The diverse interests of the Archaeology faculty and staff result in a variety of research projects. Included are studies of dietary choices of prehistoric and early historic populations of the central Great Plains, the peopling of the New World, early prehistory of the Great Plains, material culture analyses, especially lithics and ceramics, human ecology and the rise of complex Central American societies. The following provides an overview of this research and collection strengths by introducing a brief culture history discussion of the North American Plains and an introduction to Mesoamerica and central America.

For brief explanations of our research in certain areas, please follow these links: