Department Newsletter Spring 2025
Dig. Sift. Map.
Nearly 300 graduating students, faculty, and guests attended our Spring 2025 department Recognition Ceremony in the Lory Student Center Theatre.
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Michael Pante
- Professor and Chair
Message From Our Chair
Dear Friends,
Happy summer! It’s been an exciting year on campus, to say the least, and especially for me as I wrap up my first year as chair of our department. We just hosted our first ever department-level graduation ceremony for 250-plus students, families, friends, and faculty, and also graduated our first Anthropology Ph.D. students. Congratulations to Kelton Meyer and Zoey Walder-Hoge and their advisors!
Our undergraduate programs are thriving with our most recent class of 39 majors exceeding all previous incoming cohorts. We are excited to welcome an even larger cohort this coming Fall. We also continue to excel in research productivity, as reflected in our ranking among the top 5 anthropology departments in the country in research funding, which speaks to the incredible success of our faculty in securing external grants. Other institutions on the list include Harvard and Arizona State University.
Looking ahead, we are preparing for Anthropology and Geography’s 50th anniversary as a department, which we will celebrate this coming year with some fun and engaging alumni and student events and activities. Many thanks to the 120-plus alumni and friends who joined us at our department reception in Denver in April to kick off this milestone year! We are also excited about the progress on the renovated Clark Building and the plans for new class and lab spaces. Stay tuned for invites and more information later this summer!
In the meantime, browse our latest newsletter which is packed with stories about all these accomplishments and more, including fond farewell tributes to retiring faculty University Distinguished Professor Kathleen Galvin and Professor Merrill Johnson.
Please feel free to reach out and say hello: michael.pante@colostate.edu. It’s always great to connect with new and long-time alumni and colleagues.
We look forward to engaging with you in the coming year and thank you for your commitment to our department,
Michael
Department Highlights
The Doctors Are In!
This spring, Kelton Meyer, Ph.D. and Zoey Walder-Hoge, Ph.D. became the first-ever Anthropology Ph.D. students graduated from Colorado State University!
Meyer successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Modeling Spatial and Temporal Variability in a Folsom Lithic Scatter: Views from the Reddin Site, San Luis Valley, Colorado.” He is advised by Professor Jason LaBelle.
Walder-Hoge successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “U.S.-Driven Agricultural Development: Narratives, Knowledges, and Practices Directed Towards Northern Ethiopia’s Agro-Pastoral Landscapes.” Her advisor is University Distinguished Professor Kathleen Galvin.
READ about Meyer and Walder-Hoge’s research and this milestone
Galvin Retires as Pioneer and Trailblazer
After a celebrated 40-year research and teaching career, University Distinguished Professor Kathleen Galvin retired from CSU this spring. Galvin is recognized as a leader in transdisciplinary research across anthropology and human ecology.
READ about Galvin and an intimate Q&A in CSU’s “The Art of Research” series, December 2024
READ about Galvin’s accomplished career and being recognized as a UDP in 2022
Top Five in Research Funding!
The National Science Foundation’s latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey lists CSU Anthropology and Geography as #5 for Anthropology research funding, placing the department among the country’s most prestigious programs.
READ about the department ranking and funded research
READ more about the Top 5 HERD ranking via Rocky Mountain Collegian
From Myth Maps to the Metaverse: Johnson Retires
Geography Professor Merrill Johnson retired Fall 2024, closing out a 40-plus-year career in higher-ed leadership and education. Johnson, an innovator in exploring the educational potential of virtual worlds and technologies, helped launch the Geography major at CSU since arriving on campus in 2015.
Wilson Named Honors Professor of the Year
Anthropology Senior Instructor Emily Wilson, Ph.D., was named 2024-25 CSU Honors Professor of the Year. Wilson teaches online Anthropology courses with a focus on classical archaeology and cultures, and has also developed and co-leads several study-abroad classes that bring students to Hadrian’s Wall in northern England and Pompeii in Italy.
Outstanding Grad Finds Meaning and MIAs
David Bavencoff (ANTH B.A. 2025) – named the CSU Online 2025 Outstanding Graduate –completed the Online Anthropology major with plans to apply what he has learned to recover fallen service members and bring closure to MIA families.
Faculty & Department News
Snodgrass Research Makes Impact in Field and Fest
A survey of anthropologists’ teaching and research methods by Prof. Jeffrey Snodgrass and collaborators with the Ethnographic Research and Teaching Lab was the most downloaded and one of the top-read articles of 2024 in Annals of Anthropological Practice. Snodgrass also contributed to a CSU Psychology-led study of festivalgoers’ behaviors with drug checks and test strips, featured in Filter Magazine.
