Welcome

Yale University’s Department of Anthropology is home to over thirty faculty, affiliates from many other corners of the University, and scores of graduate students. Our research and teaching interests span the globe, many millions of years of prehistory and history, and the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Our Ph.D. graduates go on to teach in universities around the world and to pursue research in a wide variety of academic and non-academic settings. Our undergraduate major draws students with a passion for the study of humanity, both in the broadest terms and in the specific social, cultural, historical, and/or biological contexts that have shaped human pasts and presents–and that will shape humans’ collective futures.

Calendars

Department Calendar

Yale College Academic Calendar

Yale GSAS Academic Calendar

March 5, 2024
Live Science featured Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos research on residue analysis of 1,000 pottery in Mesoamerica. The study detected traces of nicotine in three ceramic vases, suggesting ritual use of tobacco. Read more at  Live Science. 
PhD candidate Alyssa Enny compares foot morphology
February 19, 2024
Four PhD students–Alyssa Enny, Spencer Irvine, Audrey Tjahjadi, and Hannah Keller–collaborated with Yale Pathways to introduce local high school students to anthropology. Students compared primate morphology, recovered bone casts from mock excavations, broke open bones with hammerstones... Read more
December 7, 2023
Archaeology Magazine featured Professor Burger’s genetic study of burials at Machu Picchu as one of the top 10 discoveries of 2023. The study revealed that Machu Picchu’s caretakers came from almost every part of the Inca Empire, including regions in the Amazon. Read more in Archaeology... Read more
September 21, 2023
PhD Student Spencer Kaplan was awarded Honorable Mention in the David Hakken Graduate Student Paper Prize by the AAA Committee for the Anthropology of Computing (CASTAC). Spencer received the Honorable Mention for his paper titled  “Facing Blockchain’s Double Bind: Trustless Technologies and ‘IRL... Read more
September 15, 2023
Why are women freezing their eggs in record numbers? Marcia Inhorn’s Motherhood on Ice explores this question by drawing on the stories of more than 150 women who pursued fertility preservation technology. Moving between narratives of pain and empowerment, these nuanced personal stories... Read more