This is an extract from Our Human Story, our newsletter about the revolution in archaeology. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every month. In the prehistoric opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the first tool is a club: a long limb bone th…
BOONE, N.C. — Over Spring Break, 12 Appalachian State University students joined Dr. Cameron Gokee, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, for an intensive archaeology field course in Boone’s historic Junaluska neighborhood.…
During an archaeological dig at Appalachian State University’s Blackburn Vannoy Estate and Farm this summer, university archaeologists unearthed dozens of artifacts from an early Native American campsite. ASHE COUNTY — Progress isn’t always…
New evidence suggests Poverty Point’s monumental mounds were created not by a ruling elite, but by egalitarian groups drawn together by shared ritual purpose. Some 3,500 years ago, hunter-gatherer groups began shaping enormous earthen mound…
BOONE, N.C. — Awarded by the Appalachian State University Staff Senate, Staff Shout Outs recognize staff members for their positive contributions to the University. In October 2025, one member of the App State College of Arts and Sciences (…
Questions about an artifact? Email photos and descriptions to askanarchaeologist@appstate.edu, and we'll put you in contact with one of our archaeology faculty. Questions about rocks or fossils? Our friends in the Department of Geological a…
App State student researchers engage in an archaeology field school, using trowels to excavate a layer of soil just beneath the reach of plows at the university’s Blackburn Vannoy Estate and Farm in Ashe County. They discovered an ancient h…
A Tibetan monk officiating an event in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Tibetan Buddhism is emerging in Vietnam as a popular form of new religiosity © 2025 Lam Khau Dr. Stephen Christopher (Adjunct Assistant Professor at Appalachian State Univers…
Please consider supporting the Department of Anthropology by donating to one of the following funds: Anthropology Department General Fund Cheryl Claassen Research Enhancement Fund Department of Anthropology Speaker Series Dr. L. Jill Loucks…
Recently graduating with a degree in Anthropology from the College of Arts and Sciences, Ella Adams embodies the spirit of passion and resilience. Ella is already making waves in journalism as two of her recent articles were published in US…
Dr. Seth Grooms, Marine Corps veteran and App State assistant professor, placed a wreath at the Veterans Memorial on the Boone campus during the university’s annual Memorial Day commemoration on Friday, May 26. Photo by Chase Reynolds “This…
Eleora Dunham, a second year Anthropology major, has been awarded a highly selective research internship as part of ARISE- Anthropological Research in Science Education program at Pennsylvania State University this summer. Anthropological R…