Adam Van Arsdale
Professor of Anthropology
Engaged in questions on the evolution of biological variation and its connections to culture through the fossil record.
As an anthropologist, I am interested in the various ways we try to construct knowledge about the human condition. As a biological anthropologist with a specialization in paleoanthropology, I am particularly interested in how we can employ evolutionary theory to understand human biological variation by looking at patterns of variation in the human fossil record. I am currently involved in several projects that build out of this interest.
I love the fieldwork side of paleoanthropology. Going back to graduate school I have a long-standing research interest in the fossil evidence for the dispersal of fossil humans within and outside of Africa. For more than a decade, I worked at (and helped co-develop a field school) the Lower Paleolithic site of Dmanisi, Georgia, one of the earliest fossil hominin sites outside of Africa, dating to approximately 1.8 million years before present. In recent years, my work in this area has moved east to Kazakhstan, where I continue to explore questions around the dispersal, population structure, and eco-geographic constraints that operate on Paleolithic populations. I am currently conducting National Geographic-funded exploratory work in South-Central Kazakhstan, attempting to identify new fossil/archaeological localities that might help us better understand the complex demographic structure of hominin populations in the Middle and Late Pleistocene.
One of my passions within biological anthropology is making the ideas and material of human evolution more accessible to the public. For example, I recently completed the production of podcast series, “Running for Science: Science for Running,” that highlighted the work of researchers who specialize in the evolution of human running (anatomy, biomechanics, energetics, neurobiology), as well as chronicling my own process of training for my first-ever Boston marathon. I have also been working to develop more accessible teaching resources through the construction, in collaboration with colleagues on campus, of a virtual-reality (VR) evolutionary anatomy lab. This VR application allows my students to access, explore, and interact with human skeletal anatomy and the human fossil record in ways that are not possible in the “real” world.
One of my research interests that has developed directly out of my teaching at Wellesley is a focus on how increasingly available human genetic/genomic information informs our understanding of what it means to be human. Genetic data, derived from both living people and from fossils, have become important sources of information about our evolutionary past. These kinds of data are also increasingly available on a personal level in the form of clinical genetic tests or direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic services. How these kinds of data interact with understandings of concepts like race, ancestry, or even the individual are complex, and predicated on existing social, legal, and politic structures, in addition to the biology of the genome itself.
With my teaching, my goal is to always connect the material we are exploring to the lives of my students. My teaching includes the introductory course in biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, human evolution, race and human variation, (in)visible Native America, anthropological genetics, and personal genomics.
Outside of my life at the College, I spend most of my time, along with my wife, who is a member of Wellesley’s French Department, keeping up with our three kids and our family dog. I am always happy to be outside, watching sports, or preparing/consuming food!
Education
- B.A., Emory University
- B.S., Emory University
- M.A., University of Michigan
- Ph.D., University of Michigan
Current and upcoming courses
Forensic Anthropology
ANTH209
The identification of human remains for criminological and political purposes is widespread. This course explores issues in the identification and interpretation of human bones including methods for determining sex, age, stature, and ancestry as well as for identifying pathologies and anomalies. The course will pay particular attention to those anatomical elements, both soft tissue and bones, that aid in the reconstruction of individuals and their life history. In addition, the course explores search and recovery techniques, crime-scene analysis, the use of DNA in solving crimes, and the role of forensic anthropology in the investigation of mass fatalities from both accidents and human rights violations.
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The Biology of Human Difference
ANTH254
How do we account for the many similarities and differences within and between human populations? Axes of human “difference”– sex, gender, race, class, sexuality, nationality – have profound consequences. These differences shape not only group affiliation and identity but have been shaped by colonial and national histories. They shape social structures such as socioeconomic status, professions, work mobility, as well as stereotypes about personal traits and behaviors. The biological sciences have been very important in the history of differences. Scientists have contributed to bolster claims that differences are determined by our biology – such as research on sex and racial differences, notions of the “gay” gene, math abilities, spatial ability etc. Conversely, scientists have also contributed to critiquing claims of difference – challenging the idea that sex, gender, race, sexuality are innate, and immutable. How do we weigh these claims and counterclaims? We will begin with a historical overview of biological studies on “difference” to trace the differing understandings of the “body” and the relationship of the body with identity, behavior and intellectual and social capacity. We will then examine contemporary knowledge on differences of sex, gender, race, class, and sexuality. Using literature from biology, anthropology, feminist studies, history and science studies, we will examine the biological and cultural contexts for our understanding of “difference.” How do we come to describe the human body as we do? What is good data? How do we “know” what we know? The course will give students the tools to analyze scientific studies, to understand the relationship of nature and culture, science and society, biology and politics. (ANTH 254 and WGST 254 are cross-listed courses.)