Spatial Analyses in Archaeology Internship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The goal of this internship is to provide an undergraduate student with basic museum collection experience and skills for handling, curating, and analyzing collections. For this project the intern will be working with archaeological specimens from a 13,000 year-old stratified site in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The internship will involve collection management (cataloguing, organizing, and database management) and collection based research. The intern will: 1) record and organize specific artifacts in the collection; 2) create a database of objects select objects present in the Paleoindian level of the site; 3) rectify errors in the database using field notes; and 4) develop and execute a small research project in consultation with the Intern’s supervisor. The research project will involve some aspect of spatial analysis using lithics (stone tools) from the site. In this process the intern will gain familiarity with stone stools. These components of the project will provide a basic working knowledge of museum collections, educate the intern on database creation and use, and teach the intern how to record basic artifact attributes, such as type, frequency and size, which can provide important information about past human behavior.
This internship is in conjunction with a NSF Grant, which will provide a stipend to off-set the cost of this six-week educational experience for undergraduate students. Research will take place in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. The internship is to begin in May.
Apply by March 24th with statement of your educational or research goals that will be achieved through this internship (not exceed 300 words), Curriculum Vitae, and list of anthropology or related course work.
QUALIFICATIONS: Anthropology Major (preference given to focus in archaeology) and upper division course work in anthropology.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The intern will: 1) learn basic artifact identification and organization skills; 2) learn to use databases; 3) learn data management; and 4) develop and execute a small research project in consultation with the Intern’s supervisor. The intern will also have opportunities to attend institution-wide lectures and network with other interns and Smithsonian Researchers.
TIMETABLE: Apply by March 24, 2017 - the application process will remain open until positions are filled. Tentative Internship dates are: May 12 – July 7th. Opportunities for additional weeks of volunteering or extension of the internship may be available. Please indicate dates of availability in the application.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Name: Dr. Joseph Gingerich
Phone:
E-mail: Gingerichj@si.edu