Department
of Anthropology
Archaeology
The
Department is engaged in several ongoing research projects.
A major effort of direct importance to the archaeological
record of southern Florida is the stabilization of the South
Florida Archaeological Collection. Additional
research projects are focused on the cultural development
of ancient peoples in southern Florida during the pre-contact
period.
Cultural
Anthropology
The
Department undertook or participated in two recent cultural
anthropology projects in Ecuador. During 2007 Robert Feeney
journeyed into Oriente Province spending a week among the
legendary Jivaro indians where he took numerous photographs
and collected a wide assortment of artifacts relating to the
material culture of this once elusive tribe.
During
2008, Rudolph Pascucci participated in an ethnographic field
study organized by Florida Atlantic University that focused
on argicultural activity and social issues in a small fishing
village along the coast of Manabi Province.
Department
of Paleontology
Paleontology
The
Department of Paleontology maintains two active dig sites
in South Dakota where our field crews have been conducting
excavations in the famous Hell Creek Formation each summer
since 2003. Major finds have included Cheryll the Triceratops;
Henry, a juvenilel triceratops; fossilized amber with embedded
insects; and an articulated and still undescribed bird fossil
believed to be the first of its kind found in the Hell Creek
formation.
In
addition the Museum has recently acquired an as yet undescibed
species of Troodon raptor.
Online
2005 Field Journal
Online
2007 Field Journal
The dates for the 2013 South Dakota field season will be set shortly. This years work will again be centered on our dig sites in the Hell Creek Formation from which our field teams have previously excavated a number of significant finds.
Collections
Major
work in progress includes the stabilization of the South Florida
Dig Collection and the establishment of an electronic database
to be placed online. The database will feature site descriptions
and photographs of associated artifacts.
All of our scientific research collections are housed in climate-controlled, secure conditions, and are openly available to researchers. To schedule access to the research collections, contact Curator of Anthropology Peter Ferdinando (pferd001@fiu.edu) or Curator of Paleontology Robert A. DePalma (rdepalma@pbmnh.org).
