ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL

Expanded For-Credit Summer Field Schools in Archaeology
Further your archaeology education in an exciting new way: ASU’s expanded program allows you to earn credit through field-based courses in archaeological excavation, human osteology, archaeological GIS, geophysical survey, paleoethnobotany and zooarchaeology. Based at the Center for American Archeology’s famous research and education facilities in Kampsville, Illinois, these courses offer field- and laboratory-based hands-on experience within a collegial network of scholars and students.

This program offers something for everyone – including coursework in beginning and advanced field archaeology, human osteology, GIS and geophysical survey methods. Staffed by nationally and internationally recognized scholars from Arizona State University, the Center for American Archeology, the University of Arkansas, the Illinois State Museum and Washington University in St. Louis, these programs create an intensive, immersion-style learning environment in which you will work with leading professionals and tap into the unparalleled natural and cultural resources of the Lower Illinois Valley region.

Participants will stay at one of the CAA’s bunkhouse-style dormitories, within easy walking distance of lecture halls, laboratories and local businesses.  Dormitories are equipped with refrigerators. Rooms are at minimum
double-occupancy; single rooms are not available. Separate shower & restroom facilities are provided for men and women. Meals are prepared by an experienced food-service provider who can accommodate most dietary needs.

Multiple enrollment options allow you to select the course best suited to your interests and education/career goals. Options include six-week and two-week programs.

Six-week courses for six credit hours, held from June 22 to August 1, include:

- Human Osteology
- Field Archaeology and Geophysical Survey
- GIS and Geophysical Survey

Two-week courses for three credit hours include:
- Paleoethnobotany (July 21 to August 1)
- Zooarchaeology (August 4 to 15)
For more information, please visit our web site:

 http://www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/projects/cbr/bfs/

1. Human Osteology (June 22 to August 1, six credits)
Whether your interests are in bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, skeletal biology, paleoanthropology or dental anthropology, this course will provide you with the anatomical and analytical expertise to study archaeologically and forensically recovered skeletal materials. Students with no prior background, as well as those with intermediate and advanced expertise, are welcome. Through hands-on laboratory learning, students will gain advanced anatomical knowledge of adult and juvenile skeletal materials. Lectures on dimensions of the biological profile (osteobiography) anchor laboratory exercises and specialized, independent research projects. Topics include bioarchaeology, paleodemography, biodistance and ancestry, paleopathology, nutrition and bioarchaeological case studies drawn from throughout the Americas. (Instructor: Dr. Jane E. Buikstra, professor of bioarchaeology, Arizona State University and President, Center for American Archeology.)

 2. Field Archeology and Geophysical Survey (June 22 to August 1, six credits)
The Field Archaeology track provides students of all skill levels with opportunities to engage in original, problem-based archaeological research in the Lower Illinois Valley while learning archaeological skills readily transferable to other environments. Field excavations are supplemented by evening lectures and discussions of archaeological theory, research design, field and laboratory methods and the natural sciences. During the first two weeks of the course, field archaeology students will participate in the geophysical and remote sensing training described in more detail below>

During the 2008 field season we will be working at Mound House, an important floodplain site best known for its Middle Woodland (ca. 50 B.C. – A.D. 400) mounds. Our current research has focused on the post-Middle Woodland use and reuse of the site. Integrating with the GIS and Geophysical Survey track, we supplement traditional field methods with increased emphasis on ground-based remote sensing, geo-archaeological and GIS approaches to explore long-term site use, social memory and natural and social landscape evolution.

Our previous excavation at Mound House Mound 1(1990-2000) and Mound 2 (2001-2006) has provided a detailed view of Middle Woodland mound-building and multi-community ceremonial site use. In 2007, we documented post-Middle Woodland/early Late Woodland occupation at one of the site’s habitation areas. In addition, we initiated a ceramics-based study that suggested possible early Late Woodland contributions to Mound 1, a structure conventionally considered solely of Middle Woodland origin.

