Department of Anthropology

At NAU, anthropology is a dynamic and collaborative exploration of cultures.

We offer qualitative and quantitative research opportunities that elevate marginalized perspectives—and encourage you to make a positive difference in facing the environmental, political, economic, and social challenges of a rapidly changing world.

You’ll tackle vital issues that matter today, including substance abuse, forensic strategies in crime scene investigation, and immigration. Historical perspectives on agriculture, archaeology, and human interactions with the environment and animals provide context for complex, interdisciplinary topics such as community development, and health equity.

Whether taking a medical anthropological approach to researching opioid use or seeing archaeology as a tool for social justice, our engaged faculty guide students in working with local and global communities. Our labs at the Flagstaff campus study paleo diet, ceramic analysis, Mesoamerica, faunal and lithic analysis, and medical anthropology.

Explore our degrees

Bachelor's Degrees

Master's Degrees

Minors

Field School Opportunities

Apex, Arizona Archaeology Project Field School

Terevaka Archaeological Outreach Program (TAO)

Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project

NAU Anthropology in the news!

Recent news from the Department of Anthropology

• Dr. Jaime Awe receives the Society for American Archaeology’s 2022 Award for Excellence in Latin American and Caribbean Archaeology
• Dr. Britton Shepardson is leading students to small communities throughout South America to do hands-on service learning and anthropological research

• NAU archaeologists Dr. Chris Downum and Dr. Leszec Pawlowicz teach computers to sort ancient pottery

• Dr. Lisa Hardy receives the 2021 NAU Faculty Achievement Award for Most Significant Research/Scholarly Work for her research on experiences of COVID-19
• Graduate Student Carly Thompson-Campitor receives Presidential Fellowship to continue on to pursue her PhD in Interdisciplinary Health at NAU
• Dr. Nataša Garić-Humphrey participates in a three-part virtual discussion titled, “Political Action and Generations” for the Political and Legal Anthropology Review.
• Dr. Sharon Moses receives an RBS grant for her project, titled, “Manchester Jane Doe – A Forensic Facial Reconstruction.” 
• Dr. Melissa Liebert co-authored “Childhood Daily Energy Expenditure Does Not Decrease with Market Integration and Is Not Related to Adiposity in Amazonia” published in The Journal of Nutrition. 
• Dr. Lisa Hardy and Dr. Kerry Thompson were featured in a podcast titled, ““Native Communities, the Federal Government and the Pandemic.”
• Dr. Alder Keleman Saxena receives $119,000 collaborative grant, “Creating evidence for forest based resilience during Covid-19.”
• Dr. Emery Eaves and Dr. Robert Trotter receive $293,000 from the National Institutes of Health to understand opioid treatment during COVID-19