Archaeology

Graduate Program    Faculty    Undergraduate Program

 

Archaeology is one of three programs (with Physical Anthropology and Sociocultural Anthropology) in the Department of Anthropology at Washington University. The archaeology program offers graduate and undergraduate training in a broad array of topical and geographic areas of study. We emphasize the combination of strong theoretical grounding in anthropology and archaeology with topical subspecialization to produce well trained, versatile, and marketable Ph.D. students. We also provide the opportunity for geographical concentration in Old and New World prehistory with on-going research taking place in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Italy, Scotland, and numerous locations in the United States. Our program is highly interdisciplinary: faculty and students work with scholars in different fields at Washington University and around the globe to produce a better understanding of human culture and history.

Graduate Study in Archaeology: Within the archaeology program there are areas of special concentration reflecting faculty interest and special research resources. We have highly regarded programs in paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, and geoarchaeology. Current faculty research is focused on the Mississippi Valley, the Southwest (including northern Mexico), Eastern Africa, and the Andean Highlands of South America. Faculty in the program share interests in understanding the origins of early plant and animal domestication, the study of hunter-gatherer societies, and the emergence and evolution of socio-economic complexity.

 The program admits only a small number of graduate students each year, but those who are admitted are fully funded for coursework and dissertation writing--typically 5 years. Students obtain funding from outside agencies to support their dissertation research. Students returning from field work are provided with one or two years of Teaching Assistantships and may apply for a one year Dissertation Fellowship. Graduate Students usually are provided offices in McMillan Hall. The Graduate Student Lounge provides internet access, graduate student mailboxes, and a collegial environment for students from all sub-disciplines. Students have access to computers and statistical programs in the Social Sciences Computing Facility and University Computer Laboratory, as well as in various laboratories in the Department of Anthropology. Graduate students at Washington University have excellent health-care benefits and receive extensive support in their transition to graduate school. For further information on resources available to graduate students please click here.

The small size of the graduate program allows faculty to tailor student training as required by the research project and the student’s needs. Students are encouraged to develop their own research interests while taking advantage of the numerous resources offered in the Anthropology Department and affiliated departments and interdisciplinary programs. We emphasize training in grant writing: a very high percentage of our students receive NSF dissertation improvement and other competitive grants. Students are encouraged to present their work at national and international conferences and to publish in peer-reviewed journals. Ph.D. graduates of the Department of Anthropology have been successful in the academic job market where they find that their combination of broad training and specialized research skills gives them a competitive edge.

Undergraduate Study in Archaeology: Washington University is one of the few institutions in North America that offers an undergraduate major in archaeology. Students may major in Archaeology, or specialize in archaeology while working towards a major in Anthropology. There is also a minor available. Undergraduate students are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous research resources and opportunities accessible through the Archaeology and Anthropology major programs. The Archaeology major is an interdisciplinary program involving participation by faculty in Anthropology, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, and Earth and Planetary Sciences. Undergraduate students who major or specialize in Archaeology can go on to graduate school in the field or can use their training as preparation for other professional fields (such as law, medicine, or business). Many of our students see this curriculum as an ideal liberal arts program that provides broad scholarly training while instilling a variety of research skills, including critical thinking and writing.

Faculty

  • Dave Browman (Prof; Archaeology)  

    North and Latin American archaeology; origins of agricultural economies; development of complex societies; pastoralism; historical archaeology; history of archaeology.

  • Gayle Fritz (Assoc Prof; Archaeology) 

    Paleoethnobotany; development of agricultural systems; plant domestication; subsistence and culture change; North American prehistory. 

  • John Kelly (Lecturer; Archaeology)

    Archeology of eastern North America; Mississippian emergence and decline; North America.

  • Cricket Kelly (Research Associate; Archaeology)

    Zooarchaeology; archeology of eastern North America; Mississippian emergence and decline; North America.

  • T.R. Kidder (Prof; Archaeology)

    North American archaeology; geoarchaeology; archaeological theory and method; ceramic analysis; humans and climate change; plant domestication; Mississippi River; southeastern United States.

  • Fiona Marshall (Prof; Archaeology)

    Old World Prehistory; African Archaeology; Ethnoarchaeology; Zooarchaeology; Early food production; the archaeology of human origins.

  • Erik Trinkaus (Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor in Arts & Sciences; Physical Anthropology)

    Human paleontology; skeletal biology; functional anatomy; Paleolithic archaeology.

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    Archaeology faculty on a visit to Kristen Arntzen's excavation at the Allscheid Rockshelter in Illinois (Kristen is third from left, holding the board): R to L: David Browman, Gayle Fritz,  John Kelly, Patty Jo Watson (retiring in 2004), Cricket Kelly, T. R. Kidder, Fiona Marshall  (Erik Trinkaus is not shown)

    Faculty in Related Disciplines

    Graduate Students

    Faculty Research

    Current Graduate Research (coming soon)

    Resources: The Department of Anthropology has numerous resources for field and lab analysis, including a fully equipped Archaeology lab, a geoarchaeology lab for sediment analysis, field equipment (including laser transit, standard and differential GPS receivers, GIS software, and computers), paleoethnobotany labs, and zooarchaeology labs. Additional resources include access to the Olin Library and the University library system (including the Earth and Planetary Sciences Library), the Social Sciences Computing Facility, the University Computer Lab, and Departmental computer resources. Washington University is committed to developing scholars and teachers and all graduate students are encouraged to take advantage of the Teaching Center for pedagogical instruction.

    Contacts: Students seeking further information on the Graduate Program in Anthropological Archaeology should contact Dr. Kathleen Cook (Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 1114, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, 314-935-5271); Undergraduates interested in the interdisciplinary program in Archaeology should contact Dr. Dave Browman (Department of Anthropology, Campus Box 1114, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, 314-935-5231); all other undergraduate inquires should be directed to Dr. Kathleen Cook at the address above.