CAA 2003 Plenary

Canadian Archaeological Association

36th Annual Conference, May 7-10, 2003

McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

plenary session

The organizers of the 2003 Canadian Archaeological Association meetings extend an invitation to representatives of archaeology graduate programs from across Canada to participate in a special plenary session of the meetings entitled Current and Future Directions: Student Perspectives on Canadian Archaeology. Our goal is to provide a forum to showcase the interests and activities of students in different graduate programs across the country. We encourage students to organize discussions and debates to reach a consensus on the focus of research interests and activities that best characterize their programs. The purpose is to develop the basis for a paper or papers to represent those interests in the conference plenary session. Our preference is for a single presentation to represent each program, but where varying opinion or debate exceed the capacity of a single paper, more than one submission from a program may be accepted for presentation. Multiple author papers are encouraged, but one author must be designated as the presenter. The CAA offers travel subsidies to students who contribute to papers presented at the conference. Discount travel rates are available from WestJet for travel to Hamilton, and inexpensive residence rooms will be available for accommodation.

All submissions must follow the format and rules that apply to all papers submitted for presentation at the conference. Indicate the plenary session with the title and abstract. Direct all questions to the conference coordinator, Aubrey Cannon, at cannona@mcmaster.ca. Submissions should be sent to: 2003 CAA Conference, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L9.

Student representatives of archaeology graduate programs from across Canada are invited to participate in this special plenary session of the 2003 Canadian Archaeological Association meetings, which will be held in Hamilton, Ontario, May 8-10.

The session is designed to showcase the interests and activities of students, who represent the future of Canadian archaeology. Students from graduate programs across the country are encouraged to organize discussions and debates to decide the focus or range of research interests and activities that characterize their programs. The goal is to represent those interests in a paper or papers in the conference plenary session. A single paper from each program is preferred, but multiple submissions will be considered where warranted. Multiple author papers are encouraged, but one author must be designated as the presenter.

All final submissions must follow the format and rules that apply to all papers submitted for presentation at the conference. Direct all questions to the conference coordinator, Aubrey Cannon, at cannona@mcmaster.ca

By: Sarah Bonesteel, S.Brooke Milne, Christine Cluney, Rhonda Bathurst, Meghan Burchell and Peter Bangarth, Dept. of Anthropology, McMaster University

Archaeology at McMaster is characterized by an interest in a diverse range temporal periods, geographic regions, and methodological and theoretical approaches. Although this variety is represented in graduate student research, there are several issues common to all research projects, such as multi-scalar analysis and an interest in variability as represented through individual action.

The temporal periods explored in graduate student research range from 6000BP to 1000BP. Geographic regions of research include the Canadian Northwest Coast, the eastern Canadian Arctic, the Oaxaca Highlands of Mexico, and the Caribbean Island of Antigua. Topical interests include paleoparisitology, inter-regional interaction, faunal analysis, mortuary archaeology, gender, and lithic technology. Issues common to more than one research project involve subsistence strategies, settlement patterns, and agency.

The methodology involved in these research projects includes fieldwork, lab work, intense examination of previously collected site data, and the use of technological innovations, like GIS. Graduate student research focuses on integrative archaeology by combining macro-scale processualism and micro-scale interpretation in methods of data collection and analysis. This integration, with an emphasis on its multiple scales of inquiry, has shifted the archaeological focus from sites and artifacts to the activities of people. A future direction of graduate student research at McMaster will continue to stress the importance of individuals in the archaeological record and the use of multi-scalar analysis.

A Summary of Geoarchaeological Education and Research at the University of New Brunswick.

Pam Dickinson (UNB Geology), Brent Suttie (UNB Anthropology), Sandy Glidden-Hachey (UNB Anthropology), Alyson Mercer (UNB Anthropology)

This paper presents a brief background of interdisciplinary academic programs and archaeological research being conducted by students in the Anthropology and Geology departments at the University of New Brunswick. Three academic programs presently exist: the Leonardo Degree, a joint BA/BSc program; and a MA and PhD program combining Archaeology and Geology through the departments of Anthropology and Geology. The University of New Brunswick Anthropology department is the only institution in the Maritimes offering a graduate degree with an archaeology emphasis. This presentation highlights how the majority of archaeological research within the department has changed from a compartmentalized "discipline" to being interdisciplinary in nature. We present a discussion of some of the research projects that have resulted from a number of interdisciplinary developments within the departments of Anthropology and Geology, such as the founding of the Geoarchaeology Research Group and the Nearshore Research Discussion Symposia; we also discuss some of the issues still to be resolved.

