Five Applied Archaeology program students presented research at the ninety-second annual meeting of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. Four brought home awards. They were joined by alumni and emeritus professors in representing IUP.
The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology brings together the interested public, avocational archaeologists, and professionals to promote the study of Pennsylvania archaeological sites and to share knowledge about these sites. SPA meets every year in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Archaeology Council, Pennsylvania’s professional archaeology association.
Amanda Telep won the James W. Hatch and W. Fred Kinsey scholarships for “The PennDOT Highway Archaeological Survey Team’s Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey of Graeme Park, Montgomery County Pennsylvania.”
Luke Nicosia was awarded the James W. Hatch Scholarship for “Consumption Has A Cost: Using Ceramics to Compare Socio-Economic Variability Within and Between Flood Control-Affected Communities.”
Sonja Rossi-Williams won first place in the poster competition for “Cigar Boxes Full of Data: A Preliminary Analysis of the Avocational Collections at the Racoon Creek Site (36SC003) and Silverton Site (36SC069).”
Jacob Ulmer won second place in the poster competition for “Phase IA Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of Peace Church and St. John’s Cemetery.”
Ashley Nagle presented her thesis research “An Archaeology of Western Pennsylvania Oil Boom Towns: Modoc City.”
Recent graduate Amanda Filmyer presented the results of her thesis in the paper “A Study of Cultural Amalgamation and Identity at the Squirrel Hill Site (36WM35) Using Raw Material Analysis.”
Emeritus Professor Sarah Neusius and alumnus Ryan Rowles also presented at the meetings.
Ben Ford was elected as second vice president of the SPA.
The Pennsylvania Archaeology Council symposium focused on preparing students to work in archaeology. IUP alumni Susanne Haney (PennDOT), Angela Jaillet-Wentling (PA DCNR), and Seth Mitchell (Stantec), as well as Associate Professor Lara Homsey-Messer, contributed to the panel.