News & Events

William Taylor Will Deliver This Year's Harding Distinguished Lecture

Renee Kuban — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 22:31:28 +0000

William Taylor Will Deliver This Year's Harding Distinguished Lecture Renee Kuban Tue, 02/17/2026 - 15:31

Archeologist and author William Taylor will present “Horses and the Human Story in South Dakota and the American West: New Perspectives from the Ancient World.”

The lecture is March 26 at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center at South Dakota State University. The two-hour event begins at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Tickets are limited, so click here to reserve your seat in advance.

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Michelle Sauther's Bushbaby Research Featured in С�� Boulder Today

Renee Kuban — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:24:43 +0000

Michelle Sauther's Bushbaby Research Featured in С�� Boulder Today Renee Kuban Mon, 02/16/2026 - 13:24

For over 10 years, Professor Michelle Sauther and her team at С�� Boulder have been studying the thick-tailed bushbabies of South Africa. Their latest findings have led to a vital reclassification: these primates are now officially "Near Threatened."

This work, featured today in С�� Boulder Today, highlights the importance of protecting wildlife habitats as they shrink by nearly 4% every decade.

Read the article: С�� Boulder Today

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Sarah Klassen Featured on the World Posdcast

Renee Kuban — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:15:59 +0000

Sarah Klassen Featured on the World Posdcast Renee Kuban Tue, 02/10/2026 - 13:15

Sarah Klassen, Assistant Director of the Center for Collaborative Synthesis in Archaeology (IBS) and Anthropology instructor, was recently featured on the World podcast. Sarah discusses her fascinating archaeological research at Angkor, Cambodia, and how cutting-edge technology is finally peeling back the forest canopy to reveal why this great city was abandoned.

Listen here World Podcast

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Chilton Tippins' Report Published in the Rapid Climate Assessment Program 2025.

Renee Kuban — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:58:48 +0000

Chilton Tippins' Report Published in the Rapid Climate Assessment Program 2025. Renee Kuban Mon, 02/09/2026 - 11:58

Chilton Tippin (Cultural Anthropology, PhD Candidate) was lead author on a report titled "Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Climate Change Impact Assessment." The report considers climate change impacts to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Southwest Colorado, including a tribal leader's priorities, and develops a novel method for analyzing climate change threats posed to ancestral heritage sites.

Read the report Climate Change Impact Assessment Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

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Dr. Sarah Klassen Will Be featured in a NOVA Special on PBS

Renee Kuban — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 19:08:44 +0000

Dr. Sarah Klassen Will Be featured in a NOVA Special on PBS Renee Kuban Thu, 01/22/2026 - 12:08

Dr. Sarah Klassen, Assistant Director of the Center for Collaborative Synthesis in Archaeology in IBS and an instructor in the Anthropology Department, will be featured in a NOVA special on PBS!

Tune in on January 28 to watch "Angkor: Hidden Jungle Empire," showcasing Dr. Klassen's groundbreaking archaeological work uncovering the secrets of ancient Angkor.

Watch the trailer here: PBS NOVA

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Chilton Tippin Accepts Position as an ORISE Postdoctoral Researcher With USGS

Renee Kuban — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:18:00 +0000

Chilton Tippin Accepts Position as an ORISE Postdoctoral Researcher With USGS Renee Kuban Wed, 01/21/2026 - 09:18

Chilton Tippin (Cultural Anthropology, PhD Candidate) has accepted a position as an ORISE Postdoctoral Researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). They will work with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this role, Chilton will apply anthropological perspectives to ensure climate change science informs land management decisions for state, federal, and tribal lands across the Intermountain West.

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Yuti Gao Receives Leakey Foundation Grant

Renee Kuban — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 17:04:13 +0000

Yuti Gao Receives Leakey Foundation Grant Renee Kuban Thu, 01/08/2026 - 10:04

Yuti Gao (Biological Anthropology, PhD Candidate) awarded funding from the Leakey Foundation for her dissertation research on ancient DNA analyses of microbiomes in African and Eurasian monkeys.

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Scott Ortman's GINI Project Awarded an 2025 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Research Award

Renee Kuban — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:19:43 +0000

Scott Ortman's GINI Project Awarded an 2025 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Research Award Renee Kuban Tue, 01/06/2026 - 09:19

The GINI (Global Dynamics of Inequality) project (led by Amy Bogaard, Tim Kohler (WSU) and Scott Ortman (С�� Boulder)) was awarded a 2025 Shanghai Archaeology Forum research award. GINI is a large-scale international collaboration that culminated in a PNAS Special Feature on long-term inequality, published in April, 2025. The project has included contributions by Oxford archaeologists Shadreck Chirikure, Helena Hamerow and Jack Hanson. The collaboration is one of 10 international projects which will be celebrated at the SAF annual meeting in Shanghai this week, selected from 140 nominations.

Read the feature in PNAS

Learn more about the award CFAS

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Yuti Gao and Steve Leigh Publish Article in AJBA

Renee Kuban — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:01:22 +0000

Yuti Gao and Steve Leigh Publish Article in AJBA Renee Kuban Mon, 12/15/2025 - 12:01

Yuti Gao (Biological Anthropology, PhD Candidate) and Professor Steve Leigh have published an article titled “Advancing Scientific Collection-Based Research With the Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl)” in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. The article publicizes and evaluates a new web resource designed to facilitate the use of natural history museum collections.

Abstract

Natural history museums provide unique and extremely valuable research resources. However, relatively few museums have externally discoverable records. Biological anthropologists frequently rely on materials in these collections—including skeletal remains, fossil hominins, and nonhuman primate materials—to study human evolution, functional anatomy, and genetic variation. Unfortunately, traditional means of sourcing museum resources, such as curator consultations, published references, or informal research networks, may be inefficient, biased toward certain institutions, and out of date. The Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl), part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), addresses these challenges by centralizing metadata on scientific collections, enabling researchers to locate research materials, reduce biases, and broaden sampling diversity. GRSciColl supports interdisciplinary collaborations, digital resource sharing, and educational applications, such as data literacy training. It also standardizes institutional references, improves provenance tracking, and data interoperability. By increasing access to collections—including to researchers lacking financial resources—GRSciColl bridges the gap between physical museum holdings and

Read the article American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Fernando Villeanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article

Renee Kuban — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:31:02 +0000

Fernando Villeanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article Renee Kuban Wed, 12/10/2025 - 12:31

Professor Fernando Villanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article: "The Great Mucus Mystery"

New research led by С�� Boulder’s Professor Fernando Villanea traces how a key gene for mucus production was passed from Denisovans to Neanderthals and finally to modern humans. This ancient genetic legacy, now common in Indigenous American populations, likely provided a crucial survival advantage.

Read the article:Leakey Foundation

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News & Events

William Taylor Will Deliver This Year's Harding Distinguished Lecture

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Michelle Sauther's Bushbaby Research Featured in С���� Boulder Today

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Sarah Klassen Featured on the World Posdcast

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Chilton Tippins' Report Published in the Rapid Climate Assessment Program 2025.

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Dr. Sarah Klassen Will Be featured in a NOVA Special on PBS

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Chilton Tippin Accepts Position as an ORISE Postdoctoral Researcher With USGS

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Yuti Gao Receives Leakey Foundation Grant

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Scott Ortman's GINI Project Awarded an 2025 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Research Award

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Yuti Gao and Steve Leigh Publish Article in AJBA

Abstract

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Fernando Villeanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article

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Michelle Sauther's Bushbaby Research Featured in С�� Boulder Today