Subject Guides: Anthropology: Open Texts &amp; Images

Open Texts

The following are online open textbooks that you can access for free to supplement the textbooks in your courses. To learn more about open textbooks visit the Open Educational Resources guide.

The Art of Being Human: A Textbook for Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of all humans in all times in all places. But it is so much more than that. “Anthropology requires strength, valor, and courage,” Nancy Scheper-Hughes noted. “Pierre Bourdieu called anthropology a combat sport, an extreme sport as well as a tough and rigorous discipline. … It teaches students not to be afraid of getting one’s hands dirty, to get down in the dirt, and to commit yourself, body and mind.
The History of Our Tribe: Hominini
Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? Why do we differ from other animals? How do scientists trace and construct our evolutionary history? The History of Our Tribe: Hominini provides answers to these questions and more. The book explores the field of paleoanthropology past and present.
Introduction to Human Osteology
This text was designed for use in the human osteology laboratory classroom. Bones are described to aid in identification of skeletonized remains in either an archaeological or forensic anthropology setting. Basic techniques for siding, aging, sexing, and stature estimation are described.
Perspectives: An Open Invitation To Cultural Anthropology 2nd Edition
The first peer-reviewed open access textbook for cultural anthropology courses. Produced by the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges and available free of charge for use in any setting.
Physical Anthropology
Physical anthropology, also known as biological anthropology, is concerned with the biological and behavioural aspects of human beings, their related non-human primates and their extinct hominin ancestors. It is a subfield of anthropology that provides a biological perspective to the systematic study of human beings.

Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

The Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection in the UAlberta Department of Anthropology contains more than 10,000 prehistoric and historic objects from around the world. Artifacts include stone tools, pottery, faunal and botanical remains, and other items which help us to understand the role of material culture in past societies.

Notable artifacts include:

Bryan/Gruhn Collection of lithic and pottery artifacts from North and South America
Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts collected by Henri-Marc Ami in the early 20th century
More than 2,000 stone artifacts produced through modern experiments by researchers, including Robson Bonnichsen, David Young and Don Crabtree

You can access digital images of the collection through the University of Alberta Library's Educational Resource Repository