According to Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, PhD, a professor in the ÇŃ×ÓĘÓƵ Department of History, “These are not ancient questions. They are human questions.”

When director Christopher Nolan set his lens on Homer’s The Odyssey, he both created a spectacle around a story about the human condition and reignited a conversation about epic storytelling.

“What Nolan accomplishes is extraordinary,” says Dr. Agelarakis, who teaches in Adelphi’s College of Arts and Sciences. “He returned Homer’s voice to the center of the public conversation. Millions of people who may have never opened The Odyssey are suddenly engaging with questions that have endured for nearly 3,000 years. In my opinion, that is the greatest success of the film.”

Professor Agelarakis and his team’s facial reconstruction of the High Priestess of Dorian Eleutherna. The Dorian Greeks settled Crete following the destruction of the Minoan-Mycenaean palaces by the Sea Peoples, an upheaval referenced by Odysseus in the film.

A More Human Perspective on The Odyssey

As a bioarchaeologist and physical anthropologist who has led field research across the Mediterranean for more than three decades, Dr. Agelarakis has a distinct point of view when it comes to the film. Where others might focus on the mythic heroism, he’s zoned in on the reality of the ancient time period.

“For decades I have studied the skeletal remains of ancient men and women, soldiers and civilians, priests and children. I have examined the evidence left by warfare, disease, healing, ritual and everyday life in the ancient Mediterranean.

“When I watch Odysseus returning from Troy, I do not simply see a legendary hero. I see a man burdened by war. I see someone struggling with loss, responsibility, memory, leadership and the consequences of victory.”

In his research examining human skeletal remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages, Dr. Agelarakis analyzes evidence of traumatic injury, field surgery and physical stress. He notes that Nolan’s depiction captures the raw impact of war on both body and psyche.

“The film grounds Odysseus as a thinking human being dealing with the trauma, guilt and real consequences of war.”

Lessons of War in The Odyssey

He also notes about the film, “I was reminded that the ancient Greeks understood victory in a remarkably sophisticated way. The fall of Troy represents military success. Yet it also unleashes suffering. Odysseus spends years wandering before finally reaching home. The victorious warrior discovers that winning a war does not necessarily restore peace.”

“That insight is profoundly modern,” he explains.

“One of the film’s most important messages is its implicit warning about war itself. Odysseus comes to recognize that violence rarely ends where it begins. The destruction of Troy does not conclude the story. It begins another one. Every generation should remember that lesson.”

An Epic Story, Told Through Cinema

Beyond the history, Dr. Agelarakis highlights the unique power of film as a visual and immersive medium. Nolan’s narrative choices—such as explicitly showing the claustrophobia inside the Trojan Horse or jumping across time periods—help bring to life the epic storytelling for modern viewers.

“Cinematography provides a kinesiology—a sense of motion and physical reality—that isn’t always fully captured when simply reading the text,” says Dr. Agelarakis. “It provides a visual hook that invites viewers to ask deeper historical questions: How did these people actually live? How did they move, fight and survive?”

Professor Agelarakis (left) and colleague Dr. Nicholas Stampolidis, Director of the Acropolis Museum, examining artifacts from the Homeric era at the Museum of Ancient Eleutherna, Greece.

The Film’s Role in Classroom Discussions

At Adelphi, Dr. Agelarakis plans on using the film’s momentum as an educational tool. In his course Theogony, Myth and Ritual, which he will teach this upcoming fall in an Honors College seminar, the movie will act as a springboard for students to critically think by debating primary source texts and cross-examining interpretations.

Rather than viewing cinematic adaptation as a replacement for reading, Dr. Agelarakis sees film as an entry point that prompts students to seek out original sources. The broader impact is clear; sales of Homer’s Odyssey surged by 76 percent in the United States, year over year.

Ultimately, the discourse surrounding Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey proves that classical studies remain valuable in understanding modern life. By confronting timeless questions of power, responsibility, ethics and human mortality, students can use the film to learn how to evaluate media critically.

