Research

The Department of Anthropology is committed to research that expands our understanding of humanity. Through collaborative projects, innovative scholarship, and hands-on learning, faculty and students work together to investigate the people, cultures, and histories that shape our world.

Departmental Research

Check out a few of the ways our department has been staying busy lately: 

Yaxunah Haciendas and Lands Archaeological Project

In summer 2026, University of South Carolina anthropology students joined Dr. Chelsea Fisher for archaeological research at Hacienda Cetelac near Yaxunah, Yucatán, Mexico. Working in collaboration with the Yaxunah community, the team analyzed colonial-era artifacts, conducted ethnobotanical surveys, documented historic architecture, and shared their findings through a public exhibition. The project contributes to Dr. Fisher's long-term research on the social and ecological legacies of cattle ranching in Yucatec Maya lands.

Local human history

Archaeology students lead by Kelly Goldberg and Ph.D. student Nina Schreiner dug deep while excavating a site at Sesquicentennial State Park. 

A worldly study of cultures

Cultural anthropologist Magdalena Stawkowski has studied the human impacts of nuclear testing in remote areas of Kazakhstan. 

Humor, hostility and hospitality

John Doering-White used ethnographic fieldwork to examine how jokes and teasing play a big role along the Central American migrant trail through Mexico. 

A multicultural look at languages

Linguistic anthropologist Jennifer Reynolds produced an ethnographic film of bilingual multicultural kindergarten classes serving children ages 4-6 in a rural school located near San Martin Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.