Preservation Archaeology Museum Curation and Survey Field School

A collaborative field school with Archaeology Southwest, Western New Mexico University, and the University of Arizona

June 10 through July 21, 2025

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Our 2025 field school is no longer accepting applications.
Please check back in the fall for updates on next year’s program.

About the Field School

This archaeology course is focused on learning from archaeological museum collections and survey data, using information from both approaches to answer research questions. Our approach combines elements of a traditional archaeological field school and a museum studies course, and everyone spends time on both course components.

Our curriculum highlights the practice of Preservation Archaeology, which integrates research, education, preservation, and engagement with Indigenous and local communities. We share what we learn throughout the project with the public via local events, blog posts, and other venues. Together, students and staff explore ethically responsible and scientifically rigorous field and research methods while investigating compelling questions about our shared past.

Students will research and catalog collections from the NAN Ranch, a large Classic Mimbres period pueblo in the Mimbres Valley excavated by the Texas A&M University summer archaeological field school from 1978 to 1989 and now housed at the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Museum. Archaeological survey experience on the NAN Ranch provides essential field training in locating and recording archaeological sites, and contextualizes our museum collections research. Experimental archaeology gives us insights into how the items we see in the field and in museum collections were made and used.

The field school begins in Tucson, Arizona, where students take part in a three-day orientation to the principles of Preservation Archaeology at Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona. The remainder of the program takes place at WNMU in Silver City, New Mexico.

This project is committed to increasing the diversity of views represented in archaeology, including improving communication between archaeologists and nonprofessionals and between researchers with different backgrounds and training. Students from backgrounds and institutions traditionally underrepresented in archaeology (including small colleges and community colleges) are especially encouraged to apply.