READ about the Snodgrass-led “deep hanging out” study and doctoral student Katya Zhao
Henry Maps Ancient Cities Around the World
Associate Professor Edward Henry has used lidar technology to map ancient cities in North America and Asia, and to gain insight into how ancient cities may have developed, grown, and changed during their eras of occupation.
Henry contributed to research with colleagues, published in Nature in 2024, that identified two centuries-old cities, located along the highlands of the Silk Road, in modern-day Uzbekistan.
READ about Henry and colleagues’ research in Uzbekistan via CSU SOURCE
Chennault Publishes Zine through Engaged Humanities Fellowship
Assistant Professor Carrie Chennault compiled research and engaged with organizers, justice advocates, organizers and formerly incarcerated individuals through her 2024-25 Blake Center Faculty Fellowship – and also helped publish a zine highlighting abolition methodologies and featuring artwork from CSU Geography and Sociology students.
READ the zine “Abolition Methodologies”
READ about the Prison Agriculture Lab, co-directed by Chennault
Pante Research Pushes Back Humans’ European History
Newly published research, featuring the work of Professor and Chair Michael Pante, has uncovered groundbreaking evidence suggesting that early human ancestors were present in Europe much earlier than previously believed.
READ about Pante and colleagues’ research via CSU Source
READ about Pante’s research and lab via Rocky Mountain Collegian
LISTEN to Pante speak about cannibalism and cut marks on the Evolution Soup podcast
More News & Notes
Welcome new faculty members Associate Professor Michaela Howells, Assistant Professor Jacob Petersen-Pearlman, and Assistant Professor Landon Yarrington!
VIEW Petersen-Pearlman faculty page | VIEW Landon Yarrington faculty page
Professor Mary Van Buren’s 2024 book on Bolivian ore mining and colonialism, Silver “Thieves,” Tin Barons, and Conquistadors: Small-Scale Mineral Production in Southern Bolivia, was recognized as “a magisterial history of Andean extractive practices with global implications” and an “important, richly documented, and uniquely structured book” in a review by Tulane professor and Latin American history scholar Kris Lane, in the journal Technology and Culture, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. READ the book review (subscription required) || READ about Van Buren’s book via University of Arizona Press
CSU Paleontology Field School co-director Thomas Bown, Ph.D, is the coauthor of a new book, Heart Mountain Detachment Fault: A Critical Reappraisal, which offers a fresh view on a notorious Wyoming landslide and geology mystery. READ about Bown and his book
Assistant Professor Jonna Yarrington has been named a 2025-26 Faculty Fellow with the Blake Center for Engaged Humanities. She plans to launch an Eviction Lab at CSU to study displacement from rental housing in Fort Collins and Larimer County. READ more about Yarrington and the Blake Center
Professor Jason LaBelle’s research site in Rocky Mountain National Park made a list of “7 Strangest Archaeological Discoveries in Colorado” on the travel website, The Travel. READ the list – LaBelle’s site is Number 5
Assistant Professor Jacob Petersen-Pearlman co-organized a daylong symposium, The Past and Fturue of Groundwater in the West, at CSU in March, discussing groundwater management and governance across Colorado and the West.
Department faculty earned multiple awards and recognitions at this year’s All-College Awards for their contributions to ANTH/GR, the college, CSU, and their disciplines! Congratulations!
- Associate Teaching Professor Connie Fellmann & Professor Mica Glantz || Ann Gill Faculty Development Award for Collaborative Projects
- Professor Jeff Snodgrass || Ann Gill Faculty Development Award
- Professor Mary Van Buren || Dean’s Thumbs Up Award: Voices of Advocacy READ about the 2025 All-College Awards
Construction and renovations at the Clark Building are steadily progressing, with visible changes transforming the A wing and new B wing this past year. READ about renovations of the Clark Building including what’s in store for ANTH/GR via CSU SOURCE
Doctoral candidate Ray Sumner and his research were featured in a 5280 Magazine story exploring the history surrounding the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. Sumner has done extensive archaeological research for his dissertation on the 1865 Julesburg battle site in northeastern Colorado, one of many skirmishes between tribes and militias following the massacre. READ about Sumner’s research via 5280 Magazine
Geography Major Jonah Rupe (GR B.S. 2025) was named a College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Graduate Nominee for his thoughtful engagement and leadership in classes, the GIS Lab, and fieldwork. READ about Rupe and his next plans at CSU
The department hosted two excellent and well-attended seminars in biological anthropology in 2024-25, including talks from John Kappelman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Texas, and Thaís Pansani, Ph.D., of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
The Anthropology Graduate Student Society published two new volumes of Furthering Perspectives: Anthropological Views of the World during the past academic year featuring research from CSU graduate and undergraduate students. VIEW new and past volumes of Furthering Perspectives
KEEP UP with faculty research, publications, grants, media appearances, and speaking engagements at our Department Research & Scholarship page!
