The SAA 90th Annual Meeting will take place April 23–27, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. HRAF staff members Matthew Longcore and Amanda Westcott will attend the conference representing HRAF in the Exhibit Hall at Booth 419. We will be providing demonstrations of the eHRAF databases, tote bags for visitors, and membership discounts for institutions with attendees at the conference.

This premier event brings together the largest gathering of archaeologists in the Americas. The program features general sessions, symposia, forums, lightning rounds, posters, and workshops, offering something for everyone—from enthusiasts to seasoned experts.

Explore the exhibit hall, join excursions, and attend receptions to foster meaningful connections. Whether seeking career development opportunities or looking to network, this event offers countless ways to engage.

With attendees from across the U.S. and over 45 countries, the meeting provides a unique chance to learn, collaborate, and reconnect. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain fresh insights, discover the latest research, and catch up with old friends.

Click here to learn more about the SAA Annual Meeting

HRAF President Carol Ember was interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR) on the topic of matrilocality for an article titled Ancient Celtic tribe had women at its social center.

The article discusses research by Lara Cassidy (Trinity College Dublin) and her colleagues published in the journal Nature (January 15, 2025).

The researchers conducted DNA analysis on the remains of a Celtic tribe that lived during the Iron Age in Britain from around 100 BCE to 100 CE. These findings suggested that women were at the center of their social network and residence was matrilocal.

President Ember indicates that she was not surprised that there were matrilocal societies in the past, stating that "although matrilocality isn't common, it does make up some 15% of the anthropological record."

Ember says that matrilocal societies often speak a different language from their neighbors which is evidence they probably migrated from somewhere else.

"If you intruded successfully into other people's territory," she says, "it means that you would have to be pretty successful at war."

Click here to read about Ancient Celtic matrilocality

In honor of our 75th anniversary, we are pleased to feature video recordings from members of the broader HRAF community. This month we are featuring a video from John Millhauser, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs for Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University. Professor Millhauser is an anthropologist who studies the material and cultural dimensions of economies past and present.

Professor Millhauser developed a teaching activity using ethnographic sources from the eHRAF databases for his course on Environmental Archaeology. This assignment uses ethnography to develop archaeological interpretations of past behaviors, events, and processes.

In this assignment, students navigate the eHRAF databases and conduct detailed searches,

investigate human-environmental interaction, assess the value and relevance of ethnographic data for archaeological research, and make controlled comparisons within and among cultures.

Click here to watch the video from John Millhauser

HRAF Global Scholar Melkamu Amsalu Workneh is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of South Africa. His research topic is land scarcity and marriage in Northwestern Ethiopia.

The title of his dissertation is “Assets at Marriage: The impact of land scarcity on women’s marriage opportunities in the Amhara National Regional State, Northwestern Ethiopia.” This work seeks to understand how land scarcity contributes to culture/norm change in relation to marriage for women in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The study investigates cultural responses to resource scarcity, particularly with regard to farmland. Using human ecology as the main theoretical model, the research will further investigate human behavioral adaptation to changes in the environment.

This study reviews ethnographic data and requires in-depth understanding of human culture, marriage, changes in post-marital residence choice, and environmental changes. 

Click here to read about Global Scholar Melkamu Amsalu