Anthropology

At the Field Museum, anthropology staff focus on three main areas of Anthropology: Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, and Biological Anthropology.

Cultural Anthropology

Anthropology staff at the Field Museum are dedicated to highlighting the important stories behind its historic collections while engaging in both practical and fundamental research related to material culture. This area examines how people and communities connect with and are influenced by their surroundings.

Over its more than 100-year history, research in cultural anthropology has undergone significant changes. Today, the dedicated staff in the anthropology department are focused on Collaborative Collections Care, which involves working closely with the communities from which these valuable items originate. 

These partnerships enhance the understanding of cultural materials in the Museum and foster trust between the Museum and those communities. By including community voices and organizing visits to the collections, anthropology staff promote a shared responsibility for care, integrating Indigenous knowledge and practices. This progressive approach leads to improved documentation, deeper insights into the collections, and a strong commitment to ethical stewardship and conservation of the materials.

Archaeology

Field Museum anthropologists are dedicated to enhancing our understanding of human evolution, culture, society, and diversity through innovative fieldwork and research with their collections. They utilize Archaeological Science to explore human history using the latest technology. The team of skilled archaeologists conducts surveys and digs around the world, discovering remarkable artifacts from the Field Museum's extensive archaeological collections.

The Anthropology Division also houses the Elemental Analysis Facility (EAF), equipped with advanced tools that enable the rapid analysis of materials discovered during digs and fieldwork, facilitated by expert curators. These modern techniques provide new insights into collections that have been preserved at the Museum for over a century.

Additionally, the Anthropology Spatial Analysis Laboratory serves as a center for employing advanced technology to study archaeological materials. The lab uses tools such as GIS, satellite imaging, and ground-based geophysics. Resources include powerful computers running programs like ArcGIS and Agfasoft Photoscan, which analyze information at various levels, from individual sites to global perspectives. High-tech equipment, such as drones, total stations, and GPS units, is used for mapping. Ground-penetrating radar, magnetometers, and specialized software open up new avenues for research. The lab is led by Dr. Laure Dussubieux.

Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropology, formerly known as physical anthropology, is a branch of anthropology that examines the biological, physical, and social aspects of humans and our evolutionary ancestors. At the Field Museum, the anthropology staff focus on understanding human variation, how people adapt to different environments, and the biological factors that influence health and disease. They explore important topics like human evolution and human biosocial diversity. Field Museum anthropologists also care for the remains of thousands of individuals from archaeological and medical sources, working to document individuals from various global and temporal contexts and to facilitate research and the return of individuals to their descendants.

Biological anthropologists often face the challenge of balancing scientific research and collections care with the wishes and rights of the deceased and their culturally connected groups. Working closely with the Museum’s Center for Repatriation, Tribal Relations, and Provenance Research, they engage in collaborative practices, obtain informed consent from community representatives whenever possible, and develop policies that respect the values and traditions of descendant communities. The museum uses these policies, along with other established community or professional guidelines, to prioritize the dignity and respect of the deceased as well as their descendants.