“When you have multiple voices from students discussing this, we gain deeper understanding,” says Dr. Agelarakis. “It encourages students to open the book, read the primary source and use their own minds as independent thinkers.”

“Many students today encounter Greek civilization only through fragments. They know isolated myths or famous quotations, but rarely experience the epic narratives that shaped Western civilization. Nolan’s film may encourage many of them to discover Homer for themselves.”

“This is an incredible advertisement for classical education, and also for the real protagonist of this film—Homer.”

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We live in an era of unprecedented access to information and in these moments of extraordinary change, reading books or diving into history seem at best, quaintly out of date, or at worst, an indulgence that cannot create the same opportunity that we see in other growing fields like computer science or marketing. As someone who works in higher education, I can tell you that there is always talk about the demise of the humanities. In moments of technological innovation, these conversations intensify, and yet, these are the points in history that need the humanities the most.

The humanities—the study of literature, language, history or philosophy—offer opportunities to think about why our world is the way it is, and give its students the tools to meet the changes we face. , but not always obvious, even as humanities students find their paths in education, law, business, management and the not-for-profit sector. The humanities invest in processes—developing critical thinking skills, intellectual creativity and flexibility. Put simply, humanities students know how to learn. At Adelphi, we have seen our graduates go on to become published authors, teachers, lawyers and technological innovators, finding jobs and building careers in unexpected and thrillingly varied fields. To follow the humanities is to pursue a passion, but that doesn’t mean that those of us who do so have to choose between that and a satisfying and lucrative career. We consider ourselves the lucky ones—more often than not, we can have both.

Here’s the thing about the humanities: The path ahead isn’t always clear. We take a road map, and set out on a path, perhaps stopping to listen to the stories or histories that will guide us on our path, and keep moving forward. As we study the humanities, building vast reserves of intellectual curiosity, empathy and problem-solving skills, we are moving toward jobs that we haven’t yet realized exist—or perhaps even jobs that don’t yet exist. We move with creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit that will serve us well in the world—not only as an employee, or (better yet) a boss, but as a human being, navigating the rapidly changing world with a sense of history, a sense of compassion and a sense of purpose. We understand how history and culture have brought us to this point in time, and we have the ability to imagine what comes next. We are, as Shakespeare put it, makers of manners.

In a world where technology insists that answers can be given instantly, and the world can feel increasingly unsettled, it can be hard to invest in a long-term strategy that can only promise to take you to places you are willing to go. But the outcomes are always worth it.

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Both Dr. Krasinski and Dr. Wygal were among the expert co-authors of the uniquely collaborative multiyear, multi-expert and multi-institutional research study, published in the January issue of Science Advances.

Recently, by tracing and analyzing the sources of isotopes found in the tusk of Elma, a female woolly mammoth unearthed at Swan Point, Alaska, by the University of Alaska Fairbanks research team—a hunter-gatherer encampment and the oldest archaeological site in the state—anthropologists gained new insights into her life and possible causes of her extinction.

Tracking a Life in a Tusk

Strontium, an element in the plants Elma ate, left behind a measurable trace each day on her six-foot-long tusk. The more strontium in the soil where she grazed, the greater its presence on her tusk.

For this study, co-author Matthew Wooller, PhD, director of the stable isotope facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which is home to more than a thousand mammoth remains, took the lead on the isotopic analysis of Elma’s tusk, using a protocol followed with the tusk of Kik, a 17,000-year-old male. Noting that the tip of Kik’s tusk had strontium levels matching the site where he died, researchers were able to work backward to determine his travels during his lifetime.

Dr. Krasinski’s contributions to the Science Advances study included investigation, providing resources from the Holzman site, and writing, review and editing, while Dr. Wygal’s contribution also included investigation, editing and provided resources. “It was a great experience to also meet with the artist who designed the journal’s cover and consult on the ethics of portraying people as well as details of what the area would have looked like 14,000 years ago,” Dr. Krasinski said.

