Press release for our new paper!
“…people across the world created inclusive political systems, even under difficult conditions…An understanding of the hallmarks of autocracy and democracy can help identify threats and pump the brakes on burgeoning totalitarian regimes.”
phys.org/news/2026-03...
I'm happy to share another publication from my team out today! Gratitude and congratulations to Abdulai Rashid, Nicole Rincon, and Nathan Rihani for this collaboration. www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
Who's looking for a post-doc? Consider the possibility of Penn State, where Dr. Laura Cabrera and I are collaborating on an NIH-funded project and could use another bright mind to help! (Learn about Dr. Cabrera's Lab at sites.psu.edu/lcabrera/) psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...
The title slide for a presentation titled: the importance of wetland resources in the socioecological systems of Central Asia. The background is the silhouette of horses and their riders standing in the shallows of a lake, with the sunset in the background.
Lab members are headed to DC this afternoon for the XVIII Annual Mongolian Studies Conference! Co-hosted by The Embassy of Mongolia and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History! #archaeology #history #ecology #mongolia #centralasia
How can we place Indigenous presence and colonial encounters in absolute time? How can we see beyond Spanish descriptions into the landscapes that contextualized encounters? How do we transcend the archaeology-history divide to understand the impacts and outcomes of encounters? #archaeology #history
Title slide for presentation: A micro history of an ancestral Muskogean town in southern Appalachia
Slide showing a slice of wood of a preserved house post. There are three stars on the post at different tree rings. Showing how multiple ages from a single post can be used to achieve a single high resolution age.
A map of the King site on the left indicating houses that were data. On the right is the total chronological model for the town.
Had a great time presenting on some of our recent work on early Indigenous-Spanish encounters this past weekend! #archaeology #history #ethnohistory
I was on @npr.org's #Shortwave Science Podcast in which they discuss whether you really need sports drinks talking about #hydration, oral rehydration salts, and more! Check it out: www.npr.org/transcripts/...
Over the past 2 years I've been guest editing a special issue for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on #water & #nutrition in a changing world. I spoke w/ the EIC of JAND Linda Snetselaar about this SI & why #watersecurity is critical to nutrition and health
www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZ8...
Cover for the program of the symposium showing a hand holding stalks of rice. The symposium showcases the project “Listen with Intention and Eat the Good Food”
The logo for the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
PhD Students Matt and Lakelyn are attending the Inaugural International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Foodways Research Symposium down in South Carolina!! #history #culture #food #foodways #archaeology
Currently in the Capriles Environmental Archaeology Lab @psuanthro.bsky.social using our incredible Keyence VHX-7000 to document very early Silk Road food remains (c. 2000 BP) from the Juuku Valley of highland Kyrgyzstan. Featuring: stunning images of peach pits, garden peas, and foxtail millet!
Lab research now available in ✨Mongolian✨🇲🇳 We are fortunate to work and partner with colleagues who take on the critical labor of translating the work of our team for our Mongolian colleagues, scholars, and community members. @cmcarolus.bsky.social @isazooarch.bsky.social @archaeojake.bsky.social
A picture of Matt at a computer, with a glowing green box to his left where a sectioned oyster is being zapped with lasers!
New blog post by Matt on some of his preliminary dissertation work! “Seasonal Oyster Collection by Gullah/Geechee Communities of the American Southeast through Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)” seafront-project.com/post/seasona...
PhD Student Matt Picarelli-Kombert is currently in Mainz, Germany collecting dissertation data on oysters excavated from enslaved and Free Black, Gullah-Geechee communities along the Georgia coast! #archaeology #ecology
Why is Matt zapping oyster shells thousands of times with lasers??!!
This week we’re analyzing oysters with Dr. @niklashausmann.bsky.social using laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) to “map” the elemental makeup of the oyster’s shell throughout its life 1/3 #archaeology #ecology
Title slide that reads "From the Cradle to the Grave: Homo naledi and the evolution of development, Zachary Cofran Vassar College, Penn State University, November 11 2025." The slide includes an image of a globe centered on the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa, next to an image depicting many individuals of the species Homo naledi preparing to toss a dead body into a cave.
Thanks to @archaeojake.bsky.social and the Penn State Anthropology department for letting me explore some ideas about the evolution and development of our quirky cousin Homo naledi
🚨Social scientists! @psuanthro.bsky.social & @ssripennstate.bsky.social are hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor exploring how social & ecological environments shape reproduction, growth, &/or development. Review starts soon! Please share widely! psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...
🚨 New paper published by prof Nick Holowka and colleagues in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage! Give it a look! 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🚨 New paper published in @peerj.bsky.social by Profs Tim Ryan, Joan Richtsmeier, and colleagues! Give it a look! 🔗 peerj.com/articles/201...
🚨 Hey!! We’re hiring an archaeologist!! Come hang out with us!!
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...
✨ Faculty Spotlight ✨
New publication out by one of our PIs, @archaeojake.bsky.social!! #archaeology @psuanthro.bsky.social @psuliberalarts.bsky.social
✨ Faculty Spotlight ✨
New Coursera course with Emily Gurley has reached 2,000 students since launching this summer! Please share with anyone interested in outbreaks and One Health. My module, with the wonderful Nazmun Nahar, highlights the role of social science and anthropology.
www.coursera.org/learn/one-he...
✨ Faculty Spotlight ✨
