Archaeology at Cornell is where the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences collide, posing questions of both the past and the present. CIAMS offers a standalone undergraduate major in archaeology, alongside graduate training at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. Our research ranges from the molecular to the global, embracing field programs on three continents and state-of-the-art laboratories across campus. Our courses range from the ancient Mediterranean to the Indigenous Finger Lakes, from the Neolithic to the 21st century, bringing advanced analytic techniques to bear on enduring questions and training students to apply new approaches to longstanding problems. Faculty are drawn from a diverse array of Cornell Colleges and Departments, making CIAMS a campus hub where diverse disciplines converge around shared questions about the human past, present, and future.
"Archaeology is increasingly interdisciplinary, and some of the most interesting work happens when you’re willing to borrow tools and ideas from outside your own field."
Postdoctoral researcher Rebecca Gerdes, Ph.D. ’24, (left) and Jillian Goldfarb, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, led an interdisciplinary team that determined that organic residues of plant oils are poorly preserved in calcareous soils from the Mediterranean.
Charissa King-O’Brien/Cornell Engineering
RadioCIAMS is our podcast series, wherein we probe critical debates in archaeology in conversation between leading practitioners and the next generation of researchers. Our most recent episode is embedded below. Click here to browse previous RadioCIAMS episodes archived on our website, or visit our soundcloud page to hear more. RadioCIAMS is also available wherever you get your podcasts.
