News

Deforestation is changing the way monkeys communicate in their natural habitat, according to a new study led by Laura Bolt, an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology. The research offers the first evidence in animal communication scholarship of differences in vocal behaviours in response to different types of forest edge areas, particularly areas changed by human activity.

Congratulations to Dr. Alexis Dolphin for receiving a Canadian Foundation for Innovation – John R. Evans Leaders Fund grant ($233,000) in support of her work founding the “Ancient and Contemporary Environmental Bioindicators Laboratory (ACEBioLab)” in the Department of Anthropology. 

Congratulations to 2014 Public Issues Anthropology Masters graduate Thomas Siek on recently completing his PhD through the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.

The members of the Anthropology department were saddened to learn of the passing on September 4, 2019, of Professor Emeritus Dr. Thomas Abler, at the age of 78.

The Faculty of Arts convocation occurred on June 12. See some highlights and pictures.

The members of the Anthropology department were saddened to learn of the passing of one of its most distinguished and productive retired members, Dorothy Counts. The following obituary nicely captures what an extraordinary life she lived:

Dorothy Ellen Ayers Counts
08 January 1937 – 27 October 2018

Dorothy came into this world on 08 January 1937 in San Antonio, Texas, and departed on 27 October 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer’s. She made the transition easily and peacefully surrounded by the love of her family.

On Thursday, October 9, 2014, Dr. Robert Park delivered an exciting public lecture in the ML Theatre of the Arts entitled, "Finding Franklin's Ships and other remnants of the 1845 Northwest Passage Expedition."

This lecture was video recorded and can now be seen on YouTube below.

Four graduate students and five undergraduate students, along with Prof. Liston, attended the Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Association (BARFAA) meetings in Michigan, October 17-18.  

The Department of Anthropology's very own Dr. Robert Park and Dr. Douglas Stenton played a pivotal role in the recent historical discovery of the HMS Erebus.

See today's Waterloo Record for more on Dr. Park's role in the discovery: http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4912625--nice-find-by-university-of-waterloo-archeologist-s-team-preceded-erebus-discovery/ 

The Anthropology department is pleased to announce the addition of three new faculty members. Seçil Daǧtaș, an expert in the anthropology of religion and the anthropology of gender and feminism, and Christopher Watts, an expert in the archaeology of monumentality, landscape practices, materiality and relational ontologies, particularly here in the lower Great Lakes region, will be joining the department as Assistant Professors.