Baseline archaeological research on the Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch and Mattheis Research Ranches

Dr. John (Jack) Ives | Professor and Director, Institute of Prairie Archaeology
Department of Anthropology
Faculty of Arts
University of Alberta


Dr. Ives and Dr. Kisha Supernant (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology) will lead graduate and undergraduate students in undertaking the discovery, evaluation, and mapping of archaeological sites on the Mattheis and Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranch. The number and nature of sites present will be identified using foot surveys and subsurface testing. Once identified, sites will be evaluated further through testing, mapping, and potentially through excavation programs. This research will help managers of the Mattheis and Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranches to make decisions that take heritage and cultural landscape values into account. Furthermore, knowledge that is generated about Pleistocene, Holocene and settlement era human presence on the ranch landscapes can add a significant temporal dimension to the work of researchers from other disciplines, creating opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers working at these properties.

The Department of Anthropology runs an Archaeological Field School every second year, which will take place in part at the Mattheis and/or Roy Berg Kinsella Research Ranches. Learn more about the 2014 field school.