The Georgia State University’s Department of Anthropology & Geography will offer the Archaeology of the Chaco Anasazi Field School, to be held from May 15th to June 26th, 2006. The field school will take place in northern New Mexico, primarily at a 11th-century prehistoric community located near the present-day city of Grants. The field school is designed to accommodate no more than 10 students.

Students will begin the course with a week-long field trip during which they will learn about the prehistory and anthropology of the northern Southwest. Beginning in Albuquerque on May 16th, the field trip will progress through the modern towns of Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Jemez, and Crownpoint. Along the way, students will visit Pecos National Historic Park, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Bandelier National Monument, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. This portion of the field school will provide students with the background necessary to begin field research. This week-long trip will include a mix of camping and motel lodging, and it will culminate in the first of two mid-term exams.

The final five weeks of the course will focus on research at the prehistoric community known as "Blue J". Surrounded by impressive red sandstone cliffs that include spires and "window rocks," Blue J was once a thriving village of about 60 households that farmed the nearby drainage. At some point during the 11th century, Blue J's inhabitants appear to have constructed a public structure that symbolized their integration with the religious center of Chaco Canyon. The goal of research at Blue J is to identify when, why, and with what intensity people participated in the larger Chacoan system and how this interaction was related to social and political changes within the village.

Students will learn a variety of archaeological skills, including surveying, mapping, excavation, and artifact recording and analysis. The course will also emphasize research design and theoretical approaches for addressing anthropological questions using prehistoric remains. Weekdays will be spent conducting archaeological research at the community, while nights will include discussions of archaeological method and theory and the prehistory and ethnohistory of the Southwest. Readings on cultural resource management and archaeological ethics will culminate in the second mid-term exam taken during the 3rd weekend of the course

During the five weeks of investigations at Blue J, we will camp at the nearby Bluewater State Park during the weekdays. All participants will be required to share in camp responsibilities, including cooking, cleaning, and, most importantly, maintaining a positive attitude no matter what confronts us. Weekends will be spent at a wonderful bed-and-breakfast, the Zuni Mountain Lodge, which we will use as a base for excursions to the nearby prehistoric, historic, and contemporary Native American communities at El Morro National Monument, Village of the Great Kivas, and Zuni and Acoma Pueblos, as well as visiting modern attractions such as the "trading posts" of Gallup. We will also explore the nearby geological attractions of Mt. Taylor and the El Malpais lava fields and caves, and we will visit nearby field school projects conducted by other universities.

During the last weekend at Zuni Mountain Lodge, students will be required to complete an essay-based final exam. The course then will end in Albuquerque on June 26th. The final grade for the course will be based on the mid-term exams, the final exam, the development of expected field skills, and class participation.

The cost for students, in addition to GSU’s tuition and fees, will be $400, which will cover transportation in New Mexico, lodging, and most meals. $200 is due as a non-refundable deposit to be submitted with the application form; students not accepted to the program will receive this deposit back. The remaining $200 will be due by April 1st. Students also will be responsible for getting to Albuquerque, NM, by the first day of the course; current round-trip airline tickets are approximately $350. In addition, students will need approximately $120 (10 meals @ $12/meal) to cover meals eaten in restaurants during weekend trips, as well as whatever additional funds you would like to have for souvenir shopping, personal supplies, etc. Those students who do not own their own camping equipment will want to arrange to borrow and/or share gear, or rent it very inexpensively from GSU's Recreational Services.

Schedule

A detailed yet still tentative schedule is available by clicking here.

Application

Interested students will need to submit an application form and a $200 deposit by January 30th, 2005. This form is available directly from Dr. John Kantner in the Department of Anthropology and Geography, or it can be viewed here and printed. In the event that there are more interested students than space available, students will be admitted according to their status in the anthropology program.

Questions?

Feel free to contact me at kantner@gsu.edu or call 404-651-1761.