NMU Student sorting artifacts

Live the Story. Major in Anthropology.

Dig into real-world fieldwork on a Lake Michigan island, study ancient practices, preserve history, all with the flexibility to find your path. We offer tracks in Archaeology, Sociocultural Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology, or General Anthropology — one major, four ways to explore. 

Your classroom is the world at NMU. Find opportunities to study and mentor with experienced professionals in the field and get hands-on research usually reserved for graduate students.

Upper-level courses related to forensic anthropology may include class visits and fieldwork at our FROST or FARL facilities. We have an Anthropology minor as well for students outside our major.

Anthropology Major Previous Bulletins

Anthropology Major 2024-25 (current bulletin)

Course Descriptions 

  • Dr. Malorie Albee has a recent publication: "Albee, M. E. (2023). A test of the New Coimbra method of recording entheseal changes as applied to the foot skeleton. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 1–14." A link to the abstract and full downloadable pdf can be found here.
  • Dr. Alan McEvoy has retired as Department Head after eleven years at NMU. Without the burden of administrative duties he will be enjoying the benefits of visiting with family, traveling, improving his fishing skills, and continuing as a skilled photographer. He and his leadership will be sorely missed, but we expect to see him from time to time, perhaps even teaching a class or two.
  • Dr. Scott Demel is in the process of writing a book on the Remoteness Factor, life on the frontier, coasts, and islands of the Great Lakes. The book will summarize his archaeological work on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan.
  • We are pleased to welcome professor of Anthropology, Malorie Albee!
  • We are excited that Dr. Meghan McCune has joined us from JCC - which is part of the State University of New York system - and is now her in second year as the new Cultural Anthropologist. A brief bio will follow soon. Stay tuned!
  • Dr. Jane Harris was included in an Alumni Spotlight on the MSUFAL blog (Michigan State University Forensic Anthropology Lab). Check it out here.
  • Dr. Scott Demel was interviewed about AN315 Myth, Mystery, and Fraud class for NMU's North Wind student newspaper. See Instructions on Skeptics: Anthropology Course Teaches Myth and Mystery. Check it out here.

Explore Anthropology

Study people, past and present. From uncovering ancient sites to researching modern communities and businesses, anthropology helps you understand the world. Choose your path—archaeology, culture, forensics, or general anthropology—and learn how humans connect, create, and change. 

 

Fieldwork That Takes You There

Anthropologists don’t just study people; they live and learn alongside them. Through hands-on research and real-world observation, explore cultures up close and discover what makes communities around the world unique.

Add a Minor that Matters

An Anthropology minor boosts any field where understanding people matters. It pairs perfectly with majors in the social sciences, arts, business, and more. It can also open doors to graduate study in anthropology.

FROST NMU

FROST: Forensic Research in Action

NMU’s FROST facility lets students study how weather, snow, and climate affect the process of decomposition. It’s one of the few outdoor forensic research sites in the country, giving you hands-on experience in real-world forensic science.

Learn More

Winter 2026

  • AN100 - Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology (Dr. Olson)
  • AN110 - Introduction to Anthropology (Dr. Albee)
  • AN230 - Cultural Resource Management (Dr. Demel)
  • AN340 - Ethnographic Field Methods (Dr. Olson)
  • AN360 - Human Taphonomy (Dr. Harris)
  • AN390 - Museum Studies (Dr. Demel)
  • AN440 - History of Anthropology (Dr. Demel)
  • AN470 - Culture and Power (Dr. McCune)
  • AN473 - Human Osteology (Dr. Albee)
  • AN477/595 - Ethics in Biological Anthropology (Dr. Albee)
     

Summer 2026

  • TBD - Stay tuned!
     

Fall 2026

  • AN420 - Experimental Archaeology (Dr. Demel)
  • TBD - Stay tuned!
     

