Field Study

Learn how to conduct archaeological investigations at the world-famous site of Spiro in eastern Oklahoma and earn 5 credit hours!

What: Learn the basics of archaeological investigation and artifact analysis and participate in important research at the site of Spiro (AD 950-1450).

Who: The class is open to all undergraduates 18 or older. Students will enroll in ANTH 3930 (5 credit hours).  

When: The fieldwork will occur May 13 to June 14 OR May 20-June 21. Depends on availability of dorms at UAFS. Exact dates will be selected soon, and the website below will be updated to reflect that.  Class will take place M-F during all weeks and students will be free on the weekends. Applications due by March 29. See the link below for the application.

Cost: Tuition and fees for 5 credit hours (see website below) + approx. $300 room/board fee.

For more information and an application visit http://patricklivingood.oucreate.com/fieldschool or contact Patrick Livingood at patrickl@ou.edu. Sponsored by the OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Anthropology, and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey.

The 2023 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Thomas Fenn, investigated the scenic "No Man's Land" on the Oklahoma Panhandle.

The 2022 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Patrick Livingood, investigated the Spiro Mounds site in southeastern Oklahoma.

The 2020 and 2021 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field Schools were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandmic.

The 2019 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Bonnie Pitblado, investigated a 10,000 year-old Paleoindian site in Colorado.

The 2018 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Asa Randall, investigated Archaic and Woodland non-mounded domestic and public architecture at the Silver Glen Springs complex in Florida.

The 2017 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Sarah Trabert, was at the Deer Creek site in east-central Oklahoma. It focused on an ancestral Wichita fortified village where students investigated the fortification ditches, trash mounds, and village entrance.  The Tulsa District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created a short video on the Deer Creek Project.

The 2016 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeological Field School, directed by Dr. Sam Duwe, was in Abiquiu, New Mexico and focused on the archaeology of early (A.D. 1300-1350) Tewa Pueblo communities.

The 2015 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeology Field School, directed by Dr. Leland Bement, investigated the 9,000 year old bison kill site of Ravenscroft in northwestern Oklahoma.

The 2014 University of Oklahoma Summer Archaeology Field School took place in Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma. The Archaeological Institute of America did a short write up on the excavation.

In 2013, Dr. Bonnie Pitblado's archaeological field school took place in one of the prettiest settings in the western United States, the Lake City area of Southwest Colorado. This was followed by lab sessions at OU. You can download a copy of the flyer here.

The 2012 archaeological field school was an investigation of ancient shell mounds on the St. John's River in northeast Florida. You can download a pdf of Asa Randall's and Kenneth Sassaman's summary report of the field school findings, which were published in Florida Archaeologist.

The 2011 OU and OSU archaeological field school was at the Bryson-Paddock site. The field school was under the sponsorship of Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey. The site is in north-central Oklahoma along the Arkansas River near Kaw Lake. Bryson-Paddock is an eighteenth-century Wichita village that was visited by French traders. It is one of the earliest Wichita sites that had extensive contact with Europeans. Excavations have been conducted at this village and a nearby, sister village in 1926, 1974/1975, and 2003-2009. The site is noted for mounds containing trash that includes metal and glass trade materials as well as native artifacts and features such as house patterns, hearths, pits, and fortification ditches. 

The 2010 OU archeological field school took place at the Ramos Creek site, which was occupied by the prehistoric ancestors of the Caddo between AD 1200 and 1500. Caddo Prehistory in Oklahoma blogs about the excavation. In 2011 students had the opportunity to participate in an Advanced Field Opportunity at the Badgerhole Paleoindian Bison Kill Site in Northwest Oklahoma