We’re Turning 50!
We are celebrating 50 years as a department and our even longer history on campus in 2025-26! Stay tuned for invites to Fall alumni and anniversary events as we recognize our evolution and achievements and set a course for our exciting next stage!
To kick things off, we hosted an Alumni & Friends reception this April during the Society for American Archaeology annual conference in Denver, with more than 120 alumni, friends, and colleagues coming out! Gratitude to the generations of alumni, faculty, and students who attended, especially emeritus faculty Dr. Calvin Jennings and Dr. Larry Todd! Thanks to our student volunteers and to our many partners on and off campus who made this event a success too!
Student Recognition
Student Accomplishments
Cheers to our Class of 2025 graduating students. VIEW the Recognition Ceremony Digital Program || VIEW Commencement Information and Photo Links
Congratulations to our graduate students who defended their dissertations, theses, portfolios, and proposals in 2024-25!
- Doctorate of Philosophy Anthropology: Dissertation Defense
- Kelton Meyer, “Modeling Spatial and Temporal Variability in a Folsom Lithic Scatter: Views from the Reddin Site, San Luis Valley, Colorado” | Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
- Zoey Walder-Hoge, “U.S.-Driven Agricultural Development: Narratives, Knowledges, and Practices Directed Towards Northern Ethiopia’s Agro-Pastoral Landscapes” | Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Galvin
- Master of Arts Anthropology: Thesis & Portfolio Defense
- Thomas Chittenden, “Land Reform, Liberalization, and Livelihoods: Negotiated Transformations in Vietnam’s Northern Mountain Region” | Advisor: Dr. Stephen Leisz
- Erin Gniewek, “3-D Micromorphological Comparison of Human and Carnivore Tooth Marks” | Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
- Robert Madden, “Chronology, Spatial Organization, and Mobility at Flattop Butte (5LO34), a Prehistoric Lithic Quarry in the Central Plains of North America.” | Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
- Nic Redford, “Towards Reconstructing Cities with AI: A Novel Machine Learning Approach For Archaeological Surveying and Preservation” | Advisor: Dr. Chris Fisher
- Reagan Ross, “Food and Black Livingness in the South Carolina Midlands” | Advisor: Dr. Carrie Chennault
- Ben Shirey, “Population and Empire: A New Demographic Model for the Purépecha Imperial Heartland” | Advisor: Dr. Chris Fisher
- April Tolley, “Quantitative Analysis of Percussion-Induced Bone Surface Modification with Applications to Middle Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania” | Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
- Doctorate of Philosophy Anthropology: Dissertation Proposal
- Tewabe Negash Kassaw, “Examining early Acheulean hominin material culture and feeding ecology at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania” | Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Congrats to Spring 2025 Dean’s List students! VIEW list
Student Presentations & Awards 2024-25
Throughout the year, undergraduate and graduate students, with support from faculty advisors, give oral presentations and presented posters sharing and discussing original research and scholarship at conferences across campus and the country. View the accordion listings to see our student presenters and award winners – hold your applause until we’re done!
Regional and National Conferences
Graduate and undergraduate students at the 2024 Rocky Mountain Biological Anthropology Association annual meeting in Denver, October 2024. (Image: Connie Fellmann)
2024 Rocky Mountain Biological Anthropology Association Annual Meeting, Denver, October
Anthropology Master’s student Jenna Dagher, poster. Advisor: Dr. Andrew Du
Anthropology Master’s student Erin Gniewek (M.A. 2025), poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Tewabe Negash Kessaw, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology major Tianna Weiland (B.A. 2024), poster
2024 Plains Anthropological Society Annual Meeting, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, October
Anthropology Master’s student Aleah Kuhr (ANTH BA, GR BS ’22), Graduate Student Poster Award, “Five Decades Later: A Fresh Perspective on the Integrity of the Porcupine Peak Site in Summit County, Colorado.” Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
2025 Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists (CCPA) annual meeting, Grand Junction, March
Anthropology major Ella Lang, First Place, Student Poster Award, “Exploring Storage Features at Bull Draw Shelter, Site 5MF607, Moffat County, Colorado.” Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
Anthropology major Katie Calhoon (B.A. 2025), Second Place, Student Poster Award, “Identifying Short-Term Occupation through Mass Analysis: Insights from Texas Creek Overlook (5RB2435) Rio Blanco County, Colorado.” Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
Anthropology major Julie Ireland (B.A. 2025), “The Art of Archaeology: Using Lithic Illustration to Improve Public Engagement.” Advisor: Dr. Jason LaBelle
Image: Katie and Cheryl Harrison, a Colorado archaeologist who worked on Texas Creek years ago through the CSU Laboratory of Public Archaeology (the predecessor to the Repository), gifted Calhoon an ink drawing Harrison made of the site following a silent auction — a special connection bonding past and current CSU archaeology and research.
