Anthropology and Geography

Field school students working in the field

Archaeology Concentration

Through artifacts and excavations, archaeologists explore questions that can speak to contemporary social problems.

Archaeology is about recovering the human past and investigating how this past created the foundation for contemporary culture. Through archaeology we can understand how past peoples organized their lives, from customs and belief-systems, subsistence patterns, urban planning to the economic relationships that indigenous communities negotiated with colonial powers.

Archaeology at CSU

Our archaeology program provides a broad range of courses designed to provide foundational knowledge in the classroom and further engage students in experiential learning in our lab and field school courses.

CSU archaeology course subjects include: Rocky Mountain and plains archaeology; Andean archaeology; historic archaeology; Mesoamerican archaeology; Eastern woodlands archaeology; geoarchaeology; geophysical survey in archaeology; museum studies; public anthropology; taphonomy.

Our undergraduate program includes an archaeology concentration focused on the Americas from the perspective of multiple time scales.

Undergraduate Programs

Our Archaeology Field School course provides training and experience in field and lab research methods every summer.

Archaeology Field School

Archaeology Paths to Success

The following are examples of course sequences that a student may want to take to prepare them for specific jobs or careers

The listed courses for particular career paths are suggestions only. Be sure to seek the advice of Keri Canada, your Academic Success Coordinator, as well as your professors to help you choose courses best suited for your career endeavors. Consult the CSU Course Catalog to ensure you are meeting degree requirements. Also, pursue practical experience through field school, practicums, internships, and volunteer opportunities.

In addition to taking the required courses for an anthropology major with a concentration in archaeology, the sections below illustrate other courses useful to specific career paths.

  • ANTH 260 – Introduction to Field Archaeology
  • GR 311 – GIS for Social Scientists
  • ANTH 352 – Geoarchaeology
  • ANTH 360 – Archaeological Investigation
  • ANTH 457 – Lithic Technology
  • ANTH 458 – Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management
  • ANTH 465 – Zooarchaeology
  • ANTH 460 – Field Class in Archaeology
  • ANTH 461 – Anthropological Report Preparation
  • ANTH 462 – Anthropology Curation & Exhibition Methods

A Cultural Resource Specialist conducts archaeology within a framework of federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines for the protection and management of the nation’s cultural heritage. Jobs in this category are found at ShovelBums.org, Centennial Archaeology, Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc., and SWCA Environmental Consultants.

Field Schools

Archaeology Field School

Internships

Internships, Practica, and Independent Study

  • ANTH 260 – Introduction to Field Archaeology
  • ANTH 281A2 – Introduction to Museum Studies
  • ANTH 360 – Archaeological Investigation
  • ANTH 456 – Archaeology and the Public
  • ANTH 458 – Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management
  • ANTH 460 – Field Class in Archaeology
  • ANTH 461 – Anthropological Report Preparation
  • ANTH 462 – Anthropology Curation & Exhibition Methods
  • HIST 476 – History of America’s National Parks

Archaeological Technicians working for the National Park Service focus on the preservation, conservation, resource management, and interpretation in the national parks throughout the United States. Jobs in this category are found at.

Field Schools

Archaeology Field School

Internships

Internships, Practicums, and Independent Study

  • ANTH 352 – Geoarchaeology
  • ANTH 360 – Archaeological Investigation
  • ANTH 420 – Archaeological Geophysics: Practice and Theory
  • ANTH 458 – Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management
  • ANTH 460 – Field Class in Archaeology
  • ANTH 461 – Anthropological Report Preparation
  • GR 311 – GIS for Social Scientists
  • GR 315 – Quantitative Geographical Methods
  • GR 323 – Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation
  • GR 420 – Spatial Analysis with GIS
  • Obtain professional GIS certificate

A GIS analyst collects, manages, analyzes, models, and presents geographic or spatial data relating to the environment, geography, geology and archaeology. Jobs in this category are found at.

