Anthropology faculty and students are conducting many anthropological and archaeological research projects as part of their academic program work and through IUP Archaeological Services.
We work in locations throughout western Pennsylvania, the United States, and the world. A small sampling of our projects:
Research Projects
South Mountain Metarhyolite
Geochemical and archaeological analysis of pre-contact quarries within the South Mountain landscape.
Ethnographic Research on Refugee Policy, State Making, and the Care of Eritrean Refugee Youth in Ethiopia
Ethnographic research project on refugee policy and the care of refugee youth in Ethiopia.
IUP Archaeological Services
More than $15 million in projects and technical assistance to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, National Park Service, and dozens of other agencies.
Mobile Spatial Data Acquisition and Processing Lab Geophysical Technologies
Instrumentation for advanced geophysical and geospatial mapping in faculty and student research obtained through funding from PASSHE and the National Science Foundation.
Historic Hanna's Town, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Excavations, artifact analysis, historical research, and digital archaeology to reconstruct 18th-century life on the Pennsylvania frontier.
Early Metallurgy in Asia
Investigation of early metallurgy in southeast China and northern Vietnam during the period 1200-600 BCE.
Excavations at the Late Monongahela Squirrel Hill Site
Excavations, geophysical investigations, and artifact analysis of a pre-contact Native American village.
Newport Village
Archaeological and historical investigation of a late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century river town. Newport village formed an important connection between early roads and river transportation networks on the Pennsylvania frontier. IUP holds regular field schools at the site.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
National Park Service and Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit funded research at Fort Necessity National Battlefield. Research includes archaeological excavations, geophysical investigations, shovel test pit surveys, metal detector surveys, artifact analysis, and historical research.
Faunal Database Preservation and Accessibility
National Science Foundation-funded research to preserve and integrate existing data on the use of animals during the Archaic Period (ca. 10,000-3,000 BP) intDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record).
Geoarchaeology at the Raffman Mound Center, Madison Parish, Louisiana
Geologic research to study the timing and pacing of mound construction at the Coles Creek period (ca. A.D. 700-1200) Raffman Mound Center as well as investigating possible environmental factors contributing to the site's abandonment.
War of 1812 Shipwrecks in the Great Lakes
National Geographic Society-funded project to survey two shipwrecks associated with this crucial battle zone for the United States and Great Britain in the War of 1812.
Public Archaeology
Partnering with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council, the Ellis School in Pittsburgh, and other groups to introduce archaeology methods to elementary, middle, and high school students throughout the state.