In 2016, the two colleagues were part of a team of students and fellow anthropologists who discovered a virtually complete 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk at the Holzman site. For nine years, the professors have conducted collaborative archaeological research at Holzman, often training Adelphi and other students in fieldwork at the important site.

“What we contributed to the Science Advances article, in a nutshell, is a DNA and radiocarbon sample from the tusk recovered at Holzman,” Dr. Krasinski recalled. “My focus was presenting and explaining the evidence found at the Holzman site in relation to how humans interacted with animals that have a trunk-like nose, such as mammoths, and comparing the evidence from Holzman to that of nearby Swan Point to understand similarities or differences in human-animal interactions between the two locations.”

According to Dr. Krasinski, this study replicated, sequenced and compared DNA from the Holzman tusk with that of other mammoths—including Elma—in a large mammoth database. “This was so cool. It was the first time we had integrated results from this part of Alaska, which established a clear ancestor-descendant relationship between Holzman and Swan Point. And there was significant genetic variation to indicate there were likely distinct herds living in Shaw Creek at the time.”

The Adelphi colleagues were involved in this project for several years. “These types of projects take significant time to make sure data and people are in place,” remarked Dr. Krasinski, who, like Dr. Wygal, will again be traveling to the Holzman site during this summer’s thaw.

Reconstructing Relationships

Dr. Krasinski considers that the relationships between the people who lived at these sites and the mammoths at the end of the Ice Age were integral to the fate of the mammoths. “People knew about mammoths, and mammoths probably knew about people as well. People and animals sometimes developed and shared each other’s trails.” She also noted that tusks were meaningful to the early hunter-gatherers, who, at Holzman, even fashioned tools from mammoth ivory.

After the Ice Age, as grasslands shrunk, mammoth habitat diminished and humans were more likely to share an environment with the mammoths. Perhaps then, as evidence from the analyses of mammoth tusks suggests, it was a combination of climate change impact on grazing lands and human interactions that hastened the extinction of the mammoths.

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Current chair of the Department of Anthropology and a faculty member since 2008, Dr. Kim didn’t have to think too hard about what specifically her sabbatical work would entail.

“It was actually right there before me,” she reflected shortly after her return to campus in January of this year. “Anthropologists generally do have a long-term commitment to research a particular geographic region, topic, community. And of course, over time, topics change, questions change, communities change, but we have the advantage of seeing the expanse of time as it unfolds.

“I’ve known since I finished my dissertation in 2001 that I would one day write a book on this particular community.”

Much of her efforts in the last year have centered on that book, tentatively titled The Globalization of a Modern Hindu Community: Ethnographic Chronicles on the BAPS Swaminarayan (with a publisher’s deadline of late 2024). Her research networks in terms of geography include, of course, India, but she has expanded them to include Bangladesh, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Norway, Kenya, Canada and Brazil.

A Relationship That Started Three Decades Ago in Eastern Africa

Dr. Kim’s long interest in BAPS started during the rainy season in Kenya in 1988 before she started graduate school. There, while she was participating in WorldTeach, an NGO (nongovernmental organization) that provided opportunities for individuals to live and work as volunteer teachers in developing countries, she met a family who retained their language and family connections from the western Indian state of Gujarat, where BAPS originated. That introduction led her to India for language study and then to numerous trips to the national capital New Delhi, the state of Gujarat, and later to locations around the world where BAPS adherents have expanded its temples and communities—including a major temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and others in England, Canada and Australia, for example, and a dedicated just this February in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Dr. Kim was an invited guest and observer.)

Since December 2022, she has made four trips to India, each visit lasting at least several weeks—resulting in many months of the past year being spent in India. She gave invited talks at several institutions in India, but also in Qatar and South Korea; did a podcast on a new book about Indian religions; published in academic journals; worked on grant projects and grant applications; and juggled three books in progress besides her main book focus.

One of those other projects was supported by a , Gujarat. In 2001, the western region of India experienced a devastating earthquake from which it has taken years to recover. Dr. Kim is working on an edited volume, tentatively titled Disaster Discourses, that explores transformations in opportunity and aspirations when there is an enormous disruption to the ways things used to be.

