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| Research
Facilities
The Indiana Prehistory Laboratory is a new facility, primarily designed to support undergraduate and faculty research in archeology. The lab has a built-in flotation tank (for processing mainly tiny charred plant and animal remains), artifact preparation and analysis areas, as well as long-term storage space. As the name implies, the core interest of this laboratory is understanding human lifeways in Indiana (and the adjacent Midwest) before the arrival of Europeans. To date, the focus has been on Indiana's earliest inhabitants who lived from between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago. The Archeology and Forensics Laboratory facilitates archeological and bio-anthropological research for undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. This laboratory houses archeological collections predominantly from Indiana. However, it also currently curates an extraordinary collection of prehistoric Alaskan artifacts. It contains numerous teaching resources: an ever-growing faunal collection, casts of fossil animals and humans, and various technical resources including a dedicated bone preparation room, a photography room, and analysis and preservation areas.
The Archeology Classroom is a dedicated space devoted to smaller classes and seminars. It has its own audio-visual equipment, including a close-up video camera linked to an overhead monitor, heavy-duty laboratory tables, and a sizable display of human-ancestor cranial casts and sample artifacts. Special Research Opportunities We pride ourselves on providing unique research opportunities for students. Currently, several undergraduates are actively involved in archeology research. These students eventually author or co-author papers presented at scientific meetings. Occasionally, their work is published in scientific journals. The Department of Anthropology also cooperates with the Department of Biology in offering undergraduate courses in the Human Biology major. Each year these two departments also admit a small cadre of Master of Science candidates into the graduate Human Biology program, which has major emphases in forensic anthropology, dental science, and bio-archeology. Every other year we host our own archeology field school. This is a three- to six-week opportunity to excavate at a site that is generally within driving distance of campus. Accordingly, students have a great field opportunity without incurring major travel or lodging expenses. A few students occasionally participate with law enforcement personnel in forensic anthropology cases. Others sometimes participate in fieldwork outside Indiana and/or North America. We also provide internships with local museums, state agencies,
and archeology firms. These opportunities give students a chance
to explore potential anthropology and archeology career paths firsthand.
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