Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to you about a fundraising campaign for the W. W. Howells Prize. As we hope you are aware, the Howells Prize is awarded by the Biological Anthropology Section of the American Anthropological Association to recognize outstanding books in biological anthropology.
The W.W. Howells Prize was established in 1993 to honor William White Howells, then emeritus professor of anthropology at Harvard University. The prize is in recognition of the important contributions Professor Howells made to biological anthropology and anthropology in general. He served as President of the American Anthropological Association (1951) and as Editor of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (1949-1954) and received the American Anthropological Association Distinguished Service Award (1978) and the American Association of Physical Anthropologists Darwin Award (1992). Professor Howells was an outstanding mentor to graduate and undergraduate students and a dedicated scholar who excelled at introducing the public to biological anthropology. One of the intents of the Howells Prize is to encourage a high standard of writing and scholarship as exemplified by Professsor Howells’ work; thus the award is presented to books that represent the highest standard of scholarship and readability and that inform a wider audience of the significance of biological anthropology.
To date the W. W. Howells Prize has been awarded to eighteen books. To our knowledge the Howells Prize is the only award that specifically honors books in biological anthropology. As such it is a unique opportunity to recognize the exceptional work of our colleagues.
The W.W. Howells Award is supported by income from an endowment to the American Anthropological Association for the purpose of this award. However, this income has been reduced by recent low interest rates which threaten the long-term viability of the award. The Biological Anthropology Section of the AAA is undertaking this fundraising drive to increase the Howells Endowment Fund so that we can better honor both the memory of an eminent biological anthropologist and the outstanding work that biological anthropologists are doing today. Our goal in this drive is to raise $10,000, all of which will be added to the fund, to increase the income it generates. Your generous donation will help us reach this goal. Checks for contributions should be made out to the American Anthropological Association with the notation Howells Fund in the memo line. Contributions should be sent to the Howells Award, American Anthropological Association, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201.
Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Sara Stinson,
Chair of the W.W. Howells Fund, on behalf of The Executive Committee of the Biological Anthropology Section of the American Anthropological Association
Please complete this form and include it with your contribution.
Thank you for your contribution to the W.W. Howells Award
The AAA is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization and your gift may be tax deductible according to law. Please consult your personal tax advisor for appropriate deductibility. FEIN 53-0246691
The Biological Anthropology Section (BAS) of the American
Anthropological Association comprises a wide range of anthropologists and
students whose interests converge on questions related to the evolution
and biological development of humans from a comparative perspective.
Specific areas of interest include the study of non- human primates as
models for understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that
shaped the biology and behavior of humans and our ancestors, studies
of the fossil record of humans and hominids that reveal patterns of
evolutionary change, and studies of the biology and genetics of
modern humans for insights into adaptation and variation.
The BAS hosts a number of events at the annual meetings of the AAA, including sponsored oral and poster presentations and symposia and a Distinguished Lecture. We also select a Student Prize from among the student presentations, and we award the W.W. Howells Book Award during our business meeting. We welcome new nominations for the book award, as described on the book award page, and the participation of new and continuing members in the BAS.
The BAS hosts a number of events at the annual meetings of the AAA, including sponsored oral and poster presentations and symposia and a Distinguished Lecture. We also select a Student Prize from among the student presentations, and we award the W.W. Howells Book Award during our business meeting. We welcome new nominations for the book award, as described on the book award page, and the participation of new and continuing members in the BAS.
Letter from Karen Strier
BAS Prez
September 24, 2012
Dear BAS Members,
I am once again very happy to write with some BAS news and previews of BAS events that are scheduled for the upcoming AAA annual meetings. This year, the meeting will be held from 14-18 November in San Francisco, CA, and we are hoping to see record numbers of you there. Let me apologize in advance for the length of this message; I have tried to format it so that it will be easy to scan but I can't promise anything after it goes through the AAA list-server mechanism that distributes it to your inboxes. So....
First, announcements:
Election results: Many thanks to everyone who participated in the BAS elections. We had a great slate of candidates, with the winners as follows:
President-elect: Rachel Caspari
Member-at-Large: Adam Van Arsdale
W.W. Howell's Book Award: It is a pleasure to communicate on behalf of the W.W. Howell's Book Award committee (chaired by Sara Stinson) the winner of the 2012 award:
"Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding” by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy.
Please join me in congratulating Sarah in person when she is presented with her award at the BAS Business meeting on the evening of Friday, November 16, 6:15 PM-7:30 PM
2012 BAS Distinguished Lecture: Please come for the treat of hearing Darna Dufour talk on "Anthropological Perspectives on Nutrition Transitions." Darna’s talk will be on Friday, November 16, 2012, beginning at 7:30 PM (immediately after the BAS Business Meeting). We are planning the BAS reception immediately following Darna’s lecture.
