Graduate students in the archaeology program have made use of facilities managed by other departments to conduct a range of analyses.
The Burke Museum houses over one million artifacts from the Pacific Rim, with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Students have access to the artifacts and lab space in the museum to conduct research. More information
Burke Museum Mammalogy and Ornithology has a large collection of skeletal materials, particularly for taxa present in the Pacific Northwest and adjacent regions. Archaeologists are one of the primary users of the skeletal comparative collection, and this resource has been used extensively by students conducting faunal analysis. More information on Mammalogy Collection or Ornithology Collection
IsoLab - Stable Isotope Laboratory has equipment for identifying light stable isotopes that are widely used for paleoenvironmental data in archaeology, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The IsoLab specializes in the analysis of light stable isotopes. More information
Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory can identify trace elements and heavy isotopes, often used by archaeologists for geochemical sourcing. More information
Material Science and Engineering Electron Microscope Center (EMC): This facility has three Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and two Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) that students may use for visual and characterization studies at reduced cost with training. More information
Material Science and Engineering User Facility: We also have free access to a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA 7), which has been used for ceramic studies for determining firing temperature. By measuring weight change in a material as a function of temperature or time, one can identify mineral decomposition at certain temperatures that the material was not exposed to during the original firing process. Students may also access to the facility’s X-ray Defraction (XRD) system (Siemens D 5000) to determine the presence of characteristic clays, also providing data on firing temperature of ceramics and other materials. More information