Physical anthropology or biological anthropology is an area of investigation that examines all aspects of the biological domain of humans. As a subdiscipline of anthropology it has its intellectual and academic roots in the social sciences, but it also has strong interdisciplinary connections with the natural sciences, especially biology, psychology, ethology and the earth sciences. Consequently, practitioners of physical anthropology have long embraced a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective that integrates a diversity of approaches from the social and natural sciences. Physical anthropologists acknowledge this paradigm as the most profitable for unravelling the complex theoretical and conceptual issues that underlie the study of human beings. In parallel with the remarkable growth and maturation of the natural sciences, knowledge and expertise in physical anthropology has greatly expanded in recent years beyond the intellectual and technical grasp of individual generalists, and as a result the subdiscipline has witnessed a corresponding degree of sub-specialization. The research programs and interests of the physical anthropologists in our department (Profs. Anton, Di Fiore, Disotell, Harrison, Jolly, and Bailey) intersect many of these major subdisciplinary specialties, including primate socioecology, comparative primate morphology, molecular anthropology, paleoanthropology, primate paleontology, and skeletal morphology. In addition to expertise in these specialist areas, faculty and student research is unified by a conceptual and intellectual foundation in genetics, evolutionary theory, ecology, and behavior. We regard these as core themes in a common enterprise that can be referred to as evolutionary primatology – the study of human beings and other primates within an evolutionary context. Our research is based on a solid foundation of traditional approaches and concepts in physical anthropology, an appreciation of the multidisciplinarity of the subdiscipline, and technical and theoretical proficiency in newly emerging specialty areas. The research and training program in our department is distinguished by its unique commitment to integrating laboratory-based and field-based research. We have state-of-the-art laboratories in population genetics and molecular systematics, and in paleoanthropology, with superb facilities for both research and teaching in these areas. In addition, faculty and students are conducting primatological and paleoanthropological research at sites in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Bolivia, Greece, Gabon, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Our faculty maintains an active network of collaborative and educational links with colleagues and institutions worldwide as part of this major international research effort.

The physical anthropologists at New York University participate in the New York Consortium for Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), a unique research and graduate training consortium that brings together researchers, educators and resources from five institutions in New York City – City University of New York, Columbia University, New York University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo. The consortium includes thirty nine scholars with research interests in comparative anatomy, paleontology, molecular systematics, population genetics, social behavior, ecology, and conservation of primates (including humans), spanning the entire breadth of the field of evolutionary primatology. In addition to providing a wider menu of courses for graduate students to choose from, NYCEP also offers an integrated educational curriculum and research program with a multidisciplinary and global agenda.
For more information visit: http://www.nycep.org

• Paleoanthropology and Skeletal Morphology Laboratories
• Population Genetics and Molecular Anthropology Laboratory
• Proyecto Primates Field Site, Yasuní National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador
• Primatological Field Studies in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia
  
• Paleoanthropological Field Studies at Laetoli, Tanzania
  

Susan Antón is co-editor (along with Fred Spoor, University College London and Bill Kimbel, Arizona State University) of the Journal of Human Evolution. The journal is the premier forum in physical anthropology for publishing peer-reviewed research on all aspects of human evolution. The central focus is aimed at paleoanthropological investigations, covering human and primate fossils, and at comparative studies of extant species, including both morphological and molecular data. The broad range of topics and research areas considered for publication include: human and primate paleontology and paleobiology; comparative morphological and functional studies of extant primates; primate systematics, behavior and ecology; Paleolithic archaeology; and, taphonomy and paleoecology.

For more information on the journal, visit elsevier.com or
sciencedirect.com.