More than 500 years ago in the midwestern Guatemalan highlands, Maya people bought and sold goods with far less oversight from their rulers than many archeologists previously thought. “Scholars have generally assumed that the obsidian trade was managed by Maya rulers, but our research shows that this wasn’t the case at least in this area,” […]
The first complex weapon system developed by humans is helping Washington State University students learn about both ancient technological innovation and modern-day experimental archeology. Originating in Europe over 30,000 years ago, the “atlatl” consists of a short stick or board with a cup at one end that enables the wielder to throw a dart farther […]
Andrea Mora-Tice is traveling the world as she works on her WSU undergraduate degree in anthropology. “I could be in the jungles of Sumatra working on a paper,” she says. “If I know I’m going to be in the air or away from home, I can download assignments and reading. It’s all so flexible.”
In 1992, Washington State University extended its land-grant mission by launching one of the nation’s first opportunities for students to pursue a degree from anywhere on the globe through distance delivery. Today, our Global Campus is the second largest campus by enrollment in the WSU system with more than 4,000 students enrolled in one of […]
With the unprecedented rapid pace of climate change, it is time to start seriously considering the worst-case scenarios warns Washington State University archaeologist Tim Kohler. Kohler is part of an international team of climate experts that argue that although unlikely, climate change catastrophes, including human
Eight Arts & Sciences faculty representing four distinct areas are members of the new interdisciplinary research teams formed during the 2022 Washington State University Climate Hackathon. During the two-day event last spring, participants defined the scope of climate change-related challenges, shared expertise in
Three research projects, including one designed by Washington State University anthropologist Courtney Meehan, were awarded $50,000 each in this spring’s Cougar Cage event. In a format modeled after the popular entrepreneurial TV show “Shark Tank,” the event seeks to match private donors with
In humans and non-humans alike, physical contests are a well documented form of competition when it comes to scarce resources such as food, territory, sex, and power. Humans, however, have developed a more subtle, and now more common, approach: informational warfare. One of its primary manifestations is gossip. While it may not physically batter or […]
Three recently hired Arts & Sciences faculty were awarded seed grant funding to develop unique research and creative projects in anthropology, history, and music.
Scattered across southern Ethiopia are thousands of mysterious stone monoliths rising as high as 20 feet. “We don’t know who built the stelae in southern Ethiopia or why,” says Addisalem Melesse, a WSU doctoral student in archaeology. “However, the research we are doing at WSU is starting to shed light on the monument’s history and […]