Ice Age to Industrial Age: 10,000 years of human-copper entanglement in Michigan’s Copper Country

Location: 7804 Delaware Rd, Eagle Harbor, MI 49950

Season: May 5, 2025 to June 20, 2025

Session Dates: May 5 - June 20, 2025

Application Deadline: March 1, 2025

Deadline Type: Contact for Details

Website: https://www.mtu.edu/social-sciences/undergraduate/field-school/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Michigan Technological University

Project Director:
Timothy Scarlett

Project Description:

Michigan Technological University’s 2025 Archaeology Field School continues archaeological research examining 10,000 years of human history on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, USA. Evolving study is demonstrating that these are the first places in the Americas (and perhaps the world) where humans developed a unique practice of metallurgy. Student teams will work on a multi-sited study, examining archaeological sites and landscapes that document more than ten millennia of human-landscape entanglement. Focused on copper extraction and metallurgy, students will survey and excavate to understand how people have managed extractive and other activities over time, from the ice age through the industrial and post-industrial periods. Students will be primarily based at the Delaware Mine historic site, a partnership site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The Delaware Mine site includes industrial historic features and structures and many ancient and precontact mining pits. From this location, student teams will spend time on terrestrial and maritime sites located throughout the Keweenaw peninsula, reconstructing the deep time view of changing landscapes. Every team will work in survey and excavation, using remote sensing and geospatial survey technologies, and ethical research design for terrestrial and maritime sites.

Course includes field trips and guest lectures.

Along with work at Delaware, the crew will undertake archaeological survey and testing work at other nearby sites in the Keweenaw Peninsula, including places like the Redridge Dam on the Salmon Trout River and a maritime survey of the Keweenaw’s now-underwater ice age landscapes.

All students will have opportunities to participate in all aspects of the work: survey – both instrumental and pedestrian – site lay-out, excavation, remote sensing, field lab work, and public education. No archaeological experience is necessary.

Period(s) of Occupation: Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, Colonial, Industrial, Post-Industrial

Notes:
Permits and RPA certification pending, residential plans will be updated (current Oct 1st, 2024).

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 7 weeks, except by permission

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: No experience required. Terrain is often rugged and unimproved post-mining landscape. Contact project directors if you have concerns about access. Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Room and Board Arrangements:
Approximately $2,000 to cover equipment, room and board. More details and precise cost posted here as soon as possible.

Academic Credit:
6-9 credits, depending upon enrollment and guest student registration requirements.