Location: Ptghavan, Armenia
Season: July 1, 2025 to August 1, 2025
Application Deadline: February 1, 2025
Deadline Type: Exact Date
Website: https://app.studyabroad.uconn.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=10386
Program Type:
Field School
RPA Certified:
No
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University
Project Director:
Dr. Jayson P. Gill
Project Description:
Students will participate in geoarchaeological excavations and environmental reconstruction work at several Stone Age sites in Armenia that document a variety of important milestones in human biological, cognitive, and cultural evolution. Fieldwork will focus on excavations at Ptghavan-4, a Late Pleistocene open-air site in northern Armenia dated to roughly 100,000 years ago. In addition, students will participate in archaeological survey of the Debed Gorge, testing of other sites, and basic lab work.
Students will be trained in a variety of field and laboratory methods, including geoarchaeological excavation, digital geospatial recording, stratigraphic interpretation, environmental sampling, and artifact processing and curation.
Through this program, you will gain an exciting hands-on perspective on human evolution and archaeology, and the chance to experience a rich and vibrant culture, while working side by side with a team of international experts and Armenian scholars.
Period(s) of Occupation: Middle Palaeolithic/Late Pleistocene
Project Size: 1-24 participants
Experience Required: None
Room and Board Arrangements:
Participants will share rooms in a hotel between the towns of Ptghavan and Bagratashen along the Armenian-Georgian border. Each hotel room has a shower and AC. Breakfast and dinner will be prepared by the hotel and lunch will be eaten in the field. Meals include traditional Armenian and Georgian dishes, like khorovats (barbeque) and khinkali (dumplings). Purified drinking water is provided. There are multiple outdoor common areas where we eat, relax, and chat. The hotel will usually set up an above ground pool for students to use. There are multiple shops and restaurants within walking distance of the accommodations (~5–10 minutes).
Academic Credit:
6 honors credits
