Poster Symposia offer the opportunity to present research in an intimate and less rushed environment than is normally the case for regular podium or poster sessions. Poster symposia are accommodated in private rooms, AV equipment can be supplied, and there is the opportunity for catering (at the organizers own expense).

Many poster symposia begin with a formal introduction by the organizers, followed by time to view the posters, comments by discussants, and a question and answer period. Some also include specific time for presentation of, for example, new software or fossil material.

The following is an example of the layout of a poster symposium room for a tribute symposium held at NOLA in 2017.   This is followed by another example of a poster symposium also held at NOLA.

Example 1:    Anthropological Stories of Bone Histology and Remodeling: An Invited Session in Honor of Samuel D. Stout, Chair: Sabrina C. Agarwal, held in the New Orleans Marriott, Studio 6, 8:00am – 12:pm.  

Sam Stout pioneered the early work on bone histomorphometry in ancient bone, and over the past decades his work has established the significant methodological and scientific contribution of histological studies to biological anthropology. He has examined some of the most fundamental aspects of skeletal variation including patterns in bone remodeling with disuse, taphonomy, population variation, biomechanical loading, bone remodeling in early hominids, and changes with disease and aging. He has continued to develop new microscopic age estimation methods and push our understanding of intra-skeletal variation in bone mass and microstructure. This session brings together the research of his colleagues and the students he has mentored to celebrate the stories and new trajectories from this work that have served to clarify the fundamentals of bone biology for generations of scholars in skeletal biology, forensic anthropology, paleoanthropology & bioarchaeology.

8:00am:    Introduction: Sabrina C. Agarwal.

10:30am:  Participant Discussion.

1. An analysis of infant bone composition using Raman Spectroscopy. M.E. SOTO MARTINEZ, C.M. CROWDER, X. BI.
   
2. After 25 years, revisiting clavicle histology. R.R. PAINE.
   
3. Applications of bone histomorphometry in bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, and clinical studies. H. CHO.
   
4. Observer Variability in Identification of Histological Structures in Silver-Stained Bone Thin Sections. D.C. PINTO, C.M. CROWDER, G.T. PHILLIPS.
   
5. Histological indicators of stress. E. RAGUIN, M.A. STREETER, M.S. DRAPEAU.
   
6. You win some, you lose some: variation in bone growth, gain and loss across the skeleton. P. BEAUCHESNE, S.C. AGARWAL.
   
7. Mechanotransduction in bone: lessons from mice. A. ROBLING.
   
8. Distributions of secondary osteon collagen/lamellar morphotypes are important in avoiding stress fractures: A new hypothesis for the etiology of stress fractures. J.G. SKEDROS.
   
9. Fracture Resistance in the Human Rib: Contributions of Cross-Sectional Geometry. Am AGNEW, E. MISICKA, M.M. MURACH, V.M. DOMINGUEZ, T.P. GOCHA.
   
10. Longitudinal variation of osteon circularity in three-dimensional reconstructions of Haversian networks. I. MAGGIANO, C. MAGGIANO, J. CLEMENT, D. THOMAS, D. COOPER. 11 From Neandertals to modern subadults. M.A. STREETER.
    

Example 2:  Diversity, Variation, and Paleoecology: A View of Hominin Complexity from the Middle Pliocene of Eastern Africa Organizers/Chairs: Amy L. Rector, Denise F. Su, Kaye E. Reed, 2:30pm – 6:30pm.

Hominin fossil discoveries in the last two decades have dramatically increased the taxonomic diversity of hominin species from the middle Pliocene (~4-3 Ma) of eastern Africa. Detailed morphological, geological, and paleoecological studies show that this increase in diversity is not limited to taxonomic representation, but also to habitat, diet, and locomotion. This symposium brings together experts in hominins, paleoecology, and geology to synthesize the data from the last twenty years and examine the implications for our understanding of early hominin evolution.

2:30pm:  Individual poster presentations (Odd posters).

3:30pm:  Individual poster presentations (Even posters).

6:00pm:  Discussants: William Kimbel and Carol Ward. 

1. Hominin Adaptation and Variation within a Paleoecological Context: An Integrative Approach. A.L. RECTOR, K.E. REED, D. SU.
   
2. A Stable Oxygen Isotope Mosaic Index: Implications for Reconstructing Hominin Paleoenvironments in East Africa. M.M. BEASLEY, M.J. SCHOENINGER.
   
3. Warm pools, upwellings, and an early glacial. Are “mid-Pliocene” climate transitions reflected in the eastern African records? C.J. CAMPISANO, K.E. REED.
   
4. Biogeography, Endemism, and Functional Trait Community Structure: Basinal Differences in the Pliocene. K.E. REED, I.E. SMAIL, J. ROWAN, J. ROBINSON, E.M. LOCKE, I.A. LAZAGABASTER, C.J. CAMPISANO.
   
5. Pliocene African Cercopithecid Evolution, Turnover and Diversity. S.R. FROST.
   
6. Diversity, Abundance, and Paleoecology of East African Suidae in the Context of Hominin Evolution During the Pliocene. I.A. LAZAGABASTER, J.R. ROBINSON, C.J. CAMPISANO, K.E. REED.
   
7. Australopithecus afarensis habitat diversity: a unique perspective from Laetoli, Tanzania. D.F. SU, T. HARRISON.
   
8. Paleoenvironments and Dietary Adaptation of Australopithecus afarensis: A Synthesis. Z. ALEMSEGED, J.G. WYNN, W.H. KIMBEL.
   
9. Comparing the habitats of 3.5–3.2-million-year-old hominins at Woranso-Mille and Hadar, Ethiopia. Y. HAILE-SELASSIE.
   
10. Plio-Pleistocene hominid diversity interpreted through the genetic mechanisms that pattern the dentition. M.F. BRASIL, T.A. MONSON, C.A. SCHMITT, L.J. HLUSKO.
    
11. Evaluating the utility of extant reference samples for modelling hominin taxonomic variation. J. PLAVCAN.
    
12. Defining Homo or identifying Homo? The role of the genus in hominin taxonomy. B.A. VILLMOARE.