Department of Anthropology Laboratories for Instruction and Research

The Laboratory of Public Archaeology (LOPA):  LOPA provides opportunities for training in museum conservation methods appropriate to archaeological collections.  LOPA also has extensive prehistoric archaeological collections that provide basic data for researchers working in the northwestern Plains, Southern Rockies, and Colorado Plateaus. The lab has over 18,000 cataloged items. The collections have been used in support of undergraduate students and MA candidates from CSU and the University of Denver.  In addition, workers from several private consulting firms have visited the collections.  LOPA provides curation services to the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Forest Service in support of their historic preservation programs.  This lab is run by Dr. Jason LaBelle.

Bioanthropology Laboratory:  This laboratory functions to engage undergraduate and graduate students in the research process and in class instruction.  Human skeletal remains are analyzed here, especially for the class in Human Osteology.  In 2004 the Department acquired over 155 skeletons from the Colorado Department of Corrections (the old Pueblo insane asylum).  These are stored here and provide a wealth of research material for undergraduate and graduate students.  Students also learn advanced methods in ageing and sexing skeletal material, and on identifying and scoring dental pathologies.  Dr. Ann Magennis runs this lab.

Laboratory of Human Origins:  This laboratory fulfills research as well as practical and teaching goals.  The lab provides needed space for curation and analysis of lithic and faunal collections from ongoing archaeological projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan which are on loan to C.S.U.  These collections consist of over 5,000 animal bones and over 2,000 pieces of chipped stone. Graduate students have used these collections for MA theses. Faculty and students working on topics related to human origins are able to use computer facilities as well as meet for collaborative work in this lab.  And finally, the laboratory houses graduate level seminars of up to ten students.  These seminars integrate computer-based in-class work.  This lab is run by Dr. Michelle Glantz.
 
Laboratory of Human Paleoecology (LHP):  LHP offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to participate in a variety of real-world research situations.  For example, in the last five years the Laboratory has spearheaded cooperative projects to help salvage Colorado’s endangered prehistoric resources such as the Kaplan-Hoover bison kill near Windsor, Colorado, the Burris Mammoth near Wellington, Colorado and Fossil Creek Mammoth excavations in cooperation with the City of Fort Collins.  The Laboratory has provided an effective tool for interfacing between the interested public and the academic community and its activities have been covered in all local and regional television and newspaper media.  The LHP investigates issues of human and environmental interactions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.  It seeks to educate a wide student and public group about the role that humans play in forming, modifying and hopefully, preserving the multiple resources (cultural, biological, and physical) that make up the landscapes in which we live.  This lab is run by Dr. Larry Todd.

Laboratory for the Reconstruction of Ancient Environments and Laboratory for Mesoamerican Archaeology: This new lab is run by Dr. Chris Fisher who has following activities in the lab: Preparation of reports, maps, and other documents; Analysis of GIS (geographic information system) data; Preparation of soils and sediments for further testing; Preparation of samples for radiometric dating; Analysis of artifacts and other recovered material from Mesoamerica; curation of soils and sediments all for graduate student and undergraduate activities.

Laboratory for Ethnographic and Ethnohistoric Field Research: This space is classroom space for field research and methodology instruction with the data and computers accessible for hands-on learning. It has GIS and transcription equipment for data analysis.  Undergraduate and graduate students use the lab for field research as they work toward completing masters theses, Honors Program theses, research projects in their courses and independent research projects.  The lab provides an important venue for providing outreach service locally and internationally as faculty and students apply their research and results to issues and problems facing a range of community groups. Dr. Pickering runs this lab but it is available to all Anthropology faculty and their students.

The Center for Public History and Archaeology (CPHA)

promotes the ethical, professional production and dissemination of knowledge about human culture and society in the past to enable problem solving in the present.