About CSAS

Founded in 1921 as the Central Section of the American Anthropological Association, the Central States Anthropological Society (CSAS) is a friendly, four-field professional society that welcomes students and anyone keen on promoting anthropology in the heartland, and beyond.

Our annual meeting, held each year in the spring, is open to cultural and physical anthropologists, archaeologists, linguists, applied anthropologists, and other interested scholars.  CSAS meetings are noted for their informal atmosphere, affording participants an excellent opportunity to present and discuss current ideas and research in the field.

CSAS members, who are also AAA members, receive the semiannual Bulletin and are welcome to participate in an e-mail discussion list.

The CSAS Executive Board offers graduate and undergraduate paper prizes and sponsors two scholarships for student research, the Leslie A. White Award and the Beth Wilder Dillingham Award.  Commemorative CSAS fine jewelry has been created by JanDee Jewelry, based on the design of Justine Cordwell, to help support the awards.

Historical documents of the CSAS, including official records and correspondence, are preserved in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Anthropological Archives.  Readers will enjoy Barry Isaac’s CSAS History: The Early Years and discover other historical resources for further study.

Join us at the CSAS reception held at the AAA annual meeting, and make plans to attend the CSAS meeting next spring!

About the logo:  The CSAS “hand of peace and friendship” is based on a mica hand from the eponymous Hopewell mound, courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

CSAS is a proud participant of Open Anthropology, an electronic-only, online journal devoted to previously published AAA articles, review articles, book and audiovisual reviews, and reports and comments on topics of interest to the general public, and that may have direct or indirect public policy implications. Content in Open Anthropology will be culled from the full archive of AAA participating publications, across sections and over time.

Have questions or want further information? Please contact our current President. Contact information available on office page.