REU Site: From Field to Lab: Bringing Science to Underserved Undergraduate Students through Archaeology

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Students participating in the Rock Art Ranch Research Enrichment for Undergraduates (RAR-REU) program gain experience in archaeological survey and excavation while in the field for five weeks at a private ranch on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona followed by two weeks in diverse research labs at the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. While in the field, students are immersed in a research program that explores the history of the region over the past 5000 years. The goals of RAR-REU are to involve and engage undergraduates in all aspects of this research process. Engagement is achieved through lectures by archaeologists, indigenous anthropologists, and staff, and through field trips to experience local archaeology and indigenous cultures. Involvement includes hands-on experiences with excavation and survey methods, mapping, documentation, and work in the field lab. Each student identifies a research project that is conducted with guidance from faculty mentors and presented on the last two days of the REU period. On the University of Arizona campus the students have two weeks to work in conservation, zooarchaeology, biological archaeology, and ceramics/lithics labs at ASM to gain experience in analytical methods essential to answering modern archaeological problems. Intellectual Merit: Two years of survey on RAR has discovered 14 preceramic, Basketmaker II (BMII) sites along canyons on the west side of the ranch, not including the previously documented BMII petroglyph site in Chevelon Canyon. The RAR-REU program will focus its research on this community seeking to provide a context for the meaning of the glyphs and to indirectly date them through collection of radiocarbon samples from burned features that are abundant in the BMII sites. The concentration of BMII sites on RAR and the presence of extensive imagery in the canyon provide an opportunity to understand BMII land and resource use, the length of time sites were in use, whether or not the settlements were focused on farming or hunting and gathering, and the role of petroglyph sites in the creation of the BMII landscape. Broader Impacts and Integration of Research and Education: RAR-REU is designed to provide an immersive, science-based experience to undergraduate students through interaction with numerous professionals representing different disciplines and perspectives, including native scholars, field archaeologists, conservators, and museum professionals. Students work closely with faculty mentors to develop their research projects. Recruitment to RAR-REU focuses on local universities, colleges, and community colleges having significant Native American representation. We also work with tribal cultural preservation programs to help recruit participants. In addition, we target small colleges and community colleges having significant underrepresented groups, including women. Collaborations on research projects between students and faculty are presented at local and national professional archaeology meetings and published as multi-authored articles and book chapters. The benefits of the proposed research and activities to society are in modeling numerous careers in social science that are possible for underrepresented groups and in demonstrating the process of scientific enquiry and its value in increasing our understanding of not only the present world, but of past worlds and societies.