Bear Bones Lab URAP Project 1: Picuris Pueblo Collaborative Zooarchaeology
Jun Sunseri, Professor
Anthropology
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
The Picuris Pueblo Collaborative Field Program is a community-based archaeological and anthropological project between the University of Arizona, Columbia University, Southern Methodist University, and Picuris Pueblo in New Mexico near Taos. The project is seeking to map and record the outlying field structures surrounding the present-day Pueblo. Melanie Cootsona, one of Berkeley’s PhD students, is a member of this project and is using legacy collections from excavations in the 1960’s to determine the role of birds in the economic, political, spiritual, and social dynamics of the Pueblo from 1350-present day.
Role: There are two projects that can be serviced by two teams of URAPs or URAPs with both skill sets can be on both projects.
1)Community-facing publication of dissertation research (Artistic/Narrative skills): As part of working with Picuris Pueblo, we are creating a community facing narrative of the dissertation results. This is a long-term project, but creating art for the publication is the primarily deliverable for this semester. This can be sketch art, painting, cartoons, or digital art primarily of birds and bird anatomy. The goal is to create a publication that is accessible to many age groups and backgrounds.
2)Database collation and analysis (Database, data entry, and analytical skills): In support of analyzing the avian collection from Picuris Pueblo, the excavation data from the 1960s must be paired with the faunal analysis. In addition, the database needs to be queried and analyzed for larger trends among the data such as change of species procurement over time and spatial analysis.
This data will be used to track the long-term usage of avian species throughout the last 700 years at the Pueblo to form a discussion surrounding the resilience and survivance of Picuris Pueblo and Indigenous peoples in the Southwest. The data will be owned by both the Pueblo and the researchers and will form the basis of a doctoral dissertation.
Qualifications: This project will appeal to students interested in: Osteology, data management/entry, zooarchaeology, Indigenous studies, Southwest archaeology, art, and community collaboration
Students should have experience or interest in anatomy, interest in zooarchaeology (the study of animal remains at archaeological sites) and be willing to complete repetitive tasks. The qualified student will demonstrate attention to detail and organizational skills as well as relevant skills for either project.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Melanie Cootsona, Ph.D. candidate
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Engineering, Design & Technologies Social Sciences