Research
Research in Anthropology
The faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Western Michigan University are involved in a variety of research initiatives.
- Dr. Jon Holtzman recently wrote a journal article titled “Rice, Beer and Salad: Varying Constructions of Craving in Japan” which was published in Appetite. He also presented a paper titled “Shadowscape With Frieze of Goats” at the Satterthwaite Colloquium for African Studies.
- Tim Bober's research interests have recently included Mesoamerican archaeology and the archaeology of the Fur Trade in the Great Lakes area. Tim has concentrated his Mesoamerican interests primarily in Mexican cultures like the Aztecs and Teotihuacan. He has also been involved in a public archaeology project entitled, The Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Project, investigating an 18th century French fort built near the Michigan and Indiana border.
- Dr. Britt Hartenberger has focused her archaeological research on the production of stone tools and pottery in the Middle East, specifically southeastern Turkey during the Bronze and Iron Ages. In the summer of 2019, she joined the Olynthos Project in Greece to conduct flotation and collect microdebris for investigating activities in a Classical period house. She is also working on publications of the pottery and lithics from the Ziyaret Tepe Archaeological Project in Turkey.
- Dr. Michael Nassaney has research interests that include the archaeology of eastern North America with a focus on colonialism, the fur trade, material analysis, public archaeology, and ethnohistory. He is the principal investigator of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, an interdisciplinary program in community service learning that focuses on the 18th-century site of Fort St. Joseph in Niles, Michigan.
collaborating Faculty
The following WMU faculty in other departments collaborate on anthropology and African American and African studies projects and research:
- Ann Miles, Department of Sociology
- Vin Lyon-Callo, Sociology
- Jackie Eng, Biology
Fort St. Joseph
Making archaeology accessible to the public is a major goal of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, which is unearthing and interpreting the community's history.
Virtual Museum
WMU students have created virtual exhibits that establish permanent and useful guides for various topics. Contact Dr. Bilinda Straight for more information.
IIAS Scholarly works
Scholarly works published by faculty, students and alumni are stored for reference in WMU's ScholarWorks program. Honor's Theses, Master's Theses, Archaeological Reports, faculty books and images can be found here.