Field Schools

Archaeology Field School

Internships

Internships, Practicums, and Independent Study

  • ANTH 260 – Introduction to Field Archaeology
  • ANTH 281A2 – Introduction to Museum Studies
  • ANTH 457 – Lithic Technology
  • ANTH 465 – Zooarchaeology
  • ANTH 456 – Archaeology and the Public
  • ANTH 460 – Field Class in Archaeology
  • ANTH 461 – Anthropological Report Preparation
  • ANTH 462 – Anthropology Curation & Exhibition Methods
  • ART325 – Concepts in Art Education
  • HIST 479 – Practice of Public History
  • LEAP 300 – Arts Outreach and Community Engagement

Museum curators and collections assistants are tasked with the organization, management, preservation, and interpretation of artifact collections held in museums, repositories, and interpretive centers. Jobs in this category are found at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Museum Employment Resource Center, and National Center for Preservation Technology Training.

Field Schools

Archaeology Field School
Paleontology Field School

Internships

Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Smithsonian
Internships, Practicums, and Independent Study

Our Faculty

The archaeology program reflects the overlapping and diverse research interests of our faculty.

Opportunities for Student Engagement

Archaeology at CSU also offers students the opportunities to gain a wide variety of hands-on experience including field schools, internships, practicums, and the development of practical skills such as GIS, artifact curation, geoarchaeological analyses, aerial and terrestrial remote sensing methods, and report writing to name a few.

Archaeology students at CSU are encouraged to engage in research. Faculty-supervised student practicums, research projects and independent studies may concern lab management (museum curation, material processing), lab research (research design, methods, assessment, publication), and training in new technologies (drones, mapping, statistical analysis). These projects are made possible by faculty research facilities.

Undergraduate Students Alaura Hopper and Madeline Kunkel at the Alibates quarry in Texas in 2018

CSU Archaeology Centers

Our Archaeology Field School course provides experiential immersion in field and lab research methods every summer.

  • Center for Archaeology and Remote Sensing
  • Center for Research in Archaeogeophysics and
  • Geoarchaeology
  • Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology
Anthropology student presents his research poster

CSU Archaeology Labs

The opportunity to engage in original research with faculty mentorship.

  • Archaeology Lab
  • Mesoamerican Lab
  • Zooarcheology Lab
  • CSU Archaeological Repository

Testimonials

The archaeology program at CSU provides students with opportunities to learn through experience and mentorship. As a result, our graduates have followed paths to successful careers in non-academic and academic fields.

“When I came to Colorado State University in the fall of 2011, I was chosen to work with the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology (CMPA) through the Honors Undergraduate Research Scholars program. Under the supervision of Dr. Jason LaBelle, I participated in high elevation archaeology projects on Rollins Pass and was a crewmember at Chimney Hollow Open Space, Roberts Ranch, and Fossil Creek Wetlands Area. When I was not in the field, I could usually be found in the basement of Clark A-wing collecting data in the Archaeological Repository. I often joked that I lived in the laboratory, and at times, this statement wasn’t far from the truth, but I was driven by the prospect of discovery and learning.”

– Ashley Goodfellow (Packard) BA’15, Archaeology Technician, Cultural Surveys Hawaii, Inc.

“Without question my time at CSU helped get me where I am today. There are many people in the department to thank for that but first and foremost is Dr. Jason LaBelle whose mentorship, guidance, and friendship was a driving force that challenged me to become a better archaeologist and anthropologist. Jason helped to open many doors, including working with the public, giving public and professional presentations, and helping to mentor and train undergraduate students volunteering in the CMPA lab as well as on my thesis research. I will always treasurer my time in the department and the many friends I made along the way. My advice to current students, both graduate and undergraduate, is to take ownership of your education. Get involved, seek out ways to volunteer for different projects or in different labs, explore your career, and take advantage of the many opportunities available to you at CSU. Your time to be free, to explore new ideas, to sit down and read a journal article, or sit in the lab and debate a variety of topics with your peers is precious and fleeting; take advantage of this time and become an active participant in your education.”

– Chris Johnston MA’16, Operations Director, Paleocultural Research Group