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Within the Department of Anthropology,
a broad set of courses and research topics within Biological
(or Physical) Anthropology are offered for undergraduate and
graduate students.
Our laboratory facilities and collections provide
many opportunities for original research and projects.
Our Goals:
The fundamental question that
Biological Anthropology grapples with is what it means to
be human.
This
includes the evolution and biocultural adaptations of
humans in diverse environments, aspects of human growth
and development, biological and hormonal changes in humans
throughout the life span as well as cross-culturally, and
patterns in diet, disease and death for populations at
risk. Students
are trained to utilize field and lab data to address
questions such as these in a very hands-on way.
Our Approach:
Utilizing a biocultural framework and
an evolutionary perspective, students are encouraged to
become active researchers fairly early on in their
education. Our
hands-on approach offers students the opportunity to work
closely with faculty and to engage in original research.
Our Strengths:
There are a number of on-going
research projects within Biological Anthropology that
highlight some of the strengths of our approach:
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Paleopathology
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Evolutionary biology
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Endocrinology
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Medical anthropology
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Nutritional anthropology
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Skeletal biology
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Human adaptability
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Genes, behavior and diet
Research Programs:
We are engaged in a number of
on-going research projects, many of which are
collaborative efforts across subdisciplines.
Students can easily find ways to craft their own
projects within these areas:
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Evolutionary trends in growth and development
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Evolution of fatherhood and parenting
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Shifts from foraging to agriculture and associated
biological costs
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Hormone levels and behavior in evolutionary
perspective
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Metabolic diseases and their evolution
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Maternal diet and health
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Social inequality and poor health
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Origin and evolution of violence
Research Laboratories and
Collections:
Biological Anthropology
Faculty and Specialties:
Dr.
Daniel Benyshek: Medical anthropology,
metabolic syndrome, Native American health, maternal diet
and health, experimental animal models
Dr. Peter
Gray: Hormones and human behavior,
biocultural approaches to the human family, US and
Caribbean
Dr. Debra Martin: Paleopathology,
bioarchaeology, skeletal biology, violence and trauma,
American Southwest, Mexico,
SW Asia and Northern Africa
Dr.
Jennifer Thompson: Palaeoanthropology,
origins of modern humans, hominid growth and development,
skeletal biology, odontology, and morphometrics.
Contact us:
If you have any questions about
working in biological anthropology at UNLV, please contact
Dr. Peter Gray (peter.gray@unlv.edu).
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