See our list below of contract services we provide through the Achaeology of Food
Laboratory
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory has the training and facilities to recover microfossils (pollen, starch, and phytoliths) from artifacts and sediment samples. Our expertise is in the ecology of the Southern Plains, with one of the best reference collections of starch in the region. Our most popular service is the recovery of starch and pollen granules from archaeological ceramics, which can also be paired with chemical residue analysis.
Email crystal.dozier@wichita.edu with inquiries into procedure and pricing.
Absorbed chemical residue in ceramics must be extracted before mass spectroscopy analyses. We provide extraction services for ceramics, partnered with the Mass Spectroscopy Laboratory at Texas A&M University for identification of biomarkers of interest for the identification of specific foodstuffs.
Email crystal.dozier@wichita.edu with inquiries into procedure and pricing.
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory can provide other archaeological work and analyses as within the purview of our mission. Check out our many resources below and don’t hesitate to reach out to crystal.dozier@wichita.edu with collaboration opportunities.
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory provides mulitple resources. See our list below.
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory hosts a variety of comparative collections for paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analysis.
*Zooarchaeology: specializing in mammalian, reptilian, and avian species from within the Greater Plains.
*Starch: specializing in indigenous economic plants of the Southern Plains.
*Seeds: specializing in economic plants of the Plains.
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory has access to a variety of field and laboratory equipment.
*Laboratory: Leica DM750 microscope with polarized lens and 5 MP camera, centrifuge, vortex, electronic scale, heating plate, 3 student microscopes with cameras, Dremel
*Field: Cobra TT percussion auger for coring up to 10 meters, full archaeological excavation equipment including shovels, trowels, screens.
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory is currently located in 202 Neff Hall on the Wichita State University campus. The Lab provides office and research space for associated graduate students and research partners, which includes large communal work tops, a dedicated closed-door wet-lab, reference collection access, and a separated kitchenette.
Outreach
The Archaeology of Food Laboratory is happy to host tours for middle and high school students or to come to your classroom for a show-and-tell of what archaeology is! We have activities available for different levels of kids and often collaborate with the Lowell D. Holmes Anthropology Museum for a fun STEAM field trip experience. Email crystal.dozier@wichita.edu for potential collaborations.
Archaeology of Food Lab
