, paleoanthropology, primate paleontology, and skeletal morphology. In addition to expertise in these specialist areas, faculty and student research is unified by a conceptual and intellectual foundation in genetics, evolutionary theory, ecology, and behavior. We regard these as core themes in a common enterprise that can be referred to as evolutionary primatology – the study of human beings and other primates within an evolutionary context. Our research is based on a solid foundation of traditional approaches and concepts in physical anthropology, an appreciation of the multidisciplinarity of the subdiscipline, and technical and theoretical proficiency in newly emerging specialty areas. The research and training program in our department is distinguished by its unique commitment to integrating laboratory-based and field-based research. We have state-of-the-art laboratories in population genetics and molecular systematics, and in paleoanthropology, with superb facilities for both research and teaching in these areas. In addition, faculty and students are conducting primatological and paleoanthropological research at sites in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Bolivia, Greece, Gabon, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Our faculty maintains an active network of collaborative and educational links with colleagues and institutions worldwide as part of this major international research effort.
New York Consortium for Evolutionary Primatology
The physical anthropologists at New York University participate in the New York Consortium for Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), a unique research and graduate training consortium that brings together researchers, educators and resources from five institutions in New York City – City University of New York, Columbia University, New York University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo. The consortium includes thirty nine scholars with research interests in comparative anatomy, paleontology, molecular systematics, population genetics, social behavior, ecology, and conservation of primates (including humans), spanning the entire breadth of the field of evolutionary primatology. In addition to providing a wider menu of courses for graduate students to choose from, NYCEP also offers an integrated educational curriculum and research program with a multidisciplinary and global agenda.
For more information visit: http://www.nycep.org
Center for the Study of Human Origins
The Center for the Study of Human Origins (CSHO) in the Department of Anthropology at New York University was founded in 2002. Its mission is to enhance and facilitate research in all fields of biological anthropology and archaeology that are broadly related to the study of human origins and evolution from a biological and cultural perspective. CSHO’s aim is to foster and support multidisciplinary investigations, with an emphasis on the development of collaborative projects, international fieldwork, and state-of-the-art laboratory research.
Faculty members associated with the Center currently work on aspects of primate and human paleontology, skeletal biology and comparative anatomy, molecular primatology, population genetics, primate socioecology and conservation, Paleolithic archaeology, zooarchaeology, and the origins of symbolism, complex societies, and city-states. In addition to research, the Center also aims to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the study of human origins among the academic community and the public at large through conferences, workshops, educational programs, and outreach activities.
Journal of Human Evolution
Susan Antón is co-editor (along with Steve Leigh, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne) of the Journal of Human Evolution. The journal is the premier forum in biological anthropology for publishing peer-reviewed research on all aspects of human evolution. The journal's central focus is aimed at paleoanthropological investigations of human and primate fossils and at comparative studies of extant species, including morphological and molecular data. The broad range of topics and research areas considered for publication include human and primate paleontology and paleobiology; comparative morphological and functional studies of extant primates; primate systematics, behavior, and ecology; Paleolithic archaeology; and taphonomy and paleoecology.
For more information on the journal, visit elsevier.com or sciencedirect.com.
For more information on the journal, visit elsevier.com or sciencedirect.com.
Special Resources and Facilities
Excellent research laboratories dedicated to primate population genetics and molecular systematics, comparative anatomy, paleoanthropology, and human osteology, as well as computer facilities, are available in the department.In addition, the faculty is engaged in ongoing research at field sites in Africa, Europe, and South America. Professor Anthony Di Fiore conducts research on the behavior, ecology, and population genetics of New World monkeys at the Proyecto Field Site in Ecuador. Professor Clifford Jolly is codirector of a long-term field project studying the social behavior and genetics of a hybrid population of baboons in the Awash National Park, Ethiopia. Professor Terry Harrison is director of an international team of scientists investigating the geology and paleontology of the fossil hominid locality of Laetoli in Tanzania.
A number of other departments and schools at New York University provide resources of collaboration and instruction. These include the Departments of Biology and Chemistry, the Program in Neuroscience, and the various academic departments of the School of Medicine and the College of Dentistry. In addition, the department’s ties to various institutions abroad and in the United States greatly enhance research opportunities available to students interested in primatology, paleoanthropology, and skeletal biology. International links are maintained with academic institutions in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, China, Malaysia, Ecuador, and Europe.
The many libraries and museums in New York that are available to students enrolled in the department include the incomparable collections at the American Museum of Natural History.
The department is affiliated with the M.D.-Ph.D. program in biological and social sciences.
Through NYCEP, the department sponsors a special lecture and workshop series in biological anthropology to which leading international scholars are invited to present their latest research.
- Paleoanthropology and Skeletal Morphology Laboratories
- Population Genetics and Molecular Anthropology Laboratory
- Proyecto Primates Field Site, Yasuní National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador
- Primatological Field Studies in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia
- Paleoanthropological Field Studies at Laetoli, Tanzania
Faculty
Research/Interest: Physical anthropology; skeletal biology; evolution of genus Homo; dispersal; evolutionary morphology; human osteology and anatomy; growth, development and life history patterns. Field programs in Asia and the Pacific.
Research/Interest: Physical anthropology; paleoanthropology; dental morphology and morphometrics; Middle-Late Pleistocene hominins; Neandertals; modern human origins; Plio-Pleistocene hominin evolution; Europe; Africa.
Research/Interest: Research interests include biological anthropology; primate behavior and ecology; population genetics; South America. Dr. Di Fiore specializes in the comparative behavior, ecology, and population genetics of neotropical primates. His current research projects include a field study of social relationships in woolly and spider monkeys at his field site (Proyecto Primates) in Amazonian Ecuador, collaborative field research on the socioecology of pair-living neotropical primates (including titi monkeys, sakis, and owl monkeys) in Ecuador and Argentina, and molecular studies of population structure and mating systems in many of these primates as well as in red howler monkeys in Venezuela and golden lion tamarins in Brazil.
Research/Interest: physical Anthropology, primate evolution; molecular evolution; genetics and mitochondrial DNA; analytical techniques of phylogenetic systematics; the history of biological anthropology.
Research/Interest: Primate and human paleontology, evolutionary morphology, and paleoecology. Broader research interests include the systematics and evolutionary history of hominoids and cercopithecoids, comparative anatomy and functional morphology of primates, paleobiology, allometry, vertebrate paleontology, evolutionary theory, taphonomy, paleoecology and zooarchaeology. He has extensive paleontological fieldwork experience in Europe, East Africa, and Asia. His current major research projects include early hominid paleontology at Laetoli in northern Tanzania, phylogenetic relationships and paleobiology of early Miocene catarrhines from East Africa, systematics of Miocene fossil apes from China, and the impact of human hunting and paleoecological change at prehistoric sites in Borneo.
Research/Interest: Physical anthropology; primatology; serology; population genetics and speciation; East Africa and Asia.
