Overview

What types of archaeology do archaeology majors study at The College of Wooster?

Wooster offers a robust curriculum in both anthropological (or prehistoric) archaeology and historical archaeology. The program is designed both for majors and those students with an interest in archaeology as a significant, but not a major, emphasis in their liberal arts education. Wooster graduates make significant contributions to the field of archaeology, working in archaeology jobs at the National Park Service, in academia and as museum curators. Fieldwork is a highlight for many students, and recent projects have taken faculty and students to North Carolina, Connecticut, Illinois, and other U.S. locations, as well as Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Cyprus, Italy, Romania, Israel, and Jordan.

Archaeology at The College of Wooster

As they identify unique achievements and recurrent patterns in past societies, Wooster archaeologists take courses in languages, linguistics, art, literature, religion, history, anthropology and economics. The physical sciences are also an emphasis, and students take courses in geology, chemistry, and biology. Wooster students in archaeology experience the whole range of the discipline, from classroom studies, to fieldwork and lab research, to a formal presentation of the results in Independent Study and at academic conferences.


Faculty & Staff

Elizabeth Derderian

Beth Derderian

Assistant Professor of Anthropology; Museum Studies

bderderian@wooster.edu

Lisa Monetti head shot

Lisa Monetti

Juliana Wilson Thompson Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology

lmonetti@wooster.edu

Kara Morrow

Kara Morrow

Professor of Art and Art History; Chair of Museum Studies

kmorrow@wooster.edu

Olivia C. Navarro-Farr portrait

Olivia Navarro-Farr

Professor of Archaeology, Sociology, and Anthropology; Program Chair for Archaeology

onavarro-farr@wooster.edu

Margaret Ng

Margaret Ng Wee-Siang

Associate Professor and Chair of History; Archaeology; Chinese Studies; Program Chair of East Asian Studies; Co-Liaison to the Public Health Pathway

mng@wooster.edu

Wooster W logo on a cream colored background

Santha Schuch

Administrative Coordinator - Africana Studies, Archaeology, East Asian Studies, Middle Eastern & North African Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, South Asian Studies, Urban Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

sschuch@wooster.edu

Josephine Shaya

Marian Senter Nixon Chair in Classical Civilization; Chair of Classical Studies

jshaya@wooster.edu

Greg Wiles head shot

Gregory Wiles

Schoolroy Chair of Natural Resources; Professor of Earth Sciences

gwiles@wooster.edu


Latest Archaeology News

Teagan Knutson

Archaeology and religious studies major gains hands-on skills through studying Maya ceramics

Teagan Knutson ’25, an archaeology and religious studies major at The College of Wooster, found the footing to thrive at a career in archaeology […]

Des Smith '25

Environmental geoscience and archaeology major attains lab experience during APEX fellowship

Des Smith ’25, an environmental geoscience and archaeology major at The College of Wooster, completed an APEX fellowship with Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW), an […]

Along with Henry McMahon ’24 (far right), students from the left Teagan Knutson ’25, Sydney Berenson ’25, also worked on site with Olivia Navarro-Farr (center right), associate professor of archaeology and anthropology at the College and co-director of the Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW) team at the archaeological site located in the Laguna del Tigre National Park within the Maya Biosphere Reserve in summer 2024. Here, the group from Wooster stands at the front of the trail leading to the Mirador Group, consisting of the two of the largest pyramids at the site.

Archaeology major draws conclusions about Maya political systems based on excavation on site in Guatemala

Archaeology major Henry McMahon spent the summer before his senior year at The College of Wooster in Guatemala surveying an ancient plaza inside El […]

Fritz Clingroth ’24, archaeology and art history double major at The College of Wooster

National Geographic acknowledges work of Wooster student at excavation of ancient synagogue in Israel

Fritz Clingroth ’24, archaeology and art history double major at The College of Wooster, had a hand in an archaeological excavation of an ancient […]

More Archaeology Articles

Major

The major in archaeology consists of 14 courses: eight in archaeological perspectives and methods (including three of Independent Study), plus six in one of the following areas of emphasis: anthropology, art, classical studies, history or geology.

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Minor

A minor in archaeology requires completion of six courses: two introductory courses on archaeology and the methods and theory of archaeology, followed by four courses from interdisciplinary options that include history, anthropology, sociology and Latin.

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Independent Study

Independent Study (I.S.) at Wooster provides a chance for each student to pursue in depth an area of their own choosing, with the one-on-one guidance of a faculty member.  Many archaeology students elect to do their I.S. projects on laboratory or field studies in which they have engaged.  The Archaeology Department encourages students to present their I.S. work at regional or national professional meetings, such as the Central States Anthropological Society or the Society for American Archaeology, or at student colloquia on campus.  Students find that I.S. prepares them well for graduate study.

