Project The Clovis archaeological culture in the Great Lakes Region Program Clarence E. Dammon Dean Term Academic Year 2024 Status Closed Research Area Archaeology, Human Behavioral Ecology, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Human evolution Description The Paleoamerican Clovis culture has deeply rooted ancestral genetic links to modern Indigenous populations across the Americas. Its study and comparison to other Paleoamerican and Archaic cultures is thus essential to understanding the Pleistocene-human colonization of the Americas and their evolutionary adaptations. However, the scarcity of Clovis sites in the North American Great Lakes region leaves gaps in our knowledge of their cultural and environmental interactions and ecological adaptations. Supervisor Erik R Otarola-Castillo Mentor Type of work required Under instructor supervision, the Dammon Scholar will review the archaeological literature on how Midwestern Clovis hunter-gatherers organized their subsistence, settlement, and resource distribution strategies. The instructor will mentor the Scholar in developing a problem-oriented research strategy to evaluate scientific hypotheses about the Clovis archaeological culture. These hypotheses will be evaluated using a Clovis-associated lithic assemblage using the latest data science techniques (including AI and GIS).

Interns will also aid in preparing PowerPoint presentations and data entry, management, and analysis. Following initial work, if desired, interns will also have the opportunity to contribute to writing manuscripts for publication and presentation at international professional conferences. Websites http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~eotarola Qualifications Desired Candidate Qualifications: Candidates must possess a demonstrated interest and skill in two or more of the following: Anthropology, Archaeology, Human Evolution, and Human Ecology. In addition, candidates must be interested in applying new technologies to answer problem-based scientific questions. Interested students must know how to use the library and their research procedures (e.g., inter-library loans) and have basic computer skills. Desired software knowledge includes ArcGIS, Word, Excel, and Access. Optional, but not required, interests are in Computer science and statistics and learning language skills like R, Python, Matlab, or C++. Credit Hours 3 Weekly Hours 10 (estimated)