As one of Ball State University’s knowledge units, research and the creation of new knowledge is an important part of the Applied Anthropology Laboratories' (AAL) mission. Using grants from external granting agencies, we develop and conduct projects that support faculty and student research in other departments. We also provide space and access to collections for archaeologists from other universities and institutions to conduct research into important new fields in Midwestern prehistory and history.
In the past three decades, much of our research has been focused on Euroamerican and pre-colonial Indigenous human occupation of the till plain region, an area that encompasses much of central and northern Indiana. Additional research has been conducted on sites in the middle Ohio River valley, the unglaciated region of southern Indiana, the lake and moraine region of northern Indiana, and on the historic settlement of central and southeastern Indiana. Our research extends into adjacent states as well, with contributions throughout the Midwest. Contact us for information on our current projects and grants.
AAL staff currently has research interests in:
- Historical colonial settlement and conflict in the former Northwest Territory
- Geophysical and geochemical prospecting
- Woodland and Late Precontact social interaction and settlement landscapes in the Ohio Valley
- Community Engaged Scholarship with American Indian Tribal Nations and other descendant communities
- Distributional survey of Indiana and Ohio landscapes
- Collaboration with private collectors and amateur archaeologists
- Approaches to Section 106 compliance