Physical Anthropology 

The departmental collections are dominated by the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection. This collection is the largest of its kind in the world. It consists of 3,100 modern human and more than 900 non-human primates skeletons.

Each human skeleton is accompanied by a wealth of information including records of height, weight, age at death, gender, race, cause of death and over 60 measurements taken on the cadavers.

Also included in this remarkable collection is the largest assemblage of lowland gorilla skeletons in the world and the largest collection of common chimpanzees in the western hemisphere.

The Hamann-Todd collection is the most researched and published osteological collection. The easy accessibility and excellent curation of the Hamann-Todd collection stands as an example to other museums with osteological collections.

Current departmental research

Dr. Bruce Latimer, Executive Director of the Museum, and Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, the Head of Physical Anthropology department, are conducting research on the earliest hominid remains of Ardipithecus kadabba, a hominid species found in the Middle Awash of Ethiopia, dated to between 5.2 and 5.8 million years. Furthermore, the department is running a paleoanthropological survey and exploration project in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

The Department of Physical Anthropology offers programs giving an opportunity for a more in-depth look at the discipline. Undergraduate students interested in a paid summer internship in this discipline are encouraged to investigate the Adopt-A-Student program.