NMU Archaeology Summer Field School - Summer 2025 

AN355 - The Seminar in Archaeological Field Methods course (Summer Archaeology Field School) was offered this past summer (2025) from May 17th to June 14th. We were once again on beautiful Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan. This is a 6-credit, 4-week course that includes daily field work and evening lab work. Northern Michigan University students joined  Great Lakes Archaeologist Dr. Scott Demel on Beaver Island, MI this summer as they explored the island's prehistory and early history. They continued the work at Whiskey Point, excavating the Alva Cable trading post/store, and were once again across the harbor testing the location of the North West Company trading post. In the summer of 2027 we will renew our search for the French fort on the west side of the island, as well as explore early maple sugaring camps. Students learn archaeological survey methods and mapping skills, shovel testing and excavation methods, compass and GPS use, photography, and artifact analysis in a lab setting (evenings). Email Dr. Demel (sdemel@nmu.edu) for more information about the next field school (2027). Adult learners welcome to register (upon approval).

Register for AN355 Seminar in Archaeological Field Methods (6 credits); estimated additional cost of >$1800 (TBD) for 4 weeks of room and board, 3 meals a day, round-trip ferry ride, and island transportation to/from sites & research/lab space. $500 scholarships typically available for NMU students. 

When on the island we will be staying in rustic cabins and/or dorms at CMU's fabulous biological field station on the island (beds, electric, hot showers; tent camp sites if you prefer), and we will enjoy our meals (3 per day) at the cafeteria. Connect via wi-fi in CMU's comfortable lounge area in the lodge, while looking out over Lake Michigan. Enjoy the island's diverse wildlife, swim, hike, bike fish, kayak, snorkel, and explore the many historic sites (group outings included). Half day saturdays and sundays free time.

For more information see the following:

NMU Archaeology on Facebook and YouTube. 

Beaver Island Archaeological Drone Survey Project: To assist with documenting archaeological sites, with the preparation of more accurate maps, and with relocating former structures, foundations and features we have employed the use of a Phantom II drone outfitted with a Zenhause Gimbal and a Go-Pro Hero 3 digital camera. Below are examples of an aerial views of one of our sites behind the former Mormon Print Shop (currently the Beaver Island Historical Society). The image to the right is an early aerial photograph (ca. 1940) that shows the same area. We compared these images to determine the location of foundations and other early structures. Subsequent ground-truthing proved successful and features were relocated. For an example of a drone flyover video go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzMwAIF-STI

Check out a music video/photo review of summer field schools (2010, 2012, and 2014),

Anthropology Faculty Fieldwork Update

2025. Beaver Island - Alva Cable trading post/store on Whiskey Point. Students in the summer field school continued our search for the Alva Cable trading post. Additional survey transects and shovel probes were employed along the ridge near the shoreline and additional test excavations were added in promising areas. An 1890s root cellar was partially excavated, as was an area that had been occupied by the Light House Establishment, the U.S. Life Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition, a cabin floor feature was discovered and partially excavated.

2025. Beaver Island - North West Company trading post. Students in the summer field school continued our search for the North West Company trading post on the west side of the harbor. Test probes and excavation units successfully revealed the location of the former cabin.

2024. Giants Foot Park - Superior Hotel Site, Marquette MI. Students in the Historical Archaeology class conducted a limited shovel probe survey of the woods where the Superior Hotel was formerly situated. Foundation remnants were documented and surface artifacts were sampled. Research indicates the foundation remnant is from the part of the hotel that was the sleeping quarters for staff, a dining room for the help, a bakery, and a kitchen and pantry. A second foundation remnant was from the hotel dining room. 

2020. Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve, Harvey, MI. During a fall field school the southern end of the nature preserve was surveyed using shovel probes. Remnants of a railroad station/cargo staging area was found just north of the former railroad track bed. Additional historical artifacts were recovered throughout the woods. A small foundation was found in the northwest end of the area, yielding both 1950s household material, and nearby a 19th century clay smoking pipe. 

2023. Beaver Island - Whiskey Point, MI; Alva Cable Trading Post/Store, and North West Company Trading Post. The field school conducted a shovel probe survey and GPR survey of Whiskey Point in search for the Alva Cable Trading Post. Subsequent test excavations focused on areas with older artifacts. Cultural features were found and excavated, including a privy and a cabin foundation or cellar. The survey and testing has located both trading post and these excavations will continue in the next field school (summer 2025). An initial search for the French fort began.

2018. Mt. Mesnard, Marquette MI. Work on a red sandstone quarry site commenced this past fall with the Historical Archaeology class. We were able to document one of the red sandstone quarries on the south side of Mt. Mesnard and to document the artifacts found during our investigation. A second cabin location was also discovered and initial investigations and mapping was started. This ongoing investigation has documented the remains of an 1890s quarry operation and cabin, as well as a prehistoric quartzite quarry. 

