Mark R. Schurr Associate Professor Department of Anthropology University of Notre Dame

My research interests take me into the field and the lab.

Field Work:

            My field work has been conducted mainly in northern Indiana since 1991 when I taught my first field school at Notre Dame.  

Current research topics include:

•  Applications of archaeological geophysical surveys (also known as archaeological prospection).   I will be conducting several different projects during the 2008 field season. The projects include

• Demonstration surveys for the Notre Dame field school which will be directed by Dr. Deborah Rotman in 2008.
• Magnetic, resistivity, and GPR surveys in Ireland on Ormey Island as part of a project organized by Dr. Ian Kuijt.
• Magnetic surveys at the Mound House site in cooperation with the ASU Bioarchaeologial field school and the Center for American Archaeology.

•  The Goodall Tradition Project, investigations of the prehistoric Middle Woodland   Hopewellian peoples who occupied northwestern Indiana between about 200 BC to AD 350.   Current research problems include the origins of the tradition, its ecological adaptation, and its relationships with neighboring cultures.

•  The Removal Project, the historical archaeology of the period between AD 1795 to 1840 when Native Americans were being forced out of the region along the southern shores of Lake Michigan.   The primary goal of this project is to understand the diverse strategies that Native Americans used to resist or adapt to removal. The 2008 field work on this project will once again be conducted at Collier Lodge.

Laboratory Research:

           My lab work makes use of my background in chemistry (I have a B.S. in Chemistry and worked in the chemical industry for several years before going to grad school).   My enduring love of chemistry was originally sparked by a childhood chemistry set, and further nurtured in by an excellent high school teacher .   I am interested in applying analytical methods to archaeological problems.   This is often called archaeometry.   Methods that I am presently using include:

•  Stable isotopes for understanding prehistoric nutrition.

•  Fluoride dating of bones, with many projects conducted by the Fluoride Dating Service Center.

•  The applications of Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) for determining the thermal history of charred or burned prehistoric materials.   Bob Hayes (Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry) and I are currently exploring whether we can use ESR data to reconstruct the original isotope ratios of cremated burials and burned animal bones.