Historical Archaeology

Faculty

Christa Beranek (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), PhD, Boston University

Historical archaeology
Material culture studies
Vernacular architecture
Identity
Eastern United States

Douglas Bolender, PhD, Northwestern University

Viking age and medieval archaeology
Landscape archaeology
Spatial analysis and GIS
North Atlantic

Jerry Howard, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Historical archaeology
African Diaspora studies
Community and public archaeology
Foodways
Panama and Circum-Caribbean

David B. Landon (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), PhD, Boston University

Historical archaeology
Environmental archaeology
Industrial archaeology
Zooarchaeology
Eastern United States

Nedra Lee, PhD, University of Texas

Historical archaeology
African Diaspora studies
Gender, race, and class
Community archaeology
Eastern United States
Texas

Stephen A. Mrozowski, PhD, Brown University

Historical archaeology
Urban archaeology
Archaeology of class
Postcolonial studies
Eastern United States

Stephen W. Silliman, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Historical archaeology
Colonial and postcolonial studies
Indigenous archaeology
Community archaeology
California
Eastern United States

John Steinberg (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Complex societies
Economic anthropology
GIS and remote sensing
Iceland

Heather Trigg (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), PhD, University of Michigan

Prehistoric and historical archaeology
Culture contact and colonialism
Paleoethnobotany
Southwest
Eastern United States

J. Cedric Woods (Institute for New England Native American Studies) PhD, University of Connecticut

Tribal government
Collaboration and community engagement
Education
Economic development
Native American history and heritage
Eastern North America

Affiliated Faculty and Staff

Ping-Ann Addo, PhD, Yale University

Cultural anthropology
Material culture
Visual arts
Cultural migration
Pacific islands

Patrick Clarkin, PhD, Binghamton University

Biological anthropology
Hmong immigrant communities
War and dislocation
Human growth and development

Christopher Fung, PhD, Harvard University

Cultural anthropology
Race, nationalism, identity
Archaeology
Mesoamerica
Pacific
China
Africa

José Martinez-Reyes, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Cultural anthropology
Globalization
Environmental anthropology
Landscape
Indigenous cultures
Latin America

Rosalyn Negrón, PhD, University of Florida

Cultural anthropology
Latino/a studies
Urban anthropology
Linguistics
Identity
Eastern United States
Caribbean

Dennis Piechota (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), MA, Brown University

Curation
Conservation
Archaeological chemistry

Virginia Popper (Fiske Center for Archaeological Research), PhD, University of Michigan

Paleoethnobotany
Agricultural intensification
Historical archaeology
Mesoamerica
Western North America

Meredith Reiches, PhD, Harvard University

Biocultural anthropology
Human lifecycle
Reproductive ecology
West Africa

Timothy Sieber, PhD, New York University

Urban anthropology
Anthropology of education
Ethnicity
Child welfare
Heritage tourism
Development
Eastern United States
Portugal

Elizabeth Sweet, PhD, Northwestern University

Biocultural anthropology
Health disparities
Stress and embodiment
North America

Lauren Sullivan, PhD, University of Texas

Mayan archaeology
Ceramic analysis
Complex societies
Mesoamerica

The Program

The Master’s Program in Historical Archaeology administered by the Anthropology Department is devoted to the integration of advanced archaeological methods, environmental analyses, anthropology, and history as part of the interdisciplinary and international nature of contemporary historical archaeology. We offer concentrations in material culture, Native American history, African Diaspora studies, New England colonial and urban cultural history, comparative study of colonialism, public and community archaeology, archaeobiology, environmental archaeology, landscapes, spatial analysis, industrialization, globalization, heritage, and museums. Combining eleven faculty and staff members from the Anthropology Department and the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, the program offers diverse laboratory and field experiences to complement regular course work, as well as careful mentoring and professional training. These laboratories focus on artifact processing, material culture study, object conservation, identification of plant remains, animal bone and shell analysis, data entry and processing, digital analysis and graphics, Geographic Information Systems and mapping, microscopy, and archaeological chemistry. Area concentrations in the program are available in the American Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Southwest, and West; the Caribbean and Central America; Mesoamerica; and the North Atlantic.

The graduate program is designed (1) to begin a student’s advanced-degree path with course work, research, and training that ensure competitiveness for and success in PhD programs, and (2) to provide a strong methodological and theoretical foundation for students seeking jobs in cultural resource management, museums, nonprofit organizations, Native American tribal programs, secondary education, government agencies, and community colleges. Graduates of the program have been highly successful on both of these fronts. Students are expected to take three required courses and five electives in anthropology or related disciplines, plus a graduate-level archaeological field school. The latter often serves as a vehicle for thesis research. Research opportunities are available through the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research and the Anthropology Department. Internships may be sought with several area museums and other institutions. Graduate assistantships and research assistantships that carry tuition/fee waivers and stipends are awarded competitively to qualified students.

Programs

Historical Archaeology, MA