Human Relations Area Files

Pumpkins around the world

Pumpkins are typically associated with Halloween in the form of carved “jack-o-lanterns” and, especially in the United States, with pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. But around the world, pumpkins have been an important food throughout the…

HRAF to host Archaeology Day 2024 celebration

On Friday, October 18, the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University will host an event in celebration of Archaeology Day. Each October, the Archaeological Institute of America and organizations around the world present archaeological programs…

eHRAF Archaeology Jeoparody Game

In homage to the late Alex Trebek (1940-2020), host of the television game show Jeopardy! for 37 years, we are pleased to share a new interactive HRAF game: eHRAF Archaeology Jeoparody. A play on the…

Royal Anthropological Institute Conference in London Recap

HRAF was pleased to attend the Anthropology and Education conference in London hosted by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI). The conference took place at Senate House, University of London from June 25 to 28, 2024.…

Nascent Worlds: a journey of cultural discovery

Nascent Worlds, a teaching exercise by digital anthropologist Dr. Francine Barone, is a build-your-own-culture learning activity. Designed with introductory socio-cultural anthropology classes in mind, it incorporates all four fields of anthropology (physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology,…