Overview

About the program

Primary fields include anthropological archaeology, geology, and materials science and engineering. The Archaeology and Materials program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) enriches knowledge of past- and present-day non-industrial societies by making the natural and engineering sciences part of the archaeological toolkit. Archaeology and Materials is administered by faculty and staff within CMRAE, the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology & Ethnology.

Participation by undergraduates in laboratory work is a key part of the curriculum. Many of the subjects include a laboratory component and students may also participate in UROP and summer fieldwork. In addition to Departmental facilities, students work within the Undergraduate Archaeology and Materials Laboratory, and the CMRAE facilities.

Archaeology and Materials focuses on the following:

• Understanding ancient societies through study of the structure and properties of archaeological materials

• Peoples' interaction with materials

• Objects that such interactions produced

• Environmental setting within which the materials were used

• Broad exposure to fields that contribute fundamental theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of ancient and historic societies

• Archaeology

• Materials Science & Engineering

• Geology