Part of her efforts during the year was getting to know young artisans and entrepreneurs, 40 and under, and how they have managed since the earthquake. She examined small-scale activism, from the artisans to those building an ecotourism operation. “It’s public anthropology mode,” she said. “Doing anthropology should actually result in some sort of public benefit.”

Another project, done in partnership with a professor of design, is examining the lives and work of shoemakers in a northern Indian city and tracing the connections between their histories and opportunities during times of social and economic change. Dr. Kim will return to India in the spring to continue her research, thanks to an Adelphi Faculty Development Grant she received for her proposal, “Synergies in Knowledge Ownership: Shoemakers, Stand-Up Comics and Culture Activists in Uttarakhand, India.”

Establishing Close Relationships Benefiting Her Professional Field and Her Students

Dr. Kim notes that her long-term academic and professional work is like a kin relationship. “It’s a community of which I’m not a devotee, but it’s like being part of a family in a way. I see how people and cultures are always changing and shifting, not in a vacuum but in relation to existing ideas, power structures, and historical, social, political and ideological contexts. I’ve had the privilege of tracking BAPS over time,” and this supports her larger objective to understand how religious communities are able to successfully sustain themselves through time.

The value of travel and expanding one’s horizons cannot be overstated for an anthropologist. “Getting out of the familiar, for example, by study abroad or sabbatical research, can provoke us to think about ourselves in relation to another place,” Dr. Kim said. “There’s a heightened sensitivity to what you think you already know.”

And that translates to her classroom work as well. In addition to exploring ways to make connections for Adelphi and its students with India, she believes her work makes her a better educator. “I feel a renewed optimism after a year away, both in my research and teaching,” she said. “Work like I’ve been doing is what, in my case, really animates the classroom.”

Here are just a few of the many moments from Dr. Kim’s time away from January 2023 through January 2024.

The post A Yearlong Sabbatical Refuels Department Chair’s Passion as an Anthropologist and Professor appeared first on ÇŃ×ÓĘÓƵ.

She pitched the idea to the National Park Service in 2020, and received funding from the Schoodic Institute as part of the research fellowship program.

At Adelphi, Dr. Giakoumis double majored in environmental studies and anthropology and was a member of the Honors College. She also participated in several study abroad programs, including studying marine biology at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It was here that she discovered her passion for marine conservation. Now, she is developing an app that anyone can download and use to contribute to her study, part of a growing movement by scientists to embrace what is known as “citizen science.”

In Fall 2023, Dr. Giakoumis returned to her alma mater virtually to present “Conservation of Sea Stars in the North Atlantic Ocean” for Adelphi’s Artivism series.

Here, she shares what interested her about sea stars, why she is creating the app, and advice for women in STEM.

Why sea stars?

Sea stars are keystone species, which means they have a disproportionately large effect on their communities. Their presence or absence on the coast in these intertidal [areas between high and low tide] communities can shape the types of species that can live there.

They’re also under-studied. In a marine context, people think about more charismatic animals, like endangered whales. Yet sea stars are one of the few invertebrate species that people connect with—they get really excited when they go to the beach and find a sea star. So you can get the wider community engaged with your research.

How will your app help with your research?

One of my hypotheses about why sea stars are declining involves Sea StarWasting Syndrome, which is a disease that has high mortality and likely affects sea stars regularly. We have no baseline data for how often sea star wasting outbreaks are happening or how severe they are. If we can crowdsource that information through people who are already out on the beaches in the North Atlantic, we can have a much better idea of where this is happening, what time of year it’s happening, and how severe it is.

How does the app work?

When you see an animal, you take a picture and upload it with a location. Then students can review the images and confirm whether the sea stars are sick [and give us] baseline data for when these outbreaks are happening. I’m sure scientists will be some of the primary users, but I hope we’ll get users who are not scientists as well. More boots on the ground is always better. In a study that I am hoping to publish soon, I have some pretty striking results and have documented that the density of sea stars is declining really rapidly.

