UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Students interested in doing archaeology get a rich and varied background by majoring in Anthropology. Modern archaeologists need familiarity with working in other countries, interacting with a wide variety of stakeholders, community members, and organizations, and with understanding the way archaeology is presented in popular media.  Socio-cultural anthropology courses help students gain this expertise. An anthropology degree can also offer students experience in understanding human biology and health, and this is valuable in archaeological or museum contexts where human remains may be encountered. The holistic basic core courses in the Anthropology degree program serve as a solid foundation for the wide range of archaeology classes that we offer. Our courses in ethics, cultural resources, museum studies, analytical methods, and field training give students the necessary fundamental tools to pursue archaeology as a career option. The major also provides an excellent foundation for subsequent graduate study. Sitting at the beginning of a new millennium, our goal is to help you appreciate how knowledge of the human past is relevant to your own life, whether as a student at IU today, a future parent, medical professional or patient, lawyer, non-profit manager, consumer, executive or IT professional.

Major in Anthropology

Minor in Anthropology

Students interested in archaeology can also consider a minor in Anthropology . The anthropology minor requires 15 credit hours. ANTH P200 is the core course for archaeology students. Students should take no more than one course at the 100 level (A105 or one of the courses we teach for the College Topics requirements will count). Students should choose one methods or fundamentals course (P301, P401, P406, P409) and two to three other courses, one of which may be at the 200 level. Up to 5 credits of field school hours can count toward the minor.

Get Involved!

Undergraduate students interested in archaeology are encouraged to become involved in archaeological research during the years that they are at Indiana University. These opportunities are an important source of value-added knowledge and hands-on experiences that enhance classroom learning. We provide two main ways to gain practical training and research experience in archaeology. The first is through IU field schools and the second is through volunteer, internship, and credit-bearing independent research and teaching.

Field Schools

Our IU field schools rotate depending on the year, but usually include 2 or 3 opportunities. Each field school carries between 3 and 12 credits and most are offered during either the second 8 weeks of the spring semester or during the summer.

 

Volunteer, Internship, Independent Research, and Teaching

These options include volunteering in archaeology laboratories, work-study opportunities, and paid laboratory assistant positions, depending upon availability and experience. Other opportunities give students the option of receiving university credit, including independent study (ANTH A495), internships in archaeology laboratories (ANTH A495), museum practicum (ANTH A408), as well as undergraduate teaching assistants in anthropology courses (course number pending). Research grants for archaeology projects are also available through the Hutton Honors College.

 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY, 2010-2011

Long-term History in Nejapa and Tavela, Oaxaca, Mexico

Faculty Director: Stacie King, kingsm@indiana.edu
Location of work: Any computer lab or workstation

Project description: I am looking for student volunteers for three different tasks. 1) I need help with transcribing 16th to 19th century documents written in Spanish that I have collected from archives in Mexico. All of the documents relate to the ownership, management, and business operations of the Hacienda San José in Oaxaca, Mexico. This work requires someone who has a strong knowledge of Spanish and an interest and willingness to struggle through colonial period Spanish. 2) I am looking for students who know how to use Adobe Illustrator or Google Sketchup, who might be able and interested in creating 3-D renderings of architecture. 3) I have three oral history interviews that I have recorded that need transcribing. All tasks can be completed independently.  Interested students should contact Stacie King by email to set up a time to meet.

Various projects (South America, Spring Mill State Park, Greece and Rome, Midwest)

Faculty Director: April Sievert, asievert@indiana.edu
Location of work: Student Building 028

Project description: I would love volunteers to help with one or more of the following tasks: 1) digitizing slides of archaeological sites and artifacts from various places around the world, 2) digitizing artifact drawings of lithic artifacts from South America, 3) cataloguing and labeling artifacts from Spring Mill State Park, 4) sorting and picking flotation samples from Spring Mill State Park, and 5) digitizing archaeology photographs from various places including ancient Greece and Rome and historic and prehistoric archaeological sites in the Midwest. I would expect two to three hours a week at a mutually agreeable and regular time.
Contact me (April Sievert) by email if you are interested.

Hovey Lake Archaeology

Faculty Director: Cheryl Munson, munsonc@indiana.edu
Location of work: Midwestern Archaeology Laboratory at 2611 E 10th St. (10th and the Bypass)

Project description: I am looking for student volunteers who are interested in doing graphic work (making maps) and helping with website design and updates to our existing Hovey Lak archaeology website. I would prefer students to work weekly, but the hours are flexible and some work can be completed independently, from your home computer or a computer workstation.  Please see:  http://www.indiana.edu/~archaeo.
Students who are interested in earning credit can do so (A495, Museum Practicum).
Contact munsonc@indiana.edu for more information.

