Anthropologists at Work

Anthropologists in the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology are involved in a variety of activities that contribute to our understanding of humankind─of ancient and modern people and their life ways─and in preserving that knowledge. Department scientists take their research around the world from the Arctic, to South America, Asia-Pacific, Africa and into Europe. Their roles as curators, researchers, and collection and archives managers (in the areas of physical and cultural anthropology and archeology) are explored by this collection of video podcasts.

These video podcasts provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of anthropologists at work in the National Museum of Natural History and the global collections that the Anthropology Department houses, cares for, and maintains for Smithsonian and outside researchers and for the cultures represented. The diverse collections of 2.5 million objects, 650,000 photographs, nearly 10,000 shelf feet of manuscripts and more than 8 million feet of original film and video in the Department of Anthropology make for an unparalleled resource containing historical and contemporary materials that document the world's cultures and history of anthropology.