Premium
Contemporary Biological Anthropology in 2013: Integrative, Connected, and Relevant
Author(s) -
MacKin Katherine C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1111/aman.12102
Subject(s) - anthropology , relevance (law) , biological anthropology , value (mathematics) , cultural anthropology , field (mathematics) , sociology , political science , computer science , mathematics , machine learning , pure mathematics , law
2013 was a remarkable year in biological anthropology. From perplexing fossil hominin discoveries to revealing genome analyses, discussions of ethics in the field, and the continuing public dissemination of our work, we grappled with many issues both within and outside the academy. Here I explore some of these major accomplishments across four main themes: (1) new hominin finds and resulting consideration of the complex landscapes across which our various ancestors lived, adapted, and possibly interbred; (2) recent news from (nonhuman) primate evolution and contemporary primatological practice; (3) the demonstrated relevance of biological anthropology to anthropology with examples from integrative biocultural and ethnoprimatological approaches that move beyond dated subfield constraints; and (4) the value of social media and engagement of the public.