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Archaeology Programs in Ontario

Archaeology Programs in Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions 

Are you interested in studying archaeology at an Ontario University? This resource has been created to assist potential and current students interested in pursuing post-secondary and graduate training in archaeology. We have provided information on the degree programs, faculty and facilities available for each university to help you discover what your possibilities are.

If you are interested in an archaeological field school, click on the following link to the OAS listing of field schools in Ontario and abroad.

Lakehead University, Thunder Bay



Department: Anthropology
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA, BSc (3 years), Hons. BA, Hons. BSc (4 years) in Anthropology
BSc or HBSc in Geoarchaeology

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Scott Hamilton
Archaeology, fur trade, zooarchaeology, Boreal Forest archaeology, GIS. Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan.

Dr. Matthew Boyd
Geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, Quaternary paleoenvironments and paleoclimates, Pleistocene-Holocene transition, hunter-gatherers. Canadian Boreal Forest and Plains.

(Bioarchaeology): Dr. Carney Matheson
Bioanthropology, ancient DNA, palaeomicrobiology. Middle East, Australia, Mexico.

Dr. Tamara Varney
Bioarchaeology (osteology, palaeopathology, palaeodietary reconstruction/stable isotope analysis), historic cemetery archaeology, forensic anthropology. British Caribbean, Northeastern North America.

3. Facilities – In the Department:

a) Geoarchaeology Laboratory/Environmental Archaeology and Paleoecology Laboratory
b) Physical Anthropology, Stable Isotope preparation Laboratory
c) Zooarchaeology Laboratory

4. Facilities – Outside the Department:

a) LU GIS Laboratory
b) LU Instrumentation Laboratory
c) LU Map Library
d) LU Paleo-DNA Laboratory

Additional Information:

  • Students with an interest in Ancient DNA studies sometimes enrol in the Applied Biomolecular Sciences BSc and HBSc programs, currently administered by Dept of Biology. Some courses in Molecular Anthropology figure in that program and Dr. Matheson is a core member of that program.
  • An interdisciplinary Masters in Environmental Studies (northern environments and cultures) is offered between the Departments of Geography and Anthropology. Some of these grad students address archaeological and anthropological topics.
  • Faculty have also supervised specialized MSc thesis students in the graduate programs within Dept of Biology and Geology through.

McMaster University, Hamilton



Department: Anthropology
Location: Hamilton, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA, MA, PhD
– Honours in Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Minor in Archaeology available for the BA program
– Funding available for eligible full time MA and PhD students

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Aubrey Cannon
Archaeological theory, the archaeology of hunter-gatherer settlement and subsistence, marine-based economies, mortuary practices, and material fashion

Dr. Tristan Carter
East Mediterranean prehistory, the Aegean, Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia, Epi-Palaeolithic to Late Bronze Age, stone tools, production and consumption (raw material characterisation studies, lithic technology and use-wear)

Dr. Shanti Morell-Hart
Foodways, ethnoecology, paleoethnobotanical analysis, spatial analysis, Mesoamerica, ancient history, and gastronomic heritage.

Dr. Andrew Roddick
Social archaeology, ceramic analyses, archaeometry/compositional geochemistry, ethnoarchaeology, anthropologies of space and place, and South/Central/North American prehistory

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Tracy Prowse
Bioarchaeology, skeletal biology, palaeopathology, palaeonutrition, forensic anthropology, anthropological applications of stable isotope analysis, and Roman archaeology

Dr. Hendrik Poinar
Molecular evolutionary genetics, biological anthropology, ancient DNA, forensic, archaeological and paleontological remains

Dr. Megan Brickley
Bioarchaeology, forensics, human skeletal biology, paleopathology

3. Facilities – In the Department:

a) The Fisheries Archaeology Research Centre
b) Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research on Archaeological Ceramics (LIRAC)
c) McMaster Ancient DNA centre
d) McMaster Archaeological XRF Lab (MAX Lab)
e) Outdoor Lab for Experimental Art and Archaeology
f) Archaeology Teaching Lab
g) Physical Anthropology Teaching Lab

4. Facilities – Outside the Department:

a) Gateway Data and GIS lab
b) Geographic and Information Systems Laboratory
b) Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research
c) McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR)
d) Research Group for Stable Isotopologues (MRSI)

5. Field School

a) Ontario Field school offered in the summer term. Contact burchme@mcmaster.ca for details

University of Ottawa, Ottawa



Department: Classics and Religious Studies
Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA (3 years), Honours BA with specialization in Classical Studies (4 years)
MA in Classics

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Jitse H.F. Dijkstra
Archaeology, Egypt in late antiquity, Coptic, Papyrology and epigraphy

3. Facilities:

a) Art and Archaeology Slide Laboratory

4. Field Schools:

Students can participate in Classical and/or approved field schools run by other institutions for credit. See this document for details

Trent University, Peterborough & Oshawa



Department: Anthropology
Location: Peterborough (Symons Campus), Oshawa (Durham GTA Campus), Ontario

https://www.trentu.ca/anthropology

https://www.trentu.ca/archaeology/

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA (3 years), Hons. BA, BSc (4 years) in Anthropology or Archaeology, MA, MSc in Anthropology.

