Historical Archeology - Graduate Programs - Department of Sociology & Anthropology

Archaeology is broadly defined as the study of the relationship between material remains and humans at any time or place, whether it be the French Colonial Midwest or the Middle Paleolithic of Northern Europe. We emphasize fieldwork, analytical methods, theory, and writing for all of our students regardless of their concentration.

We now offer a Master’s Degree in Archaeology that has three concentrations: Historical Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology and Bioarchaeology. The curriculum is core-light and flexible and programs of study are individualized to meet the diverse and changing needs of archaeology.

Our flexible program not only suits our faculty and mirrors our discipline, but it benefits our students as they create individualized programs to meet their diverse needs whether they want to enter the job market after completing the MA/MS or continue their graduate training at the PhD level.

Most of the jobs at the MA level will be in contract archaeology, who often prefer employees with a more diverse background in prehistory and history as well as specialized skills in mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), or computer applications.
Students seeking to continue their studies at the PhD level work closely with our internationally known faculty to design a program and MA thesis topic (below) that will best suite their needs as they prepare for study at the next level.

Our Faculty:

Fred H. Smith is a paleoanthropologist with long-term interests in European Neandertals and the origin of modern humans. He participates in collaborative research with colleagues in Croatia and Germany, including Paleolithic excavations conducted by the Universities of Zagreb (Croatia) and Tübingen (Germany).

James M. Skibo is a prehistoric archaeologist and current Director of the Grand Island Archaeological Program. Dr. Skibo’s interests include the archaeology of the Great Lakes, American Southwest, the ISU Old Main archeological project, as well as archaeological theory and ethnoarchaeology. (field schools)

Elizabeth M. Scott is an historical archaeologist who directs research projects in the former French colonial settlements along the Mississippi River in Missouri. Dr. Scott’s interests include feminist archaeology, zooarchaeology, colonialism (especially New World French colonialism), and social theory. (field schools)

Maria Ostendorf Smith is a biological anthropologist who specializes in paleopathology (the study of ancient diseases). Her methodology is bioarchaeology, that is, the employment of pathology, nutritional status, and traumatic injury to reconstruct ancient quality of life, socio-cultural patterns (e.g., gender, social status), and political histories. Dr. Smith’s area of interest is the pre-Columbian southeastern United States and her ongoing research expertise is Tennessee River Valley bioarchaeology. (field schools)

Kathryn Sampeck is an historical archaeologist who specializes in the ethnohistory and archaeology of Spanish colonization. Her current work examines the Spanish contact period in southern Mesoamerica (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) and focuses on how American products, such as cacao (chocolate) were part of the beginnings of the world market. Dr. Sampeck's archaeological field school in eastern Tennessee will investigate early Spanish interaction with the Cherokee. Her other interests include landscape archaeology, ceramic analysis, and urbanism. (field schools)

The cultural and linguistic anthropologists in the program (James Stanlaw, Gina Hunter (field schools), and Nobuko Adachi) teach elective courses and they can also serve on graduate committees. Please see Faculty Profiles for further information.

Program Graduates and Thesis Titles: (pdf)