Patrick Chapman

Dr Chapman was born in the Puget Sound region but spent his early developmental years in London, which he still emotionally thinks of as home. However, he did most of his schooling back in the Puget Sound area and began his college career at Green River Community College in Auburn. He completed his BA and MA at the University of Wyoming in Anthropology before acquiring a PhD from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Dr Chapman has worked as a forensic anthropologist, although his PhD research focused on East Polynesian migration patterns, with special attention paid to Easter Island (Rapa Nui), using human skeletal remains as the data source. After teaching at both the University of Wyoming and University of Otago, Dr Chapman returned to the Puget Sound area to teach at SPSCC in 1999. He continues to conduct research in Polynesia and also works to promote internationalization at SPSCC, including having led short-term study abroad programs to New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, London and Egypt.

One of the important events in Dr Chapman's education was getting to see the Tutankhamun exhibit the first time it came to Seattle in the 1970s. His favorite movie, by far, remains the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark, a movie that was instrumental in him becoming an anthropologist.

Classes Dr Chapman regularly teaches at SPSCC include:

ANTH&100 Survey of Anthropology

ANTH&104 World Prehistory

ANTH&204 Archaeology

ANTH&205 Biological Anthropology

ANTH&227 Pacific Island Cultures: Diversity