Advancing Biocultural Perspectives in Physical Anthropology; Notre Dame, IN; February 2007

本项目的目标是召开一次为期两天的会议，讨论体质人类学生物文化研究的现状和未来方向。 具体目标包括：1）汇集不同的学者，调查目前在实践中的生物文化方法的范围; 2）探索生物文化人类学，以及生态学和进化生物学的最新理论和方法进步的潜在贡献;和3）确定一个议程，推进体质人类学中的生物文化研究。 会议结束后，组织者将发表一系列简要立场声明，鼓励就生物文化研究的现状和未来进行进一步对话。 理解人类多样性和人类起源的整体方法一直是人类学的基础性贡献，尽管目前生物人类学和文化人类学之间的专业化和分歧趋势，生物文化研究的强大传统仍然存在。 本次会议将有助于定义综合体质人类学的前沿，并将促进复杂模型的发展，以了解人类的行为，生理和健康，以及创新方法的应用，测量生物学与文化和生态环境的关系。 更广泛的影响包括对发展科学基础设施的贡献，特别是通过纳入各种学者，其中许多人代表历史上在科学领域代表性不足的群体。

The objective of this project is to convene a two-day meeting to discuss the state and future direction of biocultural research in physical anthropology. The specific objectives include: 1) To bring together a diverse set of scholars to survey the range of biocultural approaches currently in practice; 2) To explore the potential contribution of recent theoretical and methodological advances in biocultural anthropology, as well as ecology and evolutionary biology; and 3) To define an agenda for advancing biocultural research within physical anthropology. After the meeting the organizers will publish a series of summary position statements that will encourage further dialogue on the state and future of biocultural research. A holistic approach to understanding human diversity and human origins has been a foundational contribution of anthropology, and a strong tradition of biocultural research continues to exist despite current trends toward specialization and divergence between biological and cultural anthropology. This meeting will contribute to defining the cutting edge of integrative physical anthropology, and will facilitate the development of complex models for understanding human behavior, physiology, and health, and the application of innovative methods for measuring biology in relation to cultural end ecological contexts. Broader impacts include contributions to developing the infrastructure of science, particularly through the inclusion of a diverse set of scholars, many of whom represent groups historically under-represented in science.