What does your work at the Museum of Natural History involve?

Along with my own research, I run the Institute for Comparative Genomics Data, working under the director of the Institute for Comparative Genomics. As associate director, I manage the staff and make strategic long-term decisions about the future of the program. I also work and manage several different genomics labs … [including one] lab that we call the Ancient Biomolecules Lab, which is equipped to extract DNA from very old specimens from museum collections. We’re one of only a couple of institutions equipped with a lab of that caliber.

What advice do you have for women entering STEM fields?

Find a community of support. I’ve been a part of the for over a decade, and it’s been invaluable to me to have a community that wants to support women in science. We reach out to each other about specific problems, find ways to address them and push for institutional change, because there’s power in numbers. And if there isn’t a community you can join, then build one.

How have you adjusted from being a woman scientist to being one who is also a mom?

It’s fun and it’s amazing, but it’s a whole new world with a whole new set of challenges. But I have a lot to look forward to—hopefully, one day my daughter will look to me for some of the same advice I’ve shared today!

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Since then, Drs. Krasinski and Wygal have continued to discover and excavate sites across Alaska in the hopes of unearthing artifacts and animal remains that could further expand our understanding of the human past. “We want to know where the First Alaskans came from and what they left behind,” Dr. Wygal said. Their publications on recent findings at the Holzman site—one of the oldest in the Americas, about 70 miles from Fairbanks—prove that even the smallest fragments of evidence can be culturally significant.

Exploring the Last Ice Age

“Archaeological Recovery of Late Pleistocene Hair and Environmental DNA from Interior Alaska” (Environmental Archaeology: The Journal of Human Palaeoecology, January 2022) tracks their recovery and identification of ancient bison hair specimens and environmental DNA from sediments dating back to the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 12,000 years ago.¹ When compared to existing data, reconstructions of these specimens can bring to life the hyperlocal environmental transformations that occurred during a time of dramatic climate change.

“Mammoth Ivory Rods in Eastern Beringia: Earliest in North America” (American Antiquity, January 2022) reports on the recovery of two mammoth ivory tools “in the broader context of late Pleistocene bone and ivory technology,” yielding insight into ancient Alaskans’ acquisition and use of mammoth ivory.²

While these findings have been met with tremendous excitement from the scientific community, Drs. Wygal and Krasinski have another audience in mind when digging. “We’re thinking of how Alaska Indigenous communities want to see these projects progress, and the questions they have about their own ancestors. The age of helicopter science is over,” Dr. Wygal said. They have initiated community-based archaeology—an Indigenous-centered approach that is swiftly gaining momentum in the field—to ensure digs are conducted fairly, respectfully and inclusively. “Euro-American colonization has resulted in significant loss of land access for Indigenous peoples across the country,” Dr. Krasinski noted. “Now, instead of taking the lead in archaeological investigations, we are working to support and empower Indigenous communities to care for their heritage as they consider appropriate, like their ancestors did before them.”

Inspiring Adelphi’s Anthopology Students

This philosophy is one Drs. Wygal and Krasinski are careful to impart to their students. “The narratives we’re uncovering with this research are far richer and more complex than what we typically see reflected in popular culture because of collaboration,” Dr. Krasinski said. “I hope students who work with us are gaining appreciation for Indigenous peoples and the importance of preserving these sites for future generations. Ultimately, it’s about creating reciprocal relationships with people and the environment—learning to steward the land rather than exploit it.”

Their discoveries provide many opportunities for student research in Adelphi’s on-campus archaeology lab, which Dr. Wygal describes as a “bustling hub where undergraduates get to do graduate-level work.” Students learn to catalog, photograph and analyze the specimens recovered from the field. Drs. Wygal and Krasinski invite a handful of promising scholars to accompany them on trips to dig sites in Alaska, while some students attend field programs at other institutions.

