Anthropology Department faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates spent March 30–April 3, 2011, in Sacramento, Calif., presenting papers and posters on the results of their research at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting.
The SAA is the largest professional organization of archaeologists in the Americas, and includes members from Europe and Asia as well.
Ten second-year graduate students in the M.A. in Applied Archaeology program—Seth Mitchell, Angela Jaillet, Donna Smith, Michael Sprowles, Amanda Gill, Sean Martorelli, Kristin Swanton, Douglas Ritchey, Lisa Dugas, and David Keoskie—made presentations on their thesis research. Three undergraduates in the Archaeology Track of the Anthropology major—Thomas Wambaugh, Jordan Gallentine, and Sarah Williams—presented the results of their Anthropology honors theses.
In addition, three faculty members were invited discussants in organized forums. Ben Ford was a discussant in “Professionalism: Getting the Job and Finding Success in the Real World,” sponsored by Student Affairs Committee; Sarah Neusius was a discussant in “The New Graduate Education: Master’s Programs in Applied Archaeology”; and Beverly Chiarulli was a discussant in “Forming Partnerships and Preparing New Generations of Archaeologists,” sponsored by the Public Education Committee.
A complete list of the presentations follows. (Unless otherwise noted, participants are from IUP.)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Poster Session: Raw Material Acquisition, Stone Tool Production, and Subsistence
Phillip Neusius and Seth Mitchell: “Prehistoric Chert Extraction in the Mountains of Central Pennsylvania”

Phil Neusius and Seth Mitchell with their poster
Poster Session: Integrating Geophysical Surveys into Archaeological Investigations
Organizers
Beverly Chiarulli and Angela Jaillet
Chair
Donna Smith
Participants
- Angela Jaillet: “Investigating Historic Accounts of Pandenarium: Geophysical Investigation at 36ME235”

- Donna Smith: “Comparing the Effectiveness of Ground Penetrating Radar in Identifying Stockade Features in Late Prehistoric and Historic Sites”
- Michael Sprowles: “Magnetometry and Electrical Resistivity Surveys of the Allegheny Portage Railroad”

Michael Sprowles during the poster session
- Amanda Gill: “Ground Penetrating Radar at Pyla-Koutsopetria, Cyprus”

- Joe Verbka (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and Sean Martorelli: “GPR Investigations of a Historic Cemetery in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania”

Angela Jaillet, Sean Martorelli, and David Kroskie at the poster session
Friday April 1, 2011
Poster Session: Coastal and Maritime Archaeology
Ben Ford and Peter Leach (John Milner Associates): “Through-Ice Ground Penetrating Radar for Shipwreck Identification”
Poster Session: Life, Death, and Survival in the Black Range
Beverly Chiarulli and Donna Smith: “Geophysical Investigations of Two Locales near Hermosa, New Mexico”

Faculty and student presenters at the Gila Archaeological Project poster session. From left: Dr. Eleanor King, Howard U; Shawn Fields, Wayne State U; Dr. Beverly Chiarulli, IUP; Donna Smith, IUP; Kathrina Aben, Howard U; Amelia Swygert, Howard U; and Ishan Gordon, Howard U.
General Session: Archaeological Education and Public Outreach in the Americas
Kristin Swanton: “Public Archaeology and Landowner Support at the Battle of Mystic Fort”
General Session: Hunter-Gatherer Studies in the Americas: Part 2
Douglas Ritchey: “The Ahtna Fish Weir Site: Weir Are the Fish?”
Saturday April 2, 2011
Poster Session: Of Rabbit and Deer: Hunting and Consumption in North America
Sarah Williams: “Prehistoric Deer Bones Tell Their Story: Investigating Deer and Human Behavior through Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis”
Poster Session: Investigating the Late Prehistoric in Pennsylvania
Organizers
Lisa Dugas and Sarah Neusius
Chair
Lisa Dugas
Participants