FALL 2023 | TOWER 23 The latest field school was held May 30 through June 23. Newlander and 12 students conducted fieldwork at Stoddartsville, a small location in northeast Pennsylvania best known as the site of an early 19th-century milling village. At Stoddartsville, students examine a variety of interrelated sociological and anthropological issues, including landscape modification, urban development, perceptions of health and hygiene, socioeconomic hierarchies, and racial, ethnic and gender relations. Newlander also conducts fieldwork in two other locations: Joanna Furnace, a 19th-century ironworks located south of Reading, Pa., that holds material evidence of the correlated impacts of industrialization on society over the past 200 years, and on-campus at a “precontact archaeology site” described as a “Late Archaic to Early Woodland period site.” The on-campus field location helps position Kutztown University within a larger collective study of land use and sociocultural behavior indicative of east-central Pennsylvania up to 6,000 years ago. Time is taken at the beginning of each session to orient students on the sociological and anthropological history of the dig site. A walkover survey is conducted to help determine where individuals lived and worked and where buildings may have been located. Dr. Laura Sherrod, professor of physical sciences, helps perform geophysical surveying to determine fruitful excavation locations, a practice conducted by sending energy pulses into the ground. “As students dig deeper, they are literally digging back in time,” Newlander said. Changes in soil reflect different time periods, while discovered artifacts suggest where people lived or foundations were built. The field school helps students determine if they want to follow archaeology as a career path. It also provides them with the tools to expand their education while offering invaluable experience for professional opportunities. “Each research project contains built-in networking opportunities for students to connect with local historical societies, museums and similar organizations, which students have taken advantage of for internships, volunteerism and employment,” Newlander said. In fact, due to the program’s strength, high-achieving anthropology students who participate in the field school are guaranteed admission to the master of arts program in applied archaeology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Archaeology might feel like a puzzle with the pieces turned upside down – but uncovering the past helps KU students find the pieces to their futures.
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