The Southwestern Archaeology and Ceramics Laboratory is under the direction of Dr. Karen Harry. This laboratory serves dual, but related, functions: it is home to research associated with archaeological field projects being conducted in the northern American Southwest, and it is the locus of various ceramic research projects.
Several students are currently involved in analyzing artifacts recovered from Dr. Harry’s
 excavations in the northern Southwest. These projects include excavations that have been conducted in the Moapa Valley of southern Nevada and as well as those conducted on the Shivwits Plateau of northwestern Arizona. Ongoing analyses being undertaken by students include the study of chipped stone, ground stone, and ceramic artifacts; the analyses and interpretation of architectural remains; and the study of settlement patterns using Geographical Information Systems technologies.
In addition to the above projects, ceramic technology research is also emphasized in the laboratory. To aid in this research, the laboratory is equipped with two electric oxidizing kilns, a propane-operated reducing kiln, and a thermal shock chamber that enables ceramics to be subjected to cycles of rapid temperature change. Access to additional equipment used in materials characterization is available through our partnerships with other Departments, including Mechanical Engineering, Geosciences and Chemistry. Past and current ceramics technology projects undertaken in the lab and in association with the above Departments have involved the strength testing of archaeological ceramics; the evaluation of heat transfer capabilities of various wares; and the study of thermal shock capabilities of particular types of pottery.
Projects in the lab have provided numerous undergraduate and graduate students with valuable research opportunities, which have resulted or will result in numerous presented papers, published articles, or Master’s theses by students. A list of recent papers by students using data acquired in connection with the laboratory projects is listed below.
Published Papers and Papers in Contracted Reports
Anderson, Sharlyn
2008
Ceramic Analysis. In Main Ridge 2006 Research Project: Condition
Assessments, Test Excavations, and Data Analysis for the UNLV Fall
2006 Field School, by Karen G. Harry, pp. 47-56. Document submitted
to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Great Basin Cooperative
Ecosystem Studies Unit Agreement No. H8R0706001.
Charest, Andreas
In press Defining Grinding Slicks: An Experimental Approach. In Proceedings of
the Three Corners Conference, edited by Mark C. Slaughter, Steve
Daron, Eva Jensen and Kathleen Sprowl, forthcoming. Nevada
Archaeological Association, Minden.
Harry, Karen G. and Glendee Ane Osborne
2008 Mapping and Condition Assessments. In Main Ridge 2006 Research
Project: Condition Assessments, Test Excavations, and Data Analysis
for the UNLV Fall 2006 Field School, by Karen G. Harry, pp. 7-32.
Document submitted to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area,
Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Agreement No.
H8R0706001.
Henrickson, Stephanie and Angela Peterson
In press Explaining the Absence of Hearths at Lava Ridge Ruin. In Proceedings
of the Three Corners Conference, edited by Mark C. Slaughter, Steve
Daron, Eva Jensen and Kathleen Sprowl, forthcoming. Nevada
Archaeological Association, Minden.
Presented Papers
Anderson, Sharlyn
2008 Vessel Function as a Means of Understanding Ceramic Trade during
the Middle Pueblo II Period in Nevada. Poster presented at the
Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Anderson, Sharlyn, Karen G. Harry, and Nancy Grey
2008 Vessel Function as a Means of Understanding Ceramic Trade during
the Middle Pueblo II Period in Nevada. Paper presented at the 37th
Annual Nevada Archaeological Association Meetings, Minden,
Nevada.
Henrickson, Stephanie and Angela Peterson
2007 Explaining the Absence of Hearths at Lava Ridge Ruin. Paper
presented at the Second Biennial Three Corners Conference, Las
Vegas, Nevada.
Osborne, Glendee Ane
2008 Predicting Site Locations on the Shivwits Plateau, Northwest
Arizona: Preliminary Results Using MaxEnt Sofware. Twentieth
Anniversary of the Southwest Symposium, Tempe Arizona.
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