2011 Student Prize: The results have already been announced and posted on our web site (chaired by Katie MacKinnon):
• 2011 Student Prize: Meredith Ellis, Syracuse University
"A Disciplined Childhood: A Social Bioarchaeology of the Subadults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church"
• 2011 Runner up: Valentine Volk, Cleveland State University
"A Preliminary Assessment of Health and Disease at the Late Woodland Mayer Site, Vermillion, Ohio"
New Opportunities:
1. Student Prize, 2012: We encourage all students (and BAS members who know of students) who are interested in competing for the 2012 student prize at this year’s AAA meeting to submit your name, paper title, and session title to Robin Nelson, current BAS Student Prize Committee chair, via email at robin.nelson@ucr.edu by November 7th to be included in the competition.
2. Positions available: We are seeking a replacement for current BAS newsletter editor, Virginia Vitzthum, who has provided years of service. The position would begin right after this year’s meeting. Please contact Virginia at vitzthum@indiana.edu if you have any questions about what the position entails, and let me know if you are interested in being considered. After this year’s meeting, some other positions will be opening on the BAS Executive Board. If you are interested in standing for election, please let us know.
There are also a number of undesignated positions opening up in the AAA, all of which are appropriate for BAS members. These include positions on committees on:
1) ethics, 2) gender equity in anthropology, 3) human rights, 4) public policy, 5) minority issues in anthropology, 5) world anthropologies, and 6) nominations. To learn more or to indicate your willingness, go to the AAA website home page, www.aaanet.org where you can click on "AAA Leadership Nomination Process" and then self-nominate for as many positions for which you have some experience and desire. 3.
BAS Website: Our BAS webmaster, Kate Pechenkina (who is also our current Secretary/Treasurer), has had another great year of running the website. Check it out at: http://www.aaanet.org/sections/bas/index.html If you have any information or news you would like to see posted or linked to the website, let Kate (pechenkina@yahoo.com) or me know. The best way to receive information is as a PDF that Kate can simply upload or link as is.
AAA Sessions:
Below is a list of the BAS sponsored or co-sponsored sessions at the AAA meetings about which I am aware. If I've missed any, please let Kate know and she can add them to our website posting. As always, please be sure to confirm in the online program and meetings program. Thanks again for your support of the BAS. I’ll look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in November. As always, it is important to maintain our presence in the AAA; the greater our numbers, the stronger our voice.
Best wishes to all,
Karen Strier
BAS Prez
APRIL 15TH: This is the deadline for submitting proposals for volunteered papers, posters, workshops and special events at the AAA meetings. Details for proposal submissions are posted on the AAA website.
BAS seeks a liaison to work with CoPAPIA and COPAA on the creation of an “Expert Panel” of potential external reviewers to aid Tenure and Promotion anthropology committees in the evaluation of the dossiers of practicing, applied, and public interest anthropologists. More information is available at: www.aaanet.org/resources/departments/upload/Final-T-P-Document-2011.pdf Interested BAS members should contact Keri Brondo (Chair of CoPAPIA) at: kbrondo@memphis.edu
The 2011 W.W. Howells Book Award was presented to Wenda Trevathan for her book, Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Has Shaped Women’s Health (Oxford University Press, 2010). The book was recognized as an insightful and compelling consideration of the importance of evolution to women’s biology and health.
We are very pleased to announce the winner of this year's student prize for outstanding presentation:
Meredith Ellis,
Syracuse University
"A Disciplined Childhood: A Social Bioarchaeology of the Subadults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church"
This paper is going to be published in an edited volume by Jennifer L. Thompson, Marta Alfonso-Durruty, John J. Crandall, "Tracing Childhood: Bioarchaeological Investigations of Early Lives in Antiquity"
We are also pleased to announce a runner-up:
Valentine Volk, Cleveland State University
"A Preliminary Assessment of Health and Disease at the Late Woodland Mayer Site, Vermillion, Ohio"
Julienne Rutherford has been selected as a AAA Leadership Fellow
Letter from Karen Strier to BAS members
Invitation from Committee for the Future of Print and Electronic Publishing
We encourage BAS members to consider running for election for undesignated positions of governance of the AAA. Please feel free to self-nominate or contact any of the members of the Executive Committee if you are interested in being nominated. The list of open positions for 2012 is as follows:
AAA Secretary (3 –year term)
AAA Executive Board (3-year term):
Cultural Seat
Student Seat
Undesignated # 1
Undesignated # 4
Nominations Committee (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Minority Seat
Committee on Ethics (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Undesignated #1
Committee on the Gender Equity in Anthropology (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Undesignated #5
Committee for Human Rights (3-year term):
Undesignated #2
Undesignated #3
Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology (3-year term):
Undesignated #3
Undesignated #4
Committee on Public Policy (3-year term):
Undesignated #7
Labor Relations Committee (3-year term):
Undesignated #1
Undesignated #2
Find many interesting biological anthropology blogs by following this link
BAS 2010 student award winners:
Allison Foley (paper)
DISABILITY AND DISEASE IN THE ANCIENT MIDWEST: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MORTON SITE, IL
Honorable Mentions (listed alphabetically):
Allison Cantor (poster)
MATERNAL DIET IN RURAL COSTA RICA: IDENTIFYING CULTURAL NORMS AND CHANGING TRENDS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF OBESITY-RELATED DISORDERS.