2018. Beaver Island - MPS- île de Castor Site, and the Theodore Protar Homestead. Work continued once again at the MPS site in an attempt to wrap up our investigations there. Four more excavation units were completed at the site, while three units were completed at the Protar Homestead. Features at the MPS site include several hearths, a smudge pit, and the continuation of a possible fortification wall (post construction). A black bear canine was recovered, as were turtle bones, and spines from a 5'-6' long sturgeon. More 1850s and post-1850s historical, Contact Period, and Late Woodland Period artifacts were recovered. The ancient garden beds were relocated and flotation samples reveal what appear to be charred beans (analysis pending). A surface survey at the Theodore Protar Homestead was also conducted to document the remains of his barn and outbuildings. A privy was excavated, revealing artifacts from the original occupants of the cabin, and subsequent occupation by Protar.

2016. Beaver Island -  MPS - île de Castor Site, French Bay, Cable Bay site. Work continued at the MPS site, working through the various horizons down to the Late Woodland anthrosol. Features discovered include a smudge pit, hearths, a fish processing pit, and a section of wall (post construction) that may be Late Woodland or Contact Period (analysis pending). A shovel probe survey in an area of French Bay helped define the ca. 1900-1910 lumber camp, while text excavations were concluded at the Cable Bay site. 

2012 and 2014. Beaver Island - Mormon Print Shop & île de Castor Site. Test excavations occurred behind the old Mormon Print Shop (current home of the Beaver Island Historical Society) during the summer archaeology field school (2012); artifact analysis is underway from this multi-component site. Beneath the historic layers was an occupation horizon from the Late Woodland Period (ca. A.D. 900-1100), complete with pottery, stone tools, cultural features filled with fish bones, charred sand cherry fruit, and butchered beaver. This may have been a late summer or fall beaver hide processing station. Radiocarbon dates from two pieces of charcoal associated with pottery came in at 925 +/- 15 BP (ca. AD 1025) and 840 +/- 15 BP (ca. AD 1110).

2010. Beaver Island - Cable's Bay Fishing Village. Survey and test excavations took place at this coastal site during the NMU summer 2010 archaeology field school and during the summer of 2011; artifact analysis continues. Research and results of analyses were exhibited in "Scattered To The Winds - The Vanished Community of Cable's Bay" which ran from April to September of 2012 at the Beaumier UP Heritage Center on NMU's campus. Portions of this collection may be exhibited at the Beaver Island Historical Society in the future.

2010. Beaver Island - Burke Farm. Survey and test excavations took place at the Mormon and Irish farmstead during the NMU summer 2010 archaeology field school; artifact analysis continues.

Adapted from Bodley 2000.

Cultural Anthropology
The American Anthropological Association is the first site students should visit to help determine what positions are available in anthropology and what skills they need.
(http://www.aaanet.org/)

Applied Anthropology
This is a site that offers many opportunities with service organizations, including those that require a social science background and work in a multicultural setting.
(http://www.idealist.org)

Archaeology
This is a great source offered by the Society for American Anthropology that offers career opportunities for students.
(http://www.saa.org)

Archaeology
This is an archaeology site that is geared more for those persons with an interest in cultural resource management.
(http://www.shovelbums.org/)

Physical Anthropology
This is a useful site for those seeking a non-academic career in physical anthropology.
(http://weber.ucsd.edu/~jmoore/bioanthro/brochure2.html)

Forensic Anthropology
This site contains student information related osteology and forensics, and schools that offer study in these fields.
(http://www.forensicanthro.com)

Forensic Anthropology
This Web site provides detailed advice and explanations about the career of a forensic anthropologist.
(http://people.uncw.edu/albertm/faqs.htm)

Primatology
This is a very thorough site that gives succinct information about becoming a primatologist.
(http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/careers/)

Summer Internship/ Job Opportunities
This is a site for those seeking both internships and full-time jobs.
(http://www.usda.gov)

Archaeology Field Work
This site provides archaeologist employment listings, volunteer opportunities, announcements, archaeology in the news, etc.
(http://www.archaeologyfieldwork.com)

Midwest Archaeology Conference and more
(http://www.midwestarchaeology.org)