September 7, 2005

Purdue archaeology finds on display Sept. 14

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University anthropologists are inviting the public to learn more about archaeology while viewing artifacts from a recent excavation at a Sept. 14 open house.

The Archaeology Lab, Room 218 in Stone Hall, will be open from 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. to celebrate the 10th annual Archaeology Month in Indiana.

"Archaeology is about so much more than just digging," says Deborah Rotman, assistant professor of anthropology and director of the field school. "By opening the lab to visitors, people can learn about the behind-the-scenes work that contributes to where and how we excavate a site, as well as how we process and identify the artifacts we find."

Artifacts, such as glass marbles, buttons, keys, ceramic fragments and glass fruit jars, will be on display from the 2005 archaeological field school dig. Rotman and about a dozen students spent six weeks this summer excavating the yard of a home in Mulberry, Ind., that was occupied by wealthy families in the late 1800s.

At the field school, Purdue students are taught basic methods used in contemporary archaeology, including site surveying, mapping, excavating and computer-based analysis of archaeological data. The 2006 field school will explore a German-American farm settlement in the Hoosier National Forest.

James MacNaughton, a first-year master's student in anthropology, is the host for the Sept. 14 event, and can talk about his 2006 project at the St. Joseph's College Indian Normal School. Rotman also will be available to answer questions during the afternoon.

The Purdue open house is sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Archaeology Month is organized by the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Deborah Rotman, (765) 494-4683, drotman@cla.purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Related Web site:
Anthropology at Purdue

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