The research team is currently supervising several independent student projects that build on their findings from the Holzman site. Anthropology major MacKenzie Pina, a junior, is running geochemical analyses on sediment samples to understand Ice Age dietary and cooking habits as well as migration patterns. This summer, Pina will be traveling to Koobi Fora in Africa for her field training. Anthropology major Lillian Barber, a sophomore, is reconstructing and analyzing a set of stone tools, which promises to shed light on ancient toolmakers’ methods. Barber will be an intern at the American Museum of Natural History this summer. And Casey Greenbaum, a fourth-year anthropology student, is analyzing the importance of waterfowl at the Holzman site and will be attending an archaeological field school in Bulgaria this summer. Taken together, their work offers a holistic perspective that Dr. Krasinski believes is key to understanding humanity. “I want students to think about the world in terms of interwoven themes,” she said. “The knowledge and skills we are gaining provides important contexts for living in an interconnected world.”

¹ Wygal, Brian T., Krasinski, Kathryn E., et al. “.” Environmental Archaeology, published online: 31 Jan 2022.

²Wygal, Brian T., Krasinski, Kathryn E., et al. “.” American Antiquity, vol. 87, iss. 1, January 2022, pp. 59-79.

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Research by Dr. Agelarakis has been widely published in scholarly journals and covered by news media throughout the world.

Led by Iosif Lazaridis, PhD, and David Reich, PhD, at Harvard University, the project was a cross-disciplinary initiative dedicated to developing the first-ever comprehensive archaeogenetic history of the Southern Arc during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, dating back about 7,000 to 3,000 years. Along with more than 200 co-authors from around the globe, Drs. Lazaridis and Reich turned their findings into a trio of studies published in Science in August 2022: “The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe,”¹ “A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia”² and “Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.”³ The research used a data set of unprecedented scope and size to close “major gaps in sampling in time, space and cultural context” (“The genetic history of the Southern Arc”), in the process decoding some long-standing mysteries about migration patterns, cultural diffusion and linguistic evolution among early Indo-European peoples.

Dr. Agelarakis’ Shanidar Cave sample, which dates back to the ninth millennium B.C., established a prehistoric baseline for project researchers working on later periods. Armed with information about Shanidarians’ age ranges, genders, diets, anatomy, travel patterns and survival ratios, they were able to identify connections between different groups that traversed the Southern Arc, as well as the cultural practices, skills and technologies they brought with them. According to Dr. Agelarakis, the project’s novelty cannot be overstated. “This is something I’m excited to tell my grandchildren about, how we’re able to complete a massive worldwide project that relies solely on ancient genomic samples,” he noted. “We’re the first to be able to substantiate these kinds of conclusions through molecular tracking.”

The project also lays important groundwork for other research. A recent study Dr. Agelarakis co-authored with another team, “Ancient DNA reveals admixture history and endogamy in the prehistoric Aegean” (Nature, Ecology & Evolution, 2023), builds on work completed by the Lazaridis-Reich project to illuminate connectedness in an entirely different region. In analyzing the flow of genetic signatures in Crete, the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands between the seventh and first millennia B.C., the authors were able to confirm the biological dimensions of certain cultural transitions that had never before been mapped. Ultimately, they write, “Our results highlight the potential of archaeogenomic approaches in the Aegean for unraveling the interplay of genetic admixture, marital and other cultural practices.”

While Dr. Agelarakis looks forward to continuing his work on the Shanidarian samples, he is most excited about sharing the broader lessons of archaeogenetics with his students. “In some ways, these perspectives appear to be new, but really they’re just strengthening what we’ve been saying all along, that we are all siblings,” he explains. “Genetically speaking, our differences are minuscule; it’s only in our upbringing and our education that we create difference. We all began as hunters and gatherers in prehistoric times. I always tell my students that we have to use this data to fulfill our responsibility as custodians to the Earth—that we have to look to our common past in order to ensure a common future.”

¹ Agelarakis, Anagnostis, et al. “.” Science, vol. 377, Iss. 6609, 26 August 2022.

