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The Earth's ecosystems have evolved to their modern configurations and distributions in response to highly variable Quaternary climates and other factors, but today they are subject to novel combinations of disruptive factors and unprecedented rates of change, as human intervention increasingly plays a dominant role. DEES faculty are actively involved in understanding how projected anthropogenic changes in climate and atmospheric chemistry will affect both particular biota and whole ecosystems. Our species is a product of the Quaternary, evolving somatically and culturally in response to the dynamic selective pressures of the period; in turn, we are exerting an increasingly strong influence on landscape change worldwide, particularly within the past century. The history of human-environment interactions is the province of archaeology. DEES maintains a strong archaeological and anthropological staff who seek to understand the relationships of people within their landscapes, on a temporal scale that ranges from the stone age to the nuclear age. DEES archaeologists have extensive experience in the western United States, studying prehistoric human adaptations to arid environments in the Great Basin and Southwest. We have also worked in arid regions in the Near East, South America, and Europe. Our research is not restricted to arid zones, and our personnel have experience throughout North America and several continents. In addition to prehistoric archaeology, we have conducted numerous studies in historical archaeology, with a particular emphasis on military and Cold War archaeology. Much of the archaeological research performed by DEES personnel is conducted under the framework of cultural resources management for governmental agencies, typically involving large, multi-year programs. Technical research specialties of DEES personnel include lithic analysis, use-wear studies, ceramic analysis, spatial analysis and remote sensing, human osteology, archeobotany, ethnohistory, geoarcheology, and chronometrics involving techniques such as luminescence dating and obsidian hydration. We also maintain a fully equipped artifact curation facility for permanent storage of archaeological collections. DEES personnel also have supported anthropological studies and consultations with Native American groups in keeping with federal laws protecting their traditional religions, cultural practices, and sacred sites.
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Archaeology and Anthropology:
Geological Research
Archaeology and Anthropology