Fifth annual Anthropology Day celebrated

Kolby Spomer
Staff Writer

Last Friday from 10 a.m.-2p.m., the Anthropology Department at the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus held their fifth annual Anthropology Day. Many students stopped by to revel in the joy exuded by those hosting, while others merely came to grab a piece of the delicious cake being served. 

Outside of festivities, the day is dedicated to teaching anyone and everyone about the major. Anthropology, as defined by the office, is the study of people. Broke into four different subfields, said study encompasses everything and anything involving humans.

Archaeology delves into ancient material cultures, learning about those before us through what they had an what they used.

Cultural Anthropology deals with people in the present and what makes each of us and every group interesting and unique, while also striving to preserve that special individualism.

Linguistic Anthropology focuses on the history and present use of language, looking as far back as possible while also trying to preserve as many languages as possible in the present.

Finally, the last subfield is Biological Anthropology. This field goal is to learn as much as possible in relation to health, evolution, and genetics and how they affect the human makeup.

The major, deservedly so, finds itself to be very integral to daily life as well.

For example, anthropology graduates have gone into fields varying from human resources to writing for National Geographic. Many other fields can require or desire a degree in the field as well, which goes to show how useful the major is.

The celebration itself was very lively and fun, due in no small part to the activities being held. A jeopardy board was setup in the CSU where correct answers were exchanged for candy bars, a raffle was held in the main offices with numerous prizes, and a scavenger hunt encouraged many to learn about anthropology in order to gain more tickets for the raffle. As mentioned previously, the cake and beverages were exquisite as well. 

All in all, the day was a huge success and if this is any indication for the future, the Anthropology Department looks to gain some new students and awareness on campus as a whole.