2025 American Association of Biological Anthropologists Annual Meeting, Baltimore, March
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Alex Pelissero, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
2025 Paleoanthropology Society Annual Meeting, Denver, April
Anthropology Master’s student Erin Gniewek (M.A. 2025), poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Doctoral student Isabel Heslin, poster. Advisor: Dr. Andrew Du
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Tewabe Negash Kassaw, presentation. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Doctoral student Trevor Keevil (ANTH M.A.), presentation. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Master’s student Isabell Osborne, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Alex Pelissero, presentation. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Sarah Leitch (ANTH B.A. 2025), an Online Anthropology major, presented at the 2025 Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in Denver on “”The Horses of Chauvet Cave: A Horse Girl’s Perspective.” (Image: Greg Williams)
2025 Society for American Archaeologists Annual Meeting, Denver, April
Anthropology Master’s student Caroline Graham, poster. Advisors: Mary Van Buren and Edward Henry
Anthropology major Sarah Leitch (B.A. 2025), poster, “The Horses of Chauvet Cave: A Horse Girl’s Perspective.” Advisor: Greg Williams
On-Campus Conferences and Meetings
2024 CSU Graduate Student Showcase, November
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Tewabe Negash Kessaw, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Master’s student Isabell Osborne, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Anthropology Doctoral candidate Alex Pelissero, poster. Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
Fall 2024 Anthropology and Geography Distinguished Capstone Awards, December
Brandon Stringer, “Rolling for Confidence: An Ethnographic Exploration of Dungeons & Dragons and the Development of Self Efficacy.” Advisor: Dr. Jeff Snodgrass
Ellie Woodyard, “The Bad & The Ugly: How NAFTA Affects the Three Sister Crops and Indigenous Food Sovereignty.” Advisor: Dr. Jonna Yarrington
2025 Front Range Student Ecology Symposium, Fort Collins, February
GDPE graduate student and Geography TA Alyssa Mathews, Oral Presentation Award, “Using High-Resolution Satellite Imagery to Assess Land-Use and Land-Cover Change related to Goldmining in Ghana.” Advisor: Dr. Heidi Hausermann
Anthropology Master’s student Isabell Osborne, Oral Presentation Award, “A Quantitative Analysis of Homotherium Serum Tooth Marks.” Advisor: Dr. Michael Pante
2025 Celebrate Undergraduate Research & Creativity (CURC) Showcase, April
Sami Conca, College of Liberal Arts Honors Award, “Primate-Lizard Interaction During Early Eocene Climate Change.” Advisor: Kim Nichols
Katie Calhoon, “Identifying Short-Term Occupation through Mass Analysis: Insights from Texas Creek Overlook (5RB2435) Rio Blanco County, Colorado.” Advisor: Jason LaBelle
Lance Goodman, “Impacts of Forest Thinning on Regeneration and Species Dispersal in the Southern Rockies.” Advisor: Jason Sibold
Reagan “Atlas” Kuhn, “Eocene Mammal Responses to Climate Change.” Advisor: Kim Nichols
Ella Lang, “Exploring Storage Features at Bull Draw Shelter, Site 5MF607, Moffat County, Colorado.” Advisor: Jason LaBelle
Jonah Rupe, “Money Flows Downhill: Political-Ecological and Ecofeminist Perspectives on Ski Resorts in the Rocky Mountains.”
Spring 2025 Anthropology and Geography Distinguished Capstone Awards, May
Jack Bradbury, Archaeology Distinguished Capstone Award, “Board Games as a Fun and Educational Medium for Teaching Rudimentary Archaeological Methods and Practice.” Advisor: Dr. Jason Labelle
Madison Hylland, Biological Anthropology Distinguished Capstone Award, “Enlightening the ‘Dark Ages’: Embodiment of Political Disasters on Human Skeletal Remains.” Advisor: Dr. Michaela Howells
Isabella Iocalono, Cultural Anthropology Distinguished Capstone Award, “Perinatal Depression in India: Psychosocial and Cultural Influences on Maternal Mental Health” Advisor: Dr. Jeff Snodgrass
Julie Ireland, Archaeology Distinguished Capstone Award, “Through the Looking Glass: An Examination of Ancient Mesoamerican Mirrors Over Time.” Advisor: Dr. Chris Fisher
Jonah Rupe, Geography Distinguished Capstone Award, “Buddhist Monasteries’ Impact on Land Cover in the Kingdom of Bhutan.” Advisor: Dr. Steve Leisz
Katie Calhoon, Archaeology Honorable Mention, “Identifying Short-Term Occupation through Mass Analysis: Insights from Texas Creek Overlook (5RB2435) Rio Blanco County, Colorado.” Advisor: Dr. Jason Labelle