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About the Major

Geoarchaeology is the study of techniques and methods used to understand geological processes applied to the archaeological record and how humans engage, utilize, and move through landscapes during the past. Students combine a sequence of courses in archaeology and geosciences for broad study of theory, method, and analysis in both disciplines. Topics of focus include geochemistry, stratigraphic succession, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and landscape evolution. Opportunities for research include fieldwork in eastern Africa, Romania, the Pacific Northwest, eastern North America, and Central New York.

Students Will Learn To:

  • Engage with disciplinary fundamentals from anthropological archaeology
  • Engage with disciplinary fundamentals from geosciences
  • Combine practice and methodology through research design
  • Apply disciplinary perspective(s) in an original research project

A Sampling of Courses

lava

Analytic Methods in Archaeology

A survey of analytic techniques central to archaeological and paleoecological interpretation. Laboratory performance of artifact analysis and classification, computer-aided data management and statistical analysis. Three hours of class and three hours of laboratory.

Explore these select courses:

Meet Our Faculty

Catherine Beck

Associate Professor of Geosciences, Co-Director of Geoarchaeology

ccbeck@hamilton.edu

sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleolimnology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Nathan Goodale

Professor of Anthropology, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Co-Director of Geoarchaeology

ngoodale@hamilton.edu

complex hunter-gatherers in the interior Pacific Northwest; the forager/farmer transition in Southwest Asia; rural coastal adaptations in western Ireland

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in geoarchaeology are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Senior Principal Scientist, Hazen and Sawyer, P.C.
  • Ph.D. Student, University of Cambridge
  • Acting Executive Director, The Quivira Coalition

Explore Hamilton Stories

Robert Welch ’20

XRF Lab Puts Hamilton on the Map

Over the past seven years, the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) lab has put Hamilton on the map in the world of geochemical analysis. The lab uses x-rays, a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, to determine the chemical composition of rocks, minerals, and soils.

 Nathan Goodale

Nathan Goodale Promoted to Professor

An interdisciplinary practitioner of scientific anthropological archaeology, Goodale also teaches within the Geoarchaeology Program and currently directs the Digital Arts Program.

Catherine Beck in Kenya

Beck Awarded NSF Grant: How Extreme Weather Affected Early Humans

Using fossil evidence and modern water isotope measurements, the researchers’ goal is to understand the impact of extreme weather on early humans and the ecosystems on which they depended.

Contact

Department Name

Geoarchaeology Program

Contact Name

Nathan Goodale, Program Co-Director

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

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