Carolyn Jost Robinson (paper, w/Melissa Remis)
SYNERGISTIC HUMAN-WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS IN A PROTECTED AREA: ECOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS.
Mary Beth Timm (paper, w/Debra Martin and Jamie Vilos)
FISHING AND FARMING IN THE DESERT: AN ANALYSIS OF SACRO-ILIAC ENTHESES IN A BRONZE AGE (C. 2200-2000 BC) POPULATION
BAS Prez
September 24, 2012
Dear BAS Members,
I am once again very happy to write with some BAS news and previews of BAS events that are scheduled for the upcoming AAA annual meetings. This year, the meeting will be held from 14-18 November in San Francisco, CA, and we are hoping to see record numbers of you there. Let me apologize in advance for the length of this message; I have tried to format it so that it will be easy to scan but I can't promise anything after it goes through the AAA list-server mechanism that distributes it to your inboxes. So....
First, announcements:
Election results: Many thanks to everyone who participated in the BAS elections. We had a great slate of candidates, with the winners as follows:
President-elect: Rachel Caspari
Member-at-Large: Adam Van Arsdale
W.W. Howell's Book Award: It is a pleasure to communicate on behalf of the W.W. Howell's Book Award committee (chaired by Sara Stinson) the winner of the 2012 award:
"Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding” by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy.
Please join me in congratulating Sarah in person when she is presented with her award at the BAS Business meeting on the evening of Friday, November 16, 6:15 PM-7:30 PM
2012 BAS Distinguished Lecture: Please come for the treat of hearing Darna Dufour talk on "Anthropological Perspectives on Nutrition Transitions." Darna’s talk will be on Friday, November 16, 2012, beginning at 7:30 PM (immediately after the BAS Business Meeting). We are planning the BAS reception immediately following Darna’s lecture.
2011 Student Prize: The results have already been announced and posted on our web site (chaired by Katie MacKinnon):
• 2011 Student Prize: Meredith Ellis, Syracuse University
"A Disciplined Childhood: A Social Bioarchaeology of the Subadults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church"
• 2011 Runner up: Valentine Volk, Cleveland State University
"A Preliminary Assessment of Health and Disease at the Late Woodland Mayer Site, Vermillion, Ohio"
New Opportunities:
1. Student Prize, 2012: We encourage all students (and BAS members who know of students) who are interested in competing for the 2012 student prize at this year’s AAA meeting to submit your name, paper title, and session title to Robin Nelson, current BAS Student Prize Committee chair, via email at robin.nelson@ucr.edu by November 7th to be included in the competition.
2. Positions available: We are seeking a replacement for current BAS newsletter editor, Virginia Vitzthum, who has provided years of service. The position would begin right after this year’s meeting. Please contact Virginia at vitzthum@indiana.edu if you have any questions about what the position entails, and let me know if you are interested in being considered. After this year’s meeting, some other positions will be opening on the BAS Executive Board. If you are interested in standing for election, please let us know.
There are also a number of undesignated positions opening up in the AAA, all of which are appropriate for BAS members. These include positions on committees on:
1) ethics, 2) gender equity in anthropology, 3) human rights, 4) public policy, 5) minority issues in anthropology, 5) world anthropologies, and 6) nominations. To learn more or to indicate your willingness, go to the AAA website home page, www.aaanet.org where you can click on "AAA Leadership Nomination Process" and then self-nominate for as many positions for which you have some experience and desire. 3.
BAS Website: Our BAS webmaster, Kate Pechenkina (who is also our current Secretary/Treasurer), has had another great year of running the website. Check it out at: http://www.aaanet.org/sections/bas/index.html If you have any information or news you would like to see posted or linked to the website, let Kate (pechenkina@yahoo.com) or me know. The best way to receive information is as a PDF that Kate can simply upload or link as is.
