<p>Archaeology is the study of the human past through material remains.
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology has an active program of
archaeological fieldwork, museum-based research, and undergraduate
education, with a focus on the Pre-Columbian and history eras of the
New World. Facilities include a small archaeology/biological
anthropology lab that serves as a base for faculty and student research
projects. We also host the <a href="http://soantest.gmu.edu/symposia_archaeology">George Mason Symposia on Archaeology</a>,
an annual one-day event designed to bring current archaeological
research on important social topics to a broad audience. Our students
have attended field schools and volunteered on archaeological projects
throughout the United States and abroad; many have gone on to graduate
school as well as careers in public archaeology.</p>
<p><img src="../../system/pics/5/large/archaeologypagefigure1.jpg" alt="Archaeology Figure One" width="400" height="300" /></p>
<h4>Active Projects Include</h4>
<p><a href="../../project_mesoamerican">GMU Mesoamerican Collections Project</a></p>
<p><a href="../../project_tano">The Tano Origins Project </a></p>
<p><a href="project_antiquity">Encountering Antiquity Project</a></p>
<h4>Full-time Faculty</h4>
<p>Alexander Benitez</p>
<p><span class="highlight">Research interests:</span> Archaeology, Mesoamerica-Central Mexico, U.S. Southwest, Ancient
Economies (particularly the exchange/trade of obsidian tools), the
archaeology of borderlands/periphery regions, the history of and
relationships between Anthropologists and Museums</p>
<p>Ann Palkovich</p>
<p><span class="highlight">Research interests:</span> The Nature of Emergent and Self-Organizing Properties of Human Evolution, The Skeletal Biology of Prehistoric Populations</p>
<p>James E. Snead</p>
<p><span class="highlight">Research interests: </span> North America (particularly U.S. Southwest), cultural landscapes, the archaeological study of conflict and warfare</p>
<h4>Part-time/Visiting Faculty</h4>
<p>Lori Lee </p>
<p><span class="highlight">Research interests:</span> historical archaeology, US/Carribean, the African diaspora, landscape,
migration, the materiality of memory and identity, particularly as it
relates to race and gender</p>
<p>AJ Vonarx</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="highlight">Research interests: </span>the
development of creative techniques for analysis, dating, interpretation
of architecture in Mesoamerica and the Southwestern United States, the
study of technological innovation, experimental archaeology,
pyrotechnologies, geochemical sourcing of artifacts </p>
<h4>Partnerships</h4>
<p><a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/">Fairfax County Park Authority</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.fairfaxva.gov/MuseumVC/MVC.asp">Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nmai.si.edu/">National Museum of the American Indian</a></p>
<h4>Archaeologists in Other Departments at George Mason<br /></h4>
<p>Sheryl Luzzader Beach (Department of Earth Systems and Geoinformation Sciences)</p>
<p><a href="http://esgs.gmu.edu/">http://esgs.gmu.edu</a></p>
<p>Carol Mattusch (Department of History and Art History)</p>
<p><a href="http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/faculty-and-staff/carol-muttusch/">http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/faculty-and-staff/carol-muttusch/</a></p>
<p><img src="../../system/pics/6/large/archaeologypagefigure3_000.jpg" alt="Archaeology Figure Two" /></p>
3
2009-06-17T15:40:30Z
1
804
false
archaeology
653
false
25
Archaeology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology
2009-08-09T12:14:15Z
2009-08-09