Boxed Springs

Archaeological Field School

Summer 2024

We are excited to open the first full archaeological field school at the site of Boxed Springs, located in East Texas! This important Early Caddo (~800-1200 CE) site has been heavily looted and altered in terms of the four earthen mounds and associated cemetary, but recent magnetometry work by Wichita State indicate a high likelihood of domestic features such as house footprints still remain. Students enrolled in the archaeological field school at Boxed Springs will learn excavation, artifact identification, curation, and flotation.

map of 41UR30

girl with nose ring smiling, holding trowel in earthen pit

 man kneeling taking notes by square hole

Logistics

Field school will run Monday, June 3rd through Friday, June 28th 2024. We will stay in east Texas for the duration of the field school. Transportation to the site will be provided from Wichita State campus. The research team will be working out of a ranch house for the duration of the field school. Students are expected to bring their own tents and sleeping gear, but will have continous access to full indoor, air-conditioned, wifi-enabled facilities including full bathrooms, kitchens, and TVs. Bathrooms will be shared between 3-4 individuals. All food will be provided, which we will cook as a team on-site. Weekends will be off, with local travel to cultural, historical, and archaeological sites provided, such as to the Gregg County Historical Museum and to Caddo Mounds State Park.

Students should expect a hot and sticky summer; with a focus on unit excavation, we'll have moveable shade tents but no permanent shade. We highly recommend starting the heat and movement acclimation process early in the spring to be used to the physical demands of fieldwork.

5 people standing in a square hole laughing. sign in front of them reads "41UR30 2022"

Costs

Students are required to register for field school under ANTH690 for 4 credit hours under Dr. Dozier. Scholarships are available to accepted students to cover cost of tuition. Food and excavation equipment provided, students are expected to bring their own tent and personal items.

close up image of small decorated piece of pottery

Apply Today!

. Review of applications will begin Thursday, February 29th, after which all applicants will be emailed for further information. Accepted students will have until April 15 to register for the course, at which time we will open for students on the waitlist. Limited to 9 students, graduate and undergraduates welcome!

people around a square table seven people standing in front of a river, dirty but smiling. A woman wearing a "Wichita State" hat smiles in the foreground.