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Campus TourArchaeology Minor
Southwest Colorado lies in the heart of the most archaeologically rich areas found anywhere. Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Canyon, Crow Canyon and Chimney Rock, to name a few, are practically in our backyard.
Fort Lewis College takes advantage of this richness by offering an Archaeology Field School -- a six-week summer intensive program that attracts people from all over.
This past summer, students conducted fieldwork at the Darkmold, a Basketmaker II site in the Durango area. Students also documented and assessed a Pueblo III site in a nearby community. They worked with professionals and amateur archaeologists. Students learned excavation techniques, geophysical surveys and geo-archaeology.
Each year new opportunities arise allowing the field school to experience a variety of field and laboratory training exercises. For example, a rock art specialist has shown students how to record and map rock art. In outreach programs, students have mapped and surveyed the Hawkins Preserve in Cortez and the historical Animas Cemetery in Durango.
Fort Lewis College receives several archaeological outreach projects, giving students experience in field and laboratory training. These outreach projects provide students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills and to work on real-world problems in archaeology.
Even the Forest Service looks for students to help with more than 50 archaeology sites that span more than 2,000 years of human activity. These sites are in constant need of monitoring and assessment.
There isn't a better place to earn a minor in Archaeology. Learn more. Contact our faculty.
Southwest Colorado lies in the heart of the most archaeologically rich areas found anywhere. Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Canyon, Crow Canyon and Chimney Rock, to name a few, are practically in our backyard. That's why we offer many classes outdoors.