American Association of Physical Anthropologists

American Association of Physical Anthropologists
Name	American Association of Physical Anthropologists
Founded	1930
Headquarters	United States
Type	Professional society
Fields	Physical anthropology, biological anthropology, bioarchaeology, primatology

American Association of Physical Anthropologists is a professional society founded in 1930 that advances research and education in human biological and physical variation. The organization connects scholars across North America and internationally including researchers associated with Smithsonian Institution, National Institutes of Health, University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, and University of Cambridge. Its activities bring together specialists from fields represented by institutions such as American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum, London, Max Planck Society, University of Oxford, and Columbia University.

History

The association emerged in the context of early 20th century debates involving figures linked to University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University. Founding members included scholars who had connections with Carnegie Institution for Science, American Philosophical Society, Royal Society, Royal Anthropological Institute, and Royal Society of Medicine. Over time the group intersected with work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Warren Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and Field Museum of Natural History, while responding to methodological shifts championed by researchers at University College London, University of Toronto, and McGill University. Historical debates within the association resonated with controversies involving scholars tied to eugenics movement institutions and later reforms influenced by events connected to World War II, Civil Rights Movement, and international collaborations with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Mission and Activities

The association's mission emphasizes empirical research and teaching across biological anthropology, primatology, paleontology, and bioarchaeology. It supports research initiatives linked to laboratories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Kew Gardens collaborations, and field programs in regions such as East Africa, Andes Mountains, Amazon Basin, Southeast Asia, and Near East. The association organizes training for students and postdocs from programs at University of Michigan, University of California, Los Angeles, Duke University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Rutgers University. It also issues policy statements and position papers resonant with organizations like American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Foundation, National Academy of Sciences, World Health Organization, and Human Genome Organisation.

Publications and Journals

The association publishes a flagship peer-reviewed journal and related monographs produced by editorial teams drawn from University of Pennsylvania Museum, Princeton University, Brown University, Cornell University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Contributors often hold appointments at University of Washington, Arizona State University, University of Florida, Ohio State University, and Washington University in St. Louis. The publication program includes special issues addressing topics that intersect with work at Smithsonian Institution Archives, Royal Ontario Museum, Museum of Natural History, Paris, Berlin State Museums, and Museo Nacional de Antropología. Editorial standards reflect guidelines used by Committee on Publication Ethics, Council of Science Editors, and journals indexed alongside titles from Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Annual Meetings and Conferences

Annual meetings attract participants affiliated with institutions such as American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society for American Archaeology, European Society for Evolutionary Biology, International Primatological Society, and Society for Research in Child Development. Meetings have been hosted in cities with strong research centers like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco, with plenaries featuring scholars from University College Dublin, University of Barcelona, University of Sydney, Australian National University, and University of Cape Town. Sessions cover subfields connected to projects at Laetoli, Olduvai Gorge, Denisova Cave, Altamira Cave, and Homo naledi discoveries, and include workshops coordinated with National Museum of Natural History and field schools supported by National Geographic Society.

Governance and Membership

Governance comprises elected officers and a council representing members from academic units at University of Notre Dame, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Indiana University Bloomington, and Brown University. Committees work with partners such as Society for American Archaeology, American Anthropological Association, Paleontological Society, Genetics Society of America, and International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Membership categories include student, regular, emeritus, and life members drawn from cohorts at University of British Columbia, McMaster University, University of Alberta, Queen's University, and Simon Fraser University.

Awards and Honors

The association confers awards and honors recognizing scholarship, teaching, and service, comparable to prizes administered by National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Linnean Society, and European Research Council. Named awards have honored research associated with figures from George Washington University, Georgetown University, CUNY Graduate Center, University of Illinois Chicago, and Case Western Reserve University. Awards support travel to conferences sponsored by Smithsonian Institution, grants from National Science Foundation, and fellowships coordinated with Humboldt Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation.

Category:Anthropological organizations