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Consortium for Archaeological Research (CAR) Brochure

Facilities

The Consortium for Archaeological Research is housed in McDonel Hall on the MSU campus. Its facilities include a teaching laboratory and classroom, three wet laboratories, a dry laboratory, storage facilities, and an archaeological collections repository for the processing, analysis, and storage of archaeological collections. An office wing houses participating faculty and graduate student offices, facilities for slide and map storage, archives and files, Geographic Information System and other computer workstations, and a conference room.

Current Research

Many of today’s archaeological specialties are represented by the research interests of consortium faculty and graduate students, among whom are prehistorians and historical and classical archaeologists. In addition to the consortium’s major focus on prehistoric and historic periods of the Great Lakes region, its members also have active field programs in southern Africa, western Mexico, California, the southeast and southwestern United States, England, Sicily, Greece, and the Middle East.

The wide-ranging interests of consortium faculty and students coalesce on several topical and geographical foci in an approach that can be characterized as political ecology, uniformly addressing the broader relationships of changing human organization in environmental and social contexts.

Conducting research in vastly different settings, consortium archaeologists find common interest in topics such as hunting-and-gathering adaptations, paleoenvironmental change, the transition to food production, the organization of state-level societies, processes of culture contact, and the mortuary behavior, biology, and nutrition of past populations. They maintain active research relationships with specialists in other Michigan State University departments.

The consortium provides teaching and research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students across its represented disciplines. Undergraduate students participate in fieldwork and laboratory processing of archaeological collections. Under faculty and graduate student supervision, they also analyze collections and engage in curatorial activities.

The collections and documents-based research of participating consortium faculty provide a focus for graduate student research at the masters and doctoral levels. Students may draw on faculty from several disciplinary units in this process.

Programmatic Support

The consortium and its participating faculty administer a wide range of research grants that provide funding opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, student support is available through disciplinary departments, as well as through work study and other university-based programs.

Academic Programs

A variety of academic programs through several degree-granting departments are available to students associated with consortium faculty.

The departments of Anthropology, History, Art, and Geography offer regular Masters and Doctoral programs, and a specialization in Museum Studies is possible through the College of Arts and Letters. The Ancient Studies Program allows students an interdisciplinary perspective engaging faculty from the departments of Art, Religion, and History in the College of Arts and Letters. Those interested in cultural resource management may engage in a specialized Masters program in Management and Resource Anthropology, which also allows students to draw on faculty and courses in the College of Natural Resources and Center for Underwater and Maritime Studies. Students interested in geoarchaeology may draw on associated faculty in Geography and Geology.

Through internships with private industry and state and federal government agencies, students can apply classroom learning in professional work environments. They may also earn credits toward their majors in research-based field programs available through degree-granting departments and the MSU Study Abroad Program.

Outreach

The Consortium for Archaeological Research works closely with public groups interested in archaeology to provide program organization and facilities for scheduled events. Regular meetings of the Michigan Archaeological Society and the Archaeological Institute of America are hosted by participating consortium units. Members of the consortium make regular presentations to lay audiences including public school classes. Consortium faculty maintain a high profile in national and state professional societies as well.

Collections

A consortium member, the MSU Museum houses the consortium’s teaching collections as well as extensive research collections, primarily from the Great Lakes region.

Location

The MSU Consortium for Archaeological Research is located on East Shaw Lane, in the east wing of McDonel Hall on the campus of Michigan State University. [campus map]

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