Anthropology at PSU
Biological Anthropology

The major subfields of biological anthropology are represented in the undergraduate curriculum of our
Department. Namely, human variation, primatology, human osteology, and paleoanthropology. At the graduate level, training in biological anthropology is focused upon primate behavioral ecology and evolution.  We accommodate graduate students whose background and interests lie in these areas, including allied topics such as primate life history, functional anatomy, and conservation.

Our resident biological anthropologist specializes in the behavioral ecology of Malagasy lemurs and on the extinctions and development of anthropogenic landscapes and faunal assemblages during the Quaternary of Madagascar.  She has edited a volume of the American Journal of Primatology titled “Behavioral Ecology and Conservation of Ruffed Lemurs” and is co-editing the monograph series “Primate Field Studies” (Prentice Hall) focused upon long-term field studies of wild primates.  For information about the series or if you are interested in developing a monograph, please contact one
of the editors (nvasey@pdx.edu or rwsussma@wustl.edu).

Recent and current M.A. students have worked on gibbon taxonomy and conservation using vocalization data from poorly known populations in Vietnam, functional anatomy of the breast bone in Miocene ape and subfossil lemurs, and human bone histology as an indicator of age at death.  These students have expanded curriculum offerings and advising capacity through contacts with the PSU biology department, the Oregon Zoo, and the Anthropology Institute at the University of Zurich.