Anthropology students analyze an assortment of items from a privy, including shards of pottery and glass, and small animal bones.
This spring, Mizzou students will be among the first researchers to study excavation materials from select Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) highway projects. Interns will gain hands-on experience with content analysis and recording as they study site maps, surface collection notes, excavation field notes, photographs, and artifacts.
“MODOT is helping revolutionize how we train students to work in cultural resources management while also preserving the cultural heritage of Missouri,” said Christine VanPool, an associate professor of anthropology who worked with MODOT to design the internship.
This paid internship will require students to process and curate archaeological materials in an efficient and scientific manner before submitting reports to the anthropology department and MODOT. In return, students will spend more time honing their skills outside the classroom – leading to increased career readiness and the potential to develop their research into academic theses and dissertations.
One of VanPool's students makes a detailed list of items discovered at a site.
“These transferable skills will form the foundation of their careers as archaeologists and also prepare them for success in a variety of other professions, possibly leading to new standards in the archaeological industry,” said VanPool.
As the partnership evolves, there could be additional collaborations with MU researchers.
“Archaeology has always been an interdisciplinary endeavor,” said VanPool. “Mizzou’s amazing researchers and technologies allows our students to become the best-trained archaeologists in the world.”