In 2008 staff and students will continue to focus on post-Middle Woodland presence and contributions to the Mound House as we further explore the built environment of the Lower Illinois Valley. Students are invited to participate in this unique opportunity to investigate the built landscape of prehistoric life in the Lower Illinois Valley and to gain archaeological skills necessary to investigate the past in almost any environment. Instructors: Dr. Jane E. Buikstra (ASU), Jason L. King (UNM) and Dr. Gregory Vogel (ASU).

 3. GIS and Geophysical Survey (June 22 to August 1, six credits)
GIS and geophysical survey methods are revolutionizing archaeology by allowing researchers to "see" beneath the ground and process and analyze spatial data in powerful and creative ways. This intensive, 6-week field school will give you hands-on practice in these methods within the context of an on-going landscape-scale research project in the Lower Illinois Valley.

Students will receive training in geophysical survey instruments, and in processing, analysis, interpretation and ground-truthing of the data. Students will be exposed to magnetic gradiometry, electrical resistance, electromagnetic induction and ground-penetrating radar survey techniques. GIS methods will be taught through both site-specific and landscape-scale research questions, with emphasis placed on the study of archaeology and human-environment interactions. Specific GIS topics include importing and exporting diverse datasets, geo-referencing, map and database integration, map algebra, surface analysis and DEM-derived layers and predictive modeling.

Instruction will include daily lectures, readings and field- and laboratory-based data acquisition, processing and interpretation. Lectures, readings and field trips will also introduce students to regional archaeology and environmental history. Each student will complete a research project using archeological and environmental data from the Lower Illinois Valley. Instructors: Dr. Gregory Vogel (ASU) and Dr. Ken Kvamme (University of Arkansas).

 Paleoethnobotany (July 21 to August 1, three credits)
Are you interested in both archaeology and plants?  This two-week field school is an introductory course that offers hands-on training in field and laboratory methods in paleoethnobotany.

 Students will learn how to:
- Conduct flotation of sediments from an archaeological site.
- Collect and process modern plants, seeds and fruits for comparative collections.
- Weigh and sieve light and heavy fractions prior to analysis through the microscope.
- Identify common types of charred macrobotanical remains from a site in the  Illinois River valley and conduct basic quantitative analysis of these remains.
- Make inferences about prehistoric foodways and paleoenvironments.

Instructor: Dr. Gayle J. Fritz, Professor of anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis.

Zooarchaeology (August 4 to 15, three credits)

This two-week laboratory course, held at the Illinois State Museum Research and Collections Center in Springfield, will give you hands-on experience in identifying and analyzing animal remains from archaeological sites using an extensive skeletal reference collection.

 Students will:
- Become familiar with the skeletal anatomy of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians commonly encountered at Midwestern archaeological sites.

- Learn to identify teeth and fragmentary animal skeletal remains from archaeological faunal assemblages under the guidance of experienced specialists.

- Observe cultural modifications due to food preparation, including cut marks, burning, and boiling.

- See how various post-depositional agents affect animal remains, including  gnawing by scavenging animals, can be recognized and interpreted.

- Conduct basic quantitative analysis; make inferences about past environmental settings, subsistence strategies and site formation processes.

Students will also learn about innovations that are permitting researchers to ask new questions and acquire unique kinds of information from archaeological animal remains. Special presentations will include the following:

- Freshwater mussels as environmental indicators (Dr. Robert Warren).
- DNA and archaeological animal remains (Dr. Meredith Mahoney).
- Stable isotopes and paleoecology (Dr. Chris Widga).
- New insights on Pleistocene megafauna (Dr. Jeffrey Saunders).
- Evolution of prehistoric human subsistence strategies in the Lower Illinois Valley (Dr. Bonnie Styles).
- Examples of Historic period faunal utilization (Dr. Terrance Martin).

Instructors: Dr. Terrance Martin, curator of anthropology and Dr. Bonnie Styles, museum director, Illinois State Museum.

http://www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/projects/cbr/bfs/

http://www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/projects/cbr/bfs/program.html