School of Human Evolution and Social Change

01/10/2025

The old adage, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” has taken on new meaning for SHESC assistant professor India Schneider-Crease. Schneider-Crease's Zelaki Project recently won the Presidents Award for its fight to turn plastic pollution in Ethiopia into valuable products. Read more: 🌍🌟
https://news.asu.edu/b/20250110-shesc-faculty-project-awarded-presidents-award-global-engagement

12/27/2024

As we look to 2025, archaeologists, including SHESC's Michael E. Smith, share what discoveries they're most excited to make in the new year. Here's what they said:

There is so much more to be found through archaeology, and many mysteries to be solved through archaeological research.

12/27/2024

A king's tomb? The site of a lost city? Archaeologists, including SHESC's Michael E. Smith, revealed their favorite finds of 2024! Read here:

Archaeology is a subject that fascinates and delights. Its discoveries tell us more about the history of us and our world.

12/04/2024

"This year is the 50th anniversary of the discovery of ‘Lucy’ – the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton which provided a crucial missing link in our evolutionary tree."

Two School of Human Evolution and Social Change professors provided the Blazing the Trail podcast with a deeper understanding of Homo sapiens history from “Lucy”—the 3.2 million-year-old skeleton—to today. Listen to how their contributions helped provide insights into key milestones in our human journey.

More:

BLAZING THE TRAIL International Experts Create New Podcast on our Epic Human Story Sydney, Tuesday 3 December, 2024: Launched today, Blazing the Trail, a five-episode podcast series developed by Breakthru Productions, Australian Museum and University of Sydney, incorporates the latest human evolutio...

10/22/2024

When Donald Johanson discovered the Lucy fossil — considered a direct human ancestor — it hit paleoanthropology “like a sledgehammer,” says Ian Tattersall, curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History.

The discovery of the Lucy fossil skeleton in 1974 shook the science of human origins. But when her bones were found in the Ethiopian desert 50 years ago, Donald…

10/21/2024

Wayfinding prowess is more than a neat hat trick, according to SHESC assistant professor Helen Davis. The comparatively poor spatial navigation abilities of people in the Western world — exacerbated, mounting research suggests, by people’s deepening reliance on GPS systems — tend to be treated as the norm, she says. Yet her work with the Tsimane and other foraging communities suggests such skills are highly malleable.

Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.

10/14/2024

Join the MS Global Health Program for a career panel with Gilbert Bonsu, Executive Officer of USAID Kenya, on Thursday, Nov. 7. https://ow.ly/uUmz50TLby6

10/07/2024

Congratulations to SHESC doctoral student, Zaira Martin, on being named a 2024 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar! Martin is one of three ASU students to receive the prestigious designation.

Martin’s research interests lie in investigating the experiences of unaccompanied child immigrants from Latin America to the United States, with a focus on young girls/women. Her research aims to advance health equity by addressing the unique challenges faced by young immigrant women, who encounter specific gender-based risks and barriers.

https://ow.ly/U1vi50TGhoI

06/27/2024

Repost from
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ONE HEALTH AUSTRALIA 2024 Study Abroad HIGHLIGHTS

ONE HEALTH recognizes that environmental health, animal health, and human health are all connected. The ONE HEALTH perspective has only recently begun to be integrated into US Medicine and Public Health, but the interconnectedness of the land and the living is found widely among many cultures since time immemorial.

Through lectures, activities, and experiences, we studied the social, cultural, and institutional dimensions of health and sustainability. Sustainability is difficult to attain because of competing social interests of stakeholders, dynamic ecosystems, incomplete knowledge, and interaction between phenomena on multiple scales across time & space.

Big thanks, among others, to:

08/16/2023

🚨 CONTEST ALERT 🚨

Follow us on our new Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/SHESC.ASU
For a chance to win new SHESC Swag!

At Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, we investigate what makes us human and use new knowledge to foster a healthier, more sustainable world.

08/15/2023

Archaeologist Joel Palka talks about the importance of waterscapes in ancient Maya culture in his latest publication in the journal Ancient Mesoamerica.

“I have been researching the importance of fish farming and the use of water resources (think turtles, ducks, reeds, etc.) for human consumption in ancient Mexico and Central America, rather than just agriculture,” Palka said.

“Indigenous people have utilized a variety of plants and animals in their daily lives, and have not just focused on agriculture, which is more of a Western society perspective. Most archaeological research focuses on the rise and benefits of agriculture, and that’s unfortunate since many societies actually have focused on integrated food sources and grocery lists that also involved gathering, household gardening, hunting and fishing.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/3KGIG0c

📸 The split Mirador sustenance-water mountain of origin on an Aztán-like island (top center) with canals, fish reservoirs, vegetation and fields around lakes at Mensabak, Chiapas. Photo courtesy Joel Palka/Mensabak Archaeological Project

08/11/2023

Please join us on our new and updated Facebook account for information on events, stories and more! Our old account will be phased out on Oct. 31, so jump on over and join us on this page: https://www.facebook.com/SHESC.ASU