Field School in Historical and Urban Archaeology, Newport, Rhode Island
The Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research and Department of Anthropology are sponsoring an urban archaeological field school in Newport, Rhode Island.
About the Program
The research theme of the project is "Interpreting the Lives of Merchants in Eighteenth-Century Newport," with a focus on the role of mercantile capital in shaping the urban landscape and the city’s social structures of race, class, and gender during the colonial period. Through daily archaeological fieldwork and laboratory analysis students will learn the process of excavation, field recording, sample collection, and basic artifact analysis in historical archaeology. The course includes an explicit focus on urban environmental archaeology, with specialized sampling for recovery of plant, animal, insect and parasite remains to study health, diet, and the changing urban landscape.
This project will be run in collaboration with archaeologists and students from Salve Regina University. Participants will be housed on the Salve Regina campus and use the facilities of the Department of Cultural and Historic Preservation.
About The Andrew Fiske Center for Archaeological Research
The Andrew Fiske Center for Archaeological Research was established in 1999 by Alice H. Fiske as a living memorial to her late husband Andrew to celebrate his love of archaeology and the history of Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, New York. The Center supports interdisciplinary, archaeological research that examines the historical roots of many of the world's contemporary cultural and environmental issues. Working as an integrative force within the University, the Center seeks to expand research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of historical archaeology, environmental archaeology, cultural and urban studies, and environmental history.
Courses and Credit
Successful students will be awarded 6 credits of ANTH 685, Field Research in Archaeology. This graduate course will be capped at eight, so interested students are encouraged to apply early.:
- ANTH 485/685, Field Research in Archaeology
- A supervised sequence of field research in archaeology. This research involves continuous study in a field situation directed by a professional anthropologist. The course may include attendance at field schools directed by qualified faculty outside the University, with permission of the department. No more than six credits from field research courses (483, 484, 485, 486) can be applied toward the major.