Search the I.S. Database

Student Year I.S. Title Major 1 Major 2 Advisor
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Related Articles

Along with Henry McMahon ’24 (far right), students from the left Teagan Knutson ’25, Sydney Berenson ’25, also worked on site with Olivia Navarro-Farr (center right), associate professor of archaeology and anthropology at the College and co-director of the Proyecto Arqueológico Waka’ (PAW) team at the archaeological site located in the Laguna del Tigre National Park within the Maya Biosphere Reserve in summer 2024. Here, the group from Wooster stands at the front of the trail leading to the Mirador Group, consisting of the two of the largest pyramids at the site.

Archaeology major draws conclusions about Maya political systems based on excavation on site in Guatemala

Archaeology major Henry McMahon spent the summer before his senior year at The College of Wooster in Guatemala surveying an ancient plaza inside El […]

Head shot of Anna Russell

Celestial Bodies and Ancient Maya Women: Shedding (Moon)light on Divine Power

Name: Anna Russell Major: Archeology Advisor: Olivia Navarro-Farr This project explores the ways in which ancient Maya women drew power from the moon, utilizing its prognostic […]

African Queens: The Unknown Voices of the Archaeological Record​

Name: Raena Gamble Major: Archaeology Minors: Classical Studies, Art History Advisors: Dr. Siavash Samei The marginalization of female voices is a common occurrence throughout […]

Head shot of Annabelle Andersen

Rockin’ Cities Underground: An Urban Morphological Lens in the Archaeological Cavate Sites of Derinkuyu and Naours

Name: Anabelle Andersen Majors: Archaeology and Art History Advisors: Siavash Samei and Kara Morrow The underground cities of Derinkuyu and Naours, respectively found in Turkey and […]

Alumni

Many students take courses in archaeology simply because of an interest in the subject, but some do so in preparation for careers in teaching, museum curatorship, or field archaeology. Some recent examples:

  • One graduate is a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan, and participated in archaeological field research in Cyprus, Kosovo, and the U.S. while at Wooster. The student’s doctoral dissertation examines the political and religious landscape of Cyprus in the Iron Age.
  • Another graduate works in the Cultural Resources department at a civil engineering firm in Columbus, Ohio and is on the board of the Clintonville Historical Society, through which she does community outreach regarding the history and archaeology of her neighborhood.
  • Another Wooster graduate received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship that supported her first three years in the Ph.D program in Anthropology at the University of Michigan. She conducted excavations in the Yucatan region of Mexico for her doctoral dissertation research, and received her Ph.D. in 2019.
  • Many Wooster graduates are employed as park rangers and in other similar positions at the National Park Service, including at Tonto National Monument in Arizona and the Natchez Trail Parkway in Mississippi. Wooster graduates are well known at highly regarded graduate programs in archeology, including University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Related Articles

Jade Robison ’16

Archaeologist Jade Robison ’16 protects the past so stories can be told for future generations

Jade Robison’s work as an archaeologist at the National Park Service’s Tonto National Monument in Arizona, with 100 active archaeological sites, is most definitely […]

archaeology trio

Major Discovery of Royal Tomb Has Strong Wooster Ties

“Burial 80” found at site where professor Olivia Navarro-Farr leads a U.S.-Guatemalan archaeological project

Prizes & Scholarships

The Vivian L. Holliday Prize

The Vivian L. Holliday Prize was established in 1999 in honor of Vivian L. Holliday, Dean of the Faculty from 1977-1985 and Aylesworth Professor, Classical Studies, History, and Archeology, emerita, from 1961 until her retirement in 1999. This prize is awarded annually to the senior whose work in Independent Study in history, classical studies, or archaeology has been judged most outstanding.

  • Ellie Howel 2019-“Singing in the Margins: Manifestations of Professional Identity and Creative Agency in Viking Age Oval Brooches”
  • Alina Karapandzich 2018-“Zero to Hero: Elite Burials and Hero Cults in Early Iron Age Greece and Cyprus”
  • Hannah Matulek 2017. “Great Spirits of All Who Lived Before”: Exploring the Original People of the Americas Through the Examination of Paleoindian Skeletal Remains
  • James Torpy 2015. Sacred and Mortuary Landscapes in Iron Age Cyprus: A GIS Analysis
  • Stephanie Bosch 2014 – (Archaeology and Geology) “Lithic Raw Material Procurement at the Prehistoric Wansack Site (36ME61) in Mercer County, Pennsylvania: Evidence for Mobility and Trade Patterns from the Archaic to the Late Prehistoric in Elemental XRF Data