AAA Sessions:
Below is a list of the BAS sponsored or co-sponsored sessions at the AAA meetings about which I am aware. If I've missed any, please let Kate know and she can add them to our website posting. As always, please be sure to confirm in the online program and meetings program. Thanks again for your support of the BAS. I’ll look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in November. As always, it is important to maintain our presence in the AAA; the greater our numbers, the stronger our voice.
Best wishes to all,
Karen Strier
BAS Prez
APRIL 15TH: This is the deadline for submitting proposals for volunteered papers, posters, workshops and special events at the AAA meetings. Details for proposal submissions are posted on the AAA website.
BAS seeks a liaison to work with CoPAPIA and COPAA on the creation of an “Expert Panel” of potential external reviewers to aid Tenure and Promotion anthropology committees in the evaluation of the dossiers of practicing, applied, and public interest anthropologists. More information is available at: www.aaanet.org/resources/departments/upload/Final-T-P-Document-2011.pdf Interested BAS members should contact Keri Brondo (Chair of CoPAPIA) at: kbrondo@memphis.edu
The 2011 W.W. Howells Book Award was presented to Wenda Trevathan for her book, Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Has Shaped Women’s Health (Oxford University Press, 2010). The book was recognized as an insightful and compelling consideration of the importance of evolution to women’s biology and health.
We are very pleased to announce the winner of this year's student prize for outstanding presentation:
Meredith Ellis,
Syracuse University"A Disciplined Childhood: A Social Bioarchaeology of the Subadults of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church"
This paper is going to be published in an edited volume by Jennifer L. Thompson, Marta Alfonso-Durruty, John J. Crandall, "Tracing Childhood: Bioarchaeological Investigations of Early Lives in Antiquity"
We are also pleased to announce a runner-up:
Valentine Volk, Cleveland State University
"A Preliminary Assessment of Health and Disease at the Late Woodland Mayer Site, Vermillion, Ohio"
Julienne Rutherford has been selected as a AAA Leadership Fellow
Letter from Karen Strier to BAS members
Invitation from Committee for the Future of Print and Electronic Publishing
We encourage BAS members to consider running for election for undesignated positions of governance of the AAA. Please feel free to self-nominate or contact any of the members of the Executive Committee if you are interested in being nominated. The list of open positions for 2012 is as follows:
AAA Secretary (3 –year term)
AAA Executive Board (3-year term):
Cultural Seat
Student Seat
Undesignated # 1
Undesignated # 4
Nominations Committee (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Minority Seat
Committee on Ethics (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Undesignated #1
Committee on the Gender Equity in Anthropology (3-year term):
Practicing/Professional Seat
Undesignated #5
Committee for Human Rights (3-year term):
Undesignated #2
Undesignated #3
Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology (3-year term):
Undesignated #3
Undesignated #4
Committee on Public Policy (3-year term):
Undesignated #7
Labor Relations Committee (3-year term):
Undesignated #1
Undesignated #2
Find many interesting biological anthropology blogs by following this link
BAS 2010 student award winners:
Allison Foley (paper)
DISABILITY AND DISEASE IN THE ANCIENT MIDWEST: A PALEOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MORTON SITE, IL
Honorable Mentions (listed alphabetically):
Allison Cantor (poster)
MATERNAL DIET IN RURAL COSTA RICA: IDENTIFYING CULTURAL NORMS AND CHANGING TRENDS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF OBESITY-RELATED DISORDERS.
Carolyn Jost Robinson (paper, w/Melissa Remis)
SYNERGISTIC HUMAN-WILDLIFE RELATIONSHIPS IN A PROTECTED AREA: ECOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS.
Mary Beth Timm (paper, w/Debra Martin and Jamie Vilos)
FISHING AND FARMING IN THE DESERT: AN ANALYSIS OF SACRO-ILIAC ENTHESES IN A BRONZE AGE (C. 2200-2000 BC) POPULATION
BAS Executive Committee communication
on AAA Mission Statement:
on AAA Mission Statement:
BAS members are invited to submit pieces to the AAA Writers Circle. As explained at the link below,
this is a project meant to encourage anthropologists to write op-eds and magazine articles, and to engage in other ways with public media:
http://www.aaanet.org/resources/AAA-Writers-Circle.cfm
This is an opportunity for biological anthropologists to convey the importance of our science to broad audiences. Please feel free to contact Dr. Barbara J. King about this at bjking@wm.edu.
http://www.aaanet.org/resources/AAA-Writers-Circle.cfm
This is an opportunity for biological anthropologists to convey the importance of our science to broad audiences. Please feel free to contact Dr. Barbara J. King about this at bjking@wm.edu.
