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What are the leading institutions for paleoanthropology?
Hello! Thanks for your question about the leading institutions for paleoanthropology. Based on your request, I have compiled a list of the top ten leading institutions for paleoanthropology worldwide. I understand that paleoanthropology is a niche combination of archaeology and biological anthropology, and not all archaeological and/or anthropological institutions will research capacities in that area.
In short, my research shows that the top ten leading institutes for Paleoanthropology are 1) Harvard University, 2) The University of Cambridge, 3) The University of Oxford, 4) University College London, 5) Duke University, 6) University of Southampton, 7) Kyoto University, 8) Simon Fraser University, 9) University of Leiden, and 10) Arizona State University.
METHODOLOGY
I began my research by looking for universities/institutions that conduct research in the area of Paleoanthropology. As the field is quite niche, I began to look for paleoanthropological websites that may provide further information on relevant institutions. My search led me the Paleoanthropology Society's website, where they have listed every known institution that participates in paleoanthropological research. From there, I constructed an excel sheet containing names of the institutions and links to their websites, ranking information extracted from the TIMES World Rankings for Universities website as well as ranking information from the QS World Rankings website. I chose those both the TIMES and QS as both are leading authorities on university rankings, and rank universities holistically based on a variety of metrics, including research output and teaching quality. I did not include data from the ARWU rankings as it only ranked universities based on research output in the hard sciences. I extracted data from both archaeology and anthropology rankings as paleoanthropology is a combination of both fields. The TIMES website does not provide rankings for anthropology, while the QS website provides both.
I compiled ranking data by looking up individually every institution in the list provided by the Paleoanthropological Society. Upon completion, I created a column that calculates the aggregate rankings of each institution, and arranged the results in descending order to obtain the names on the top ten institutions. I have included a short description of the university in addition to the links to the relevant departments below:
TOP TEN LEADING INSTITUTIONS IN PALEONTOLOGY
1) Harvard University
- Paleoanthropology Laboratory and Department of Human Evolutionary Biology/ Biological Anthropology (HEB)
HEB’s fundamental mission is to engage in teaching and research that addresses the fundamental question of how evolution made humans the way we are, while the Paleoanthropology Laboratory serves as a locus for a broad range of activities focusing on the evolution of hominoids, including hominins, as well as other mammals. HEB conducts both graduate and undergraduate instruction.
The focus of research in LCHES is the integration of biological, anthropological and archaeological approaches to the study of human evolution and human diversity. The center also carries out research into the human past through archaeological and palaeontological fieldwork and the study of fossil hominins, prehistoric artifacts and past environments.
The department has carried out pioneering work on the remains of humans, plants, animals and insects from archaeological sites. Current research projects based in various parts of the world include study of hominin and early human diet and residence patterns; primate ecology; the emergence and dispersal of modern humans; lifeways during Glacial periods; the emergence of cemeteries and other sedentary behaviors toward the end of the last Glacial; skeletal evidence for interpersonal violence in later prehistory; freshwater reservoir effects in the Iron Gates of the Danube; the timing and nature of the transition from hunting and gathering to farming; the spread of plants and animals through long-distance maritime trade; and reconstruction of daily and ritual life from Pompeii and Herculaneum to Roman and Anglo-Saxon communities of the Upper Thames valley.
The UCL Institute of Archaeology and Department of Anthropology have considerable staff expertise in the fields of palaeoanthropology and palaeolithic archaeology. Staff and research students are currently involved in field projects as well as museum-based studies in Britain, various parts of Europe, the Middle East, China and eastern and southern Africa. The department also provides graduate instruction.
The department's central areas of research include the phylogenetic relationships among living and extinct groups of primates, the functional and adaptive significance of morphological variation in primates and humans, and the socioecological underpinnings of behavioral variation in humans and other animals. The department also provides graduate instruction.
The center's research work includes protecting maritime coastal heritage globally, influencing policy and management of prehistoric landscapes in the UK, and supporting policy and business development in the context of Roman archaeology in Italy. The center also provides both undergraduate and graduate instruction.
The laboratory focuses on studies of primatology, human social evolution and behavioral anthropology. The laboratory also provides graduate instruction through the Graduate School of Science. It should be noted that most information on the original site is Japanese.
The Department of Archaeology has concentrated expertise in three areas – Archaeological and Environmental science, First Nations Heritage and Resource Management, and Biological Anthropology, including Forensic sciences. Housed within the Department are the SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, SFU Archaeology Press, the Human Evolutionary Studies Program, the Centre for Forensic Research (with Criminology), the joint SFU/Jilin University Centre for Bioarchaeology, and the SSHRC Major Collaborative Research Initiative on Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH). The Department has specialized laboratories dedicated to zooarchaeology, paleobotany, stable isotopes, geoarchaeology, geochemistry, human osteology and ancient and forensic DNA. The department also provides both undergraduate and graduate instruction.
The department's main research topics are human origins, the archaeology and deep history of migration, colonization, colonial encounters, globalization, and cultural identity. The department also provides graduate instruction.
Change
The school seeks to understand the origins and implications of human uniqueness – such as culture, cooperation and complexity. The school combines the skills and perspectives of the largest anthropology and global health programs in the nation with smaller, hand-crafted ones in environmental social science, museum studies and applied math. The school also provides both undergraduate and graduate instruction.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the top ten leading institutions for Paleoanthropology are 1) Harvard University, 2) The University of Cambridge, 3) The University of Oxford, 4) University College London, 5) Duke University, 6) University of Southampton, 7) Kyoto University, 8) Simon Fraser University, 9) University of Leiden, and 10) Arizona State University.
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