History Center exhibit chronicles excavation at Ithaca’s ‘Freedom Church’
The exhibit on Ithaca’s St. James A.M.E. Zion Church will open on Juneteenth with a community event scheduled for 4 p.m.
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Cornell’s Department of Anthropology is one of the most respected programs in the world with a long tradition of innovation and a legacy of leadership in the discipline. The work of its faculty traces the human career from the emergence of the species to the contemporary global moment.
Explore Our Department
Representing human activity around the world
Collections
The Anthropology Collections include approximately 20,000 items representing human activity around the world from the Lower Paleolithic to the present. Archaeological and ethnographic materials are about equally represented.
Located in 150 McGraw Hall, part of the original University Museum, the Collections are primarily a teaching and research tool and are not open to the public but can be visited by appointment by individuals and groups. Classes of up to 20 students can easily arrange sessions in the Collections to work with particular materials; many items can be signed out by faculty for use in their classes when a full visit to the Collections is not warranted. Click here for more information on the Anthropology Collections.
A long tradition of research and learning
The Cornell Department of Anthropology, as a separate entity, was formed in 1962. However, anthropology has been practiced at Cornell nearly from the founding of the university.
The department history page details our rich past, including the first century, the Cornell totem pole and the cross-cultural methodology project.
Anthropology News
Med student Grace Staes ’22 feels prepared for the work
Staes said her major in anthropology has proven to be an asset in medical school.
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Outstanding faculty win 2025 teaching and advising awards
Among those being recognized for exceptional teaching and mentorship this year are faculty members Begüm Adalet, Claudia Verhoeven, and Marcelo Aguiar.
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Featured Anthropology Major: Canyon Cross
"Anthropology is remarkably well positioned to offer us insight and solutions within some of the most complex issues of today, and the way that it is applied is entirely up to us."
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'Academic life becomes much more interesting when you see how its different areas can support one another.'
Aerin Mok is majoring in psychology and anthropology.
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Featured Anthropology Minor: Shuqian Lyu
"I am interested in visual anthropology and ethnography, particularly in topics such as ethics, representation, and emerging fields like sensory ethnography."
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Featured Anthropology Major: Anna Rose Marion
"Studying topics in environmental anthropology has allowed me to investigate the cultural, political, and social dimensions of human interactions with the environment across temporal and spatial scales."
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