NSF-REU Site: Bioarchaeology of Bronze Age Social Systems

The Bioarchaeology of Bronze Age Social Systems NSF-REU project supports the training of undergraduate students in conducting collaborative research– from hypothesis formation to data collection, analysis, public outreach, and publication. Complementary instruction in professional development, ethics, and statistical modules are also incorporated into the program’s curriculum.

Housed at the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama, teams of students collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of dynamic scientists while conducting original research on two Arabian Bronze Age skeletal collections (2400-2100 BCE) over an eight-week period. As part of these independent research projects, students examine how alternative pathways to social complexity were embodied in ancient human skeletal remains and reflected in burial traditions.