² Agelarakis, Anagnostis, et al. “.” Science, vol. 377, iss. 6609, 25 August 2022, pp. 940-951.

³ Agelarakis, Anagnostis, et al. “.” Science, vol. 377, iss. 6609, 25 August 2022, pp. 982-987.

⁴ Agelarakis, Anagnostis, et al. “.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 7, 2023, pp. 290-303.

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She’d been accepted into the premier fellowship program, offered by George Washington University and the National Museums of Kenya.

Now back from the six-week program and starting her senior year, the Honors College student and anthropology major said the experience was “everything and more” than she expected, connecting her with students from the United States, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, and helping her build on the extensive research she has done alongside faculty in Adelphi’s labs.

“I could not have been better introduced to fieldwork if I had asked,” she said. “I met so many amazing people and learned so much and, beyond that, I felt so supported and am now connected to an amazing network.”

“An Incredible Educational Experience”

Running this summer from June 16 to July 30, the annual KFFS program provides students with hands-on training in paleoanthropology in an area rich in Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary deposits. The region has produced a treasure trove of archaeological materials as well as human and hominin—or, ancestors of modern humans—specimens.

Students develop their own projects in the program, collecting samples in the field, analyzing them and presenting their findings in the fall.

Pina presented the findings of her summer research to the other fellowship students at the Koobi Fora Field School.

“All KFFS projects are connected to studying the environment that the hominins evolved in,” Pina said. “It was actually a record year for the number of hominin remains that were found during a season. We were very lucky.”

Pina’s project tested her knowledge of anthropology as well as the background in chemistry and forensic anthropology that she has gained by minoring in the subjects.

“My project was contextualizing Plio-Pleistocene landscapes using microbotanicals such as phytoliths and microcharcoal,” she explained. “I studied one of the layers of sediment known as the Okote member to understand the types of landscapes and fire activity during that time period. Because observing phytoliths requires some chemical processing, it is connected to my Honors thesis, which covers chemical applications to archaeology.”

The research was only part of Pina’s motivation for applying for the KFFS fellowship.

“My main goal was to learn archaeological techniques such as excavation and mapping,” she said. “I did, but I also learned things I didn’t even know existed—like advanced surveying equipment—by tagging along with other students as they did their work. It got me interested in forensic archaeology and taphonomy, which is the process of fossilization. I’d like the chance to do some stable isotopic research, too.”

Her time in Africa was transformative, paying dividends beyond her area of study.

“I definitely grew by being outside of my comfort zone—and I mean beyond my huge fear of any type of bugs,” she said. “I was surrounded by strangers for six weeks, although we were able to bond very quickly since we all were in the same position. I’ll also have to present my findings to the others later this month. I wouldn’t go so far as say that I am comfortable presenting yet, but I am starting to learn my style and gain confidence in not having all the answers. Beyond even all that, I learned things I cannot begin to quantify or describe.

“It was an incredible educational experience.”

Conducting Research With Adelphi Faculty

This school year, Pina will return her attention to the research she is doing for her Honors thesis, analyzing ancient soil specimens from Alaska for enhanced phosphorus, which is a sign of past human life. The project is based on her work with Adelphi faculty members Kathryn Krasinski, PhD, associate professor of anthropology, and Brian Wygal, PhD, professor and chair of anthropology and director of the environmental studies and sciences program.

“They came gave me this opportunity and really taught me how interdisciplinary anthropology is,” Pina said. “I truly learned how to apply all my knowledge in different areas, like chemistry, through anthropology.”

Dr. Krasinski and Dr. Wygal, who are investigating the appearance of the first humans in what is now North America, recently recovered ancient hair specimens and environmental DNA (eDNA) from soil in Alaska that dates back to the Ice Age, approximately 14,000 years ago. Student researchers, including Pina, joined the professors to study the samples and shed light on how humans adapted to climate changes.

Pina took over the research herself in April 2023, spending almost every Friday in the chemistry lab on campus. She’s already recovered additional hair samples in hearth deposits. She plans to finish her research in the fall and complete her paper in Spring 2024.

