ANTHROPOLOGY 102H Archaeology: Humans Past and Present
Your Librarian
Adobe Church, Belen, New Mexico. Palace of the Governors Photo Archives Collection (HP.1967.03). University of New Mexico University Libraries
The Research Assignment
You have two options for completing the research project portion of this class (outlined below). The goals of both are to allow you to put archaeological methods into practice.
Project option #1
Dr. Stone is currently working on a historic archaeological project in Belen New Mexico and as such is inviting students to work on an aspect of this project as your semester project in this class.
Examples of research you can undertake:
- Beads and the material culture of burials
- Coffins in Historic Cemeteries (predating 1865)
- DNA and how archaeologist can work with descendants
- What is a community engaged archaeology?
Project option #2
You will formulate your own typology of Amherst tombstones, and compare your archaeological findings with historical research about Amherst (and the larger Pioneer Valley), as well as with similar tombstone research from the New England area. More details for the Gravestone Project will be handed out in class in the near future.
Examples of research you can undertake:
- Styles of tombstones over time
- Who is buried? Class and burial
- Health and illness in colonial/historic New England
- What do cemeteries tell us about a community?
In-class Activity
- Research Group Keyword BrainstormUse the text box tool (the T inside a box) in the ribbon near the top of the page to add to your group's document.
Search the Libraries' Collections
- Discovery Search This link opens in a new windowSearch to find (e)books, articles, films, and more. It contains most but not all of the resources available to you through the UMass Amherst Libraries and the other Five College libraries.
- Special Collections and University ArchivesSpecial collections is home to a wide range of primary source materials. The "Collecting Area" dropdown lets you select "Gravestones".
Some of their documents are available online, but there is much more that you can view by making an appointment. - Databases A-ZList of all library databases by subject and type. You can limit to formats such as "Archival Materials" or "Newspapers".
Example Databases
- Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online This link opens in a new windowPhotographs, manuscripts, books, audio recordings, and other materials of historical interest made available by libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies from across Massachusetts.
- Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture and Law This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Archive of treaties, federal statutes and regulations, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, and jurisprudence.
Keyword Searching Tips
Keywords
- Determine the most important and unique from your research topic.
- Common words such as "effect" or "period" are less useful than specific words such as "burial" or "hierarchy".
- Toss out extraneous words such as question words and prepositions.
- For example:
- How did gravestone imagery change during the Colonial period? --> gravestone, Colonial
- For example:
- Use synonyms and related words as keywords.
- For example:
- graveyard --> cemetery, burying ground, burial ground
- For example:
- Add broader or more narrow terms as keywords.
- (more narrow) Belén - New Mexico - Southwest (more broad)
- Look at the terms that different authors use to discover new keywords.
Boolean Operators
AND, OR, and NOT help the search engine understand the relationship between your keywords.
Research Guides
Managing Citations
- ZoteroA freely-available, open-source citation manager that lets your organize your citations and quickly create a reference page.