 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY OR INDEPENDENT STUDY CREDIT (A495)

William R. Adams Zooarchaeology Laboratory

Faculty Director: Laura Scheiber, scheiber@indiana.edu
Laboratory Manager: Matthew Rowe, majrowe@indiana.edu
Location: Student Building 025

Project/lab description: The William R. Adams Zooarchaeology Laboratory has a wide variety of opportunities for students with many interest and experience levels. Projects may contribute to on-going archaeological research projects, comparative collections management and curation, or processing animals for the skeletal comparative collection. Students may volunteer or sign up for an ANTH A495 independent study through the Zooarchaeology Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Scheiber and direct supervision of the laboratory manager.

Volunteers and independent study students are required to provide a minimum of one three-hour block of time per week on a regular set schedule. Independent study students are required to contribute at least three hours of laboratory time per week for each credit hour (e.g. a three credit hour independent study requires at least nine hours of work per week). Students are strongly encouraged to contribute more than the minimum required amount of time per week.

Interested students should contact the laboratory manager to schedule a tour of the zooarchaeology laboratory and to set up a weekly work schedule. The laboratory is open most days of the week from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Availability of work time is variable and subject to change due to class schedules.

 

MUSEUM PRACTICUM (ANTH A408) IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS

Faculty Director: Arranged
Location: Arranged
Course Instructor: Professor Geoffrey Conrad
Contact Information: conrad@indiana.edu, (812) 855-5340

Students who are working in archaeological laboratories at IU may find it possible to arrange for credit through the Museum Practicum course, Anthropology A408.  This course may be taken for 1-4 credit hours at a time and may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours.  Museum practicum students are required to contribute at least three hours of laboratory time per week for each credit hour (e.g. a three credit hour museum practicum requires at least nine hours of work per week).  In some cases, you may be able to start your hours this semester and sign up for the Spring semester.  For general information on the course see http://www.indiana.edu/~mathers/edu/A408.pdf.

If you are interested in this possibility, please speak to your Faculty Director. If he or she is willing to supervise your work for credit, contact Professor Conrad for authorization to enroll.

 

Current Laboratory Research

Some of our current volunteer laboratory research opportunities include the following:

Midwest ceramic analysis (Alt)

Faunal analysis and contact period artifact analysis (Scheiber)

Lithic microwear analysis (Sievert)

Midwest archaeology internships and work study (Munson)

Mathers Museum internships (Conrad)

Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology (Peebles)

Data archiving and computer analysis (Pyburn)

For more information on volunteer, for credit, or paid opportunities during Academic Year 2009 - 2010, click here. Please contact faculty members directly for additional information about these opportunities.

Undergraduate Courses in Archaeology taught in the last 2-3 years

A105: Human Origins and Prehistory, every semester (Sept, Sievert)

A408: Museum Practicum, every semester (Conrad)

A410: Senior Seminar Capstone in Anthropology (Scheiber, Sievert)

A495: Individual Readings in Anthropology, every semester (all faculty)

P200: Introduction to Archaeology, every semester (Alt, King, Sievert)

P240: Archaeology and the Movies, every 1-2 years (Sievert)

P250: World Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P301: Archaeological Methods and Analyses, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P314: Earlier Prehistory of Africa, every 2-3 years (Sept)

P330: Historical Archaeology, every 2 years (Sievert)

P350: Archaeology of Ancient Mexico, every 2-3 years (King)

P360: North American Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

P361: Prehistory of the Midwestern United States, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P363: North American Prehistory through Fiction, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

P370: Ancient Civilizations of the Andes, every 2-3 years (Sievert)

P380: Prehistoric Diet and Nutrition, every 3 years (Sept)

P385: Paleolithic Technology Lab, every 1-2 years (Sievert)

P399: Food in the Ancient World, every 2-3 years (Atalay, King)

P399: Indigenous Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Atalay)

P399: Archaeology of the Near East: Goddesses, Bulls, and Mounds, every 2-3 years (Atalay)

P399: Archaeology of Gender, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeologies of Identity, every 2-3 years (King)

P399: Landscape Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P399: Pottery in Archaeology, every 1-2 years (Alt, Atalay)

P399: Ancient Women, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Maya Seminar, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeology of the Maya, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeology of Violence and War, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P401: Cultural Resource Management, every 2-3 years (Alt, Sievert)

P405: Fieldwork in Archaeology, every summer (Peebles, Pyburn, Scheiber)

P406: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology, every 2-3 years (f06)

P409: Archaeological Ethics, every 2 years (Pyburn, Sievert)

P425: Faunal Osteology, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

Note: P399 is a variable topics course

The courses listed above have been recently taught by listed faculty, who intend to continue offer these classes on a regular basis

Undergraduate College Topics Courses Regularly Taught by Archaeologists in the Anthropology Department (these can count toward a minor in Anthropology)

COLL E104: Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations (King)

COLL E104: Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents:
An Introduction to the Scientific Method (Pyburn)

COLL E104: People and Animals (Scheiber)

COLL S104: Archaeology of Sex (Alt)