Due to the diverse and fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches have a long history as key themes in archaeology. However, with the increasing emphasis that academic institutions are currently placing on the importance of research strategies that actively bridge the boundaries between disciplines, these themes have assumed greater prominence for archaeologists. What are the implications of this movement toward an increasing focus on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, particularly for graduate students, who, as the next generation of scholars, are often encouraged to and have a strong interest in undertaking research that explores new directions in archaeology? From the perspective of the University of Calgary’s graduate specialization in geoarchaeology, an initiative with strong links to the university’s recent creation of an explicitly multidisciplinary earth science program, this paper will discuss some of the opportunities and obstacles that greet graduate students of archaeology who undertake multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research.

The use of stable isotopes and imaging technology (radiography, micro CT) is becoming increasingly common in osteological analyses. Physical anthropology, like archaeology and many other disciplines, is continually borrowing and adapting methods and technology. As a group, the postgraduate physical anthropology students at the University of Calgary rely on technology from other disciplines (such as stable isotopic analysis, radiography and CT imaging) to develop a greater understanding of the lifeways of past populations, refine methods and investigate changes to the human body with age. Technological analyses are complemented by the incorporation of historical documents, archaeological excavations, forensic techniques and osteological analyses of pathology and trauma. An additional focus in this department is the nutrition and health of modern populations; borrowing and adapting methods from the field of nutrition (anthropometrics, food intake data). Similar to many physical anthropologists, we struggle with the desire to make our work relevant to present populations but also to develop and strengthen our methods. NAGPRA has significantly affected our research, with the majority of us working with populations (past and present) from other countries. However, work in forensics (both teaching and practical) is becoming more common; reflecting a somewhat morbid fascination by the public with death and dying. Our primary tasks for the future are to: develop and test new methods; strengthen existing methods and promote new techniques and technology to a wider audience and demonstrate their utility to understanding both the past and the present.

Rather than a single, integrated program of study, archaeology at McGill adopts a self directed and highly individualistic educational model more typical of advanced degree programs in the UK. As a result, student researchers in the department are able to pursue a diverse array of topical, methodological, and theoretical interests by drawing upon research units and ongoing projects located outside of the university. Using my research experiences at McGill and two other Canadian departments as a backdrop, I suggest that the program at McGill offers insight into the current challenges facing Canadian Archaeology and the CAA.

Bio-archaeology is a study which intertwines the individual threads of human culture, biology and environment into one single strand. At The University of Western Ontario, research by bio-archaeology graduate students is very diverse. A limited overview of research foci range from the analysis of human bone and mortuary contexts in Southwestern Ontario; to the uses of isotopic analysis to determine ancient diet, health, and geographic origins; to the analysis of Paleoindian lithic procurement strategies; to analyzing ethnic identity through Mesoamerican ceramic figurine styles. While extensively varied in geographic, temporal, cultural and artifactual analyses, all graduate bio-archaeology research at The University of Western Ontario,

concentrates on enlightening scholars about the entirety of the human experience. As archaeologists within an anthropology department we realize that we are more than scientific technicians and theorists. Emphasis is made on ensuring that while research questions may be highly specific and particular, they must still be able to move beyond their narrow focus, to provide information relevant to all humanity.

Alexandra Sumner, Lisa Anselmi, Joan Banahan, Kevin Gibbs, Trevor Orchard, Carla Parslow, and Julie Ross, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto

The University of Toronto has one of the largest archaeology graduate student populations within a four field anthropology department. This lends itself to a broad range of geographical, theoretical, and methodological research. This paper will explore the nature of this diversity and comment on its strengths and weaknesses in the context of current and future directions of archaeology at UofT.

K. Sharp, T. Rawlings, M. St. Denis, K. Taché, E. Nimmo, R. Commisso, V. Castillo, C. Dunk, G. Moore, L. Pasacreta, M. J. Reid, N. Weber, A. Weiser, T. Trost, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University

It is our opinion that archaeology programs across North America have become highly diversified and specialized in their research, and Simon Fraser University (SFU) is no exception. When discussing the focus of this paper it quickly became apparent that our research covers a wide range of theoretical, methodological, and geographic topics. The first two decades of research in the archaeology department at SFU were characterized by a strong Pacific Northwest Coast focus; however, in the early 1990s graduate research became more diversified. The research conducted by today’s graduate student maintains and expands upon this framework. Research topics include subsistence, functionality, gender roles, epidemiology, methodology, social stratification and trade. These topics are explored through such varied (sub) disciplines as zooarchaeology, forensics, palaeoethnobotany, archaeometry, primatology, historic archaeology, ethnoarchaeology and First Nations studies in prehistoric and historic cultures throughout the world. Despite the varied approaches of our students we found there is considerable interest in collaboration and data sharing with one another. Our graduate student body works on building and maintaining an active dialogue between its students through various venues expressly for the exchange of ideas and information.

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