Heather Ann Peters, an anthropologist, global human-rights activist (particularly on behalf of Asian peoples), and an assistant curator at the Penn Museum, died on April 24 at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. She was 74.

Dr. Peters was raised in Roslyn, New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies from Barnard College, where she first studied Chinese; a master’s degree in Chinese art and archaeology from Princeton University; and a doctorate in anthropology with a specialization in China from Yale. In 1981, Dr. Peters came to Penn as a lecturer and research specialist in the School of Arts and Sciences’ department of anthropology. She also served as the assistant curator of the Asian section of the Penn Museum. In this position, she undertook many initiatives that fostered scholarly communication, like launching Buried Treasure, a radio series about the Penn Museum’s finds, and recruiting professors from universities in Asia to speak at Penn.

In addition to her Penn teaching, Dr. Peters also served as a visiting professor at the American University of Paris and was affiliated with Southwest Minzu University and Southwest Jiaotong University, both in Chengdu, China. After leaving Penn in 1993, she embarked on a career that included consulting and development projects with UNESCO and other agencies. She did work advocating for minorities, preventing human trafficking, increasing awareness of HIV/ AIDs, and other social issues. She did highly visible social justice work in Asia, standing up for ethnic minorities and advocating for their rights and culture. “She walked with me into Khmer Rouge camps, and she could go drinking with deminers,” who removed land mines from the earth, her husband, anthropologist David Feingold, said. “But she could also hold the hand of a woman in a refugee camp whose baby died.”

Dr. Peters is survived by her husband, Dr. Feingold, as well as a brother and other relatives. A visitation occurred on May 14. Donations in Dr. Peters’ memory can be made to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, 1500 Walnut St., #1107, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.