“I’m hoping that I get some more strong results for my thesis,” Pina said. “But if there’s anything I’ve learned from my experiences so far, it’s that science is a process. So, even if you don’t get cut-and-dried answers, you still get something to work with. The fact that there isn’t a cut-and-dried answer is something in itself.”

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Ariel Barrera ’20 focuses her research on early hominoids. She began working as an anthropology lab assistant as a first-year student, helping Associate Professor Brian Wygal, PhD, research and illustrate an article. She recently earned an MS in Human Skeletal Biology from New York University. This fall, she’ll begin her PhD studies as part of a joint program with the American Museum of Natural History Richard Gilder Graduate School (RGGS), the CUNY (City University of New York) Graduate Center and the NYCEP (New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology).

Kyle Morrison ’15 similarly continued his anthropological studies beyond Adelphi. After heading to University College London to earn an MA in Public Archaeology, Morrison earned a spot as a doctoral candidate at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. His thesis examines what American conservatism means in the post-Trump era, especially to more moderate Republicans.

Other students find that anthropology can jump-start all kinds of careers. “Anthropology faculty members really do mean it when we say you can study almost anything from an anthropological perspective,” said Hanna Kim, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology. “And we welcome them to do so.”

These four alumni prove Dr. Kim’s point: From their beginnings in an archaeology class or a forensic anthropology lab, they have gone on to pursue other paths.

Allison Adler ’15: Helping Female Asylum Seekers

As a full-time social worker at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Women’s Mental Health Shelter, Allison Adler ’15 relies on her anthropology skills every day. “Anthropology gave me the tools for understanding why my clients behave in certain ways and for finding solutions that fit with their cultures and beliefs,” she said.

Adler thanks the combined forces of Adelphi’s anthropology department and the Honors College for inspiring her professional and educational journey. By studying women’s cultural roles through anthropology, literature and other disciplines, Adler ultimately realized she needed to work closely on women’s issues.

After earning an MA in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and an MSW from Fordham University, Adler helped found , a nonprofit platform that links female asylum seekers to health and mental health resources.

Vikram Bal ’18: Pursuing Social Work

Like Adler, Vikram Bal ’18 sees a direct connection between anthropology and social work. This fall they’ll begin the MSW program at Fordham University.

“I believe anthropology is an exploration of human behavior through a holistic lens and how various institutional powers may influence that behavior,” said Bal. “This is why it complements career paths in social justice and human rights.”

Bal said anthropology has influenced their professional work teaching English as a second language and their personal life. “As I encounter many different types of people, I’m able to listen from an open-minded and open-hearted perspective,” said Bal. “Rather than going with the instinct to immediately judge, I’m reminded of my education and am able to ask questions that allow me to explore the many layers of each person I meet.”

Alex Bautista ’17: Researching NPR Audiences

Alex Bautista ’17 currently works as a content and audience research analyst at National Public Radio (NPR), where he seeks to understand the needs of the racially and ethnically diverse audiences the organization serves. Previously, he worked as a research analyst for the Hallmark Channel.

“The anthropology department allowed me to gain experience presenting research in conference settings as a student.” This skill has served him well, whether he’s reporting on NPR’s social media metrics or the Hallmark Channel’s holiday performance.

Alyssa Booth ’20: Teaching English in Japan

“Anthropology is about how to understand the world around you when it isn’t your cultural background,” said Alyssa Booth ’20, who said she uses this skill as an English teacher in Hokkaido, Japan.

the in Japanese in 2020, a program where Americans take immersive courses in languages deemed especially important by the U.S. government. However, she wasn’t able to complete the program due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Instead, she took a job teaching English in Hokkaido, Japan, once the borders opened to immerse herself in the Japanese language. Once she’s fluent, Booth hopes to pursue a higher degree in Japan.

She said writing a paper for an archaeology class taught by Dr. Wygal sparked her interest in Japanese history. “Without my experiences at Adelphi, I would never be living and working in Japan,” she said.

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