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US - New Mexico - Southwestern Archaeological Field School PDF Print E-mail

Field School

Southwestern Archaeological Field School

Application Deadline: March 24, 2006 (Please call if your application will be delayed)
Field School Dates: May 30-July 7, 2006

University, College, Institution


University of New Mexico, Albuquerque New Mexico

Field School Location

Deann s Site (LA 134644), a small Folsom bison kill and short-term campsite located west of the Albuquerque Volcanoes.

Field School Overview

  • Field School Type: Excavation, Survey, Ethnography (Learn basic field and laboratory skills)
  • Time Period(s) Note if the school historic/prehistoric as well as any regional specific periods (1300-1850)
  • Field School Conditions: Field School will be based in Albuquerque, and students will commute daily from the UNM campus to and from the field site. Students who are not Albuquerque-area residents will need to provide their own lodging and subsistence.
  • Field School Access: Students are not required to provide their own transportation. The field school will provide transportation to and from work locations and for all field trips. Private cars will be necessary only for personal trips.
  • Number of years for field school: 40 years

    Project Directors

    Bruce B. Huckell
    Field School Director and Research Associate Professor,
    Department of Anthropology

    Field School Description

    The 2006 UNM Southwestern Field School will be held from May 30-July 7. One of the oldest field school programs in the Southwest, it offers students the opportunity to learn basic field and laboratory skills within the context of a particular research problem. This summer, the field school will be held at Deann s Site (LA 134644), a small Folsom bison kill and short-term campsite located west of the Albuquerque Volcanoes. This site was discovered in 2001, and limited test investigation has shown it to contain flaked stone artifacts and bison remains in a shallow eolian sand deposit adjacent to a small playa (dry lake) basin.

    Research at Deann s Site is an important component of a long-term project investigating Folsom land use and paleoecology
    in the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. As participants in the field school, students will learn:

    Paleoindian prehistory of New Mexico
    Research approaches to hunter-gatherer land use
    Archaeological excavation techniques to recover artifacts and faunal remains
    Geoarchaeological methods of identifying, recording, and sampling Quaternary deposits
    Site survey techniques
    Basic lithic artifact analytical techniques


    While the main focus will be excavation at Deann s Site and the playa adjacent to it, students will also learn archaeological
    survey techniques on parcels of land on the Llano de Albuquerque west of Deann s Site. Day-long trips will be made to
    such important sites as Blackwater Draw in east-central New Mexico and the Pedernal chert source in the northern Jemez Mountains



    Field school web site: www.unm.edu/~anthro/courses/fieldsch.htm
    Field School Size: 16-25
    Minimum age: 18
    Is prior experience required?: No

    Specialized skills you will have the opportunity to learn

    Manual Mapping/drawing (plan views, profiles): Yes
    Total Station EDM mapping: Yes
    Compass mapping survey: Yes
    GIS: Yes
    Remote Sensing: Yes
    Magnetometer: Yes
    Resistivity: Yes
    Excavation Survey Techniques: Yes
    Interpreting stratigraphy: Yes
    Soils: Yes
    Resortation conservation architecture: Yes
    Lab work: Yes
    Database: Yes
    Artifact analysis: Yes
    Report writing: Yes

    Academic, Credit Room and Board, & Tuition

    Academic Credit: Yes
    Number of Credits: 6 Credit Hours
    $171.20* per credit hour for undergraduates ($1,027.20 for 6 units)
    $188.20* per credit hour for graduates ($1,129.20 for 6 units)
    Name of Institution offering credit

    Room and Board Information: Students who are not Albuquerque-area residents will need to provide their own lodging and subsistence. Non-resident students may stay on campus or find housing at a short-term location such as an apartment or motel. If you are interested in assistance in finding housing, please contact field school director Bruce Huckell.

    Recommended readings

    Plains, Playas, and Paleoindians

    Additional web sites: www.unm.edu/~oca

    Archaeology field school contact

    Field School
    Attn: Yolanda Nieto
    Department of Anthropology
    MSC 01 1040
    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, NM 87131
    Yolanda Nieto can be reached at (505) 277-1536 or by email at ynieto@unm.edu

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