Bear Bones Lab URAP Project 1: Picuris Pueblo Collaborative Zooarchaeology
Jun Sunseri, Professor
Anthropology
Applications for Fall 2024 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 particularly large mammals in the economic, political, spiritual, and social dynamics of the Pueblo from 1350-present day
Role: Students working on this project will assist in the categorizing, analysis, and data management of animal bones under the supervision of a PhD student. This data will be used to track the long-term usage of 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: his project will appeal to students interested in:
Osteology, data management/entry, zooarchaeology, Indigenous studies, Southwest archaeology
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.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Melanie Cootsona
Be able to commit to weekly hours: 3-5 hours
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Melanie Cootsona, Ph.D. candidate
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Engineering, Design & Technologies Social Sciences