HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH (HUMEVO@GWUVM)
  An Electronic Publication of the International Institute
             for Human Evolutionary Research
     George Washington University, Washington, DC
            Vol. 2, No. 6                  October 30, 1992
          Editor: Dr. Noel T. Boaz (BOAZ@GWUVM)
************************************************************
                    NEWSLETTER
 
The East African "Daily Nation" recently reported a discovery of
5 to 6 million year old vertebrate fossils in western Tanzania
made by Terry Harrison of New York University and Michael Mbago,
Director of the Tanzanian Museum of Natural History.  No
hominids have been discovered as yet but there is an abundant
fossil mammal fauna.
 
                  BULLETIN BOARD
 
**********  American Anthropological Association  *************
   91st Annual Meeting, December 2-6, 1992, San Francisco
                 San Francisco Hiton
 
**********  16th Annual Ethnobiology Conference  **************
               March 11-13, 1993, Boston MA
  contact Julie Hansen, Dept Arch, Boston U, Boston, MA 02215
 
*****  American Association of Physical Anthropologists  ******
            April 14-17, 1993 Toronto, Canada
        contact Jere Haas, Div. Nutritional Sciences
              211 Savage Hall, Cornell U
                Ithaca, NY  14853-6301
 
*****  Biological Anthropology "State of the Science"  ********
                   Summer Institue
                   June 7-12, 1993
  International Institute for Human Evolutionary Research
       George Washington University, Virginia Campus
          contact Noel Boaz, BOAZ@GWUVM.BITNET
 
**********  Pithecanthropus Centennial 1893-1993  ************
                     June 26-28, 1993
            deadline for abstracts: Feb. 1, 1993
   contact Hans Beijer, Pieter de la Court Bldg, PO Box 9555,
     2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands; FAX +31-71-273619
 
                COOPERATION COLUMN
 
Curtis Wienker, University of South Florida, is putting together
an AAPA brochure targeted at secondary school students
interested in what physical anthropologists do.  He is in need
of ideas as well as photographs.  Please contact him if you can
be of any help.  CWIENKER@CFRVM.BITNET
 
The Department of Biology of the University of Sao Paulo has
recently initiated a new program in Evolutionary Human Biology,
headed by Dr. Walter Alves Neves.  It is the first program of
university research and instruction in human evolution to be
instituted in Brazil and it can serve as a model for other
universities in the country.  The program will also promote
dissemination of information about human evolution to the lay
public.  A recent circular letter sent out by Dr. Neves and Dr.
Antonio Cestari, Head of Biology, states that "it is our belief
that all citizens have the right to have access to the basic
information about the evolution of their own species".  They
continue that "tolerance among humans could be significantly
improved if people in general were aware of the millions of
years that were necessary to produce the present human
biological and cultural diversity in the planet."
     The program is being launched despite a severe economic
crisis in Brazil and virtually non-existent funding for science
in the country.  Dr. Neves asks for any educational,
bibliographical, or scientific materials related to Biological
Anthropology, particularly casts of fossils, reprints, extra
textbooks, software, slides, etc.  These can be sent to Dr.
Neves at Instituto de Biociencias, Caixa Postal 11.461, CEP
05499, Cidade Universitaria, 01000 Sao Paulo, Brazil.
 
Brian Brown, PhD student at Michigan State University, is
studying limb asymetry in historic human populations.  He has
two questions: 1. Has anyone had any good/bad experiences using
digital calipers which put data directly into cells of a
laptop's spread sheet for data acquisition?  2. Does anyone know
of literature relating to bilateral asymetry studies of
documented populations of humans since the 1960s? or of anyone
studying this?  19910BXB@MSU (Bitnet) or 19910BXB@IBM.CL.MSU.EDU
(Internet)
 
                     EDUCATION
 
A Faculty Training Seminar on "Biological Perspectives in the
Social Sciences" will be sponsored by the Gruter Institute and
the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at
Dartmouth Collge from July 31 to August 6, 1993.  Directed by
Roger D. Masters (Department of Government, Dartmouth College)
and Michael T. McGuire (Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA),
assisted by various lecturers in each discipline covered, this
seminar will survey contemporary evolutionary perspectives on
human behavior.  Attendance is limited to 40 faculty members or
advanced graduate students whose research and/or teaching
integrates the life sciences and some area of the social
sciences.  A number of grants covering expenses of room and
board will be available.  For information, write: Ms. Kimberly
Watson, Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences,
6082 Rockefeller Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH  03755.
Telephone: (603) 646-3874; FAX (603) 646-1329.