Joint-major degrees are possible, and also specialization in Environmental Archaeology or Mediterranean Archaeology.


2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. James Conolly
Landscape archaeology; historical ecology; geoinfomatics; radiocarbon modelling; lithic raw materials and technologies (Great Lakes).

Dr. Laure Dubreuil
Prehistory of the Middle East, Epipaleolithic, Natufian, Mesolithic, Neolithization process, Epigravettian of Italy, Neolithization of Europe, ground-stone tools, grinding implements, use-wear studies, experimental archaeology, technology, design theory.

Dr. Hugh Elton
Field survey, archaeology of warfare, GIS, climate change, the late Roman eastern Mediterranean, the regions of Cilicia and Isauria in Southern Turkey.


Dr. Rodney Fitzsimons
Bronze Age and Iron Age Greece; architectural studies, energetics, monumental architecture; socio-political organisation, early state formation, urbanisation and urbanism; mortuary practices, funerary architecture; cultural identity, acculturation, ethnogenesis, hybridisation.

Dr. Helen Haines
Ancient Maya, Early State Societies, Monumental Architecture, Economics and Socio-Political Development, Ontario pre-historic, and historic archaeology.

Dr. Gyles Iannone
Early State Formations and Urbanism (especially in the tropics); Settlement Archaeology; Resilience Theory; The Archaeology of Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Human Impact on Ancient Environments, and Collapse; Mesoamerica (especially Maya); South and Southeast Asia (especially Myanmar).

Dr. Jennifer Moore
Archaeology of ancient North Africa (c. 200 B.C.E.-300 C.E.), especially votive and funerary practices, pottery as an indicator of culture and economy, and cultural identity.

Dr. Eugene Morin
Hunters-gatherers, archaeology, Paleolithic of Europe, methods and theory in faunal analysis, ethnohistory, prehistory of Northeastern North America.

Dr. Paul Szpak
Canada Research Chair in Environmental Archaeology. Archaeological science, stable isotopes, palaeoecology, environmental archaeology, human-environment interactions, bone chemistry, palaeodiet, domestication and animal husbandry, Arctic, Peru, Chile.

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Jocelyn Williams
Stable isotopes of C, N, Sr, O, human mobility, ancient diet, nutrition and health, infant feeding practices including breastfeeding and weaning; environment, social and political influences on diet and mobility; South America, Caribbean, North America


3. Facilities – In the Department:

a) TUARC – Trent University Archaeological Research Centre

b) Isotope Lab (Williams)

c) Trent Environmental Archaeology Laboratory (Szpak)

d) Graphics and Visualization Lab (Shared)

e) Material Culture Lab (Shared)

f) Lithic Use Wear Lab (Dubreuil)

g) Early States Lab (Ianonne)

h) Zooarchaeology Lab (Morin)

i) Greek Archaeology Lab (Fitzsimons)

j) Mediterranean Archaeology Lab (Moore)

k) Mesoamerican Archaeology Lab (Haines)

l) Kenneth Kidd Archaeological Research Laboratory (Conolly)


4. Field Schools:

a) Ka’kabish Archaeological Research Project (KARP)

https://www.trentu.ca/anthropology/experience/belize-field-school

b) Ontario Field School

https://www.trentu.ca/anthropology/experience/ontario-archaeology-field-school

University of Toronto, Toronto



Department: Anthropology
Location: Toronto (St. George Campus) and Mississauga (University of Toronto at Mississauga [UTM]), Ontario

Website (St. George Campus), Website (UTM)

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA, Bsc, MA, MSc PhD
– Forensic Archaeology Program offered at UTM
– Funding available for eligible graduate students

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Edward B. Banning
Archaeology, Middle Eastern prehistory, Neolithic to Early Bronze, archaeological method and theory, archaeological survey; Jordan, Levant

Dr. Michael Chazan
Paleoarchaeology, lithic analysis, history of archaeology, Near Eastern archaeology; Near East, France, South Africa.

Dr. Gary Coupland
Archaeology, complex hunter-gatherers; Western North America, North West Coast

Dr. Gary W. Crawford
Archaeology, agricultural origins, paleoethnobotany, human ecology; Eastern North America, Japan, China, Korea (Mississauga campus)

Dr. T. Max Friesen
Archaeology, zooarchaeology, hunter-gatherers, culture contact, ethnohistory; North America, Arctic

Dr. Heather M. L. Miller
Archaeology, prehistory and history complex societies, ancient technology, material culture, social organization, regional inter-connections, agriculture; South Asia (Mississauga Campus)

Dr. David G. Smith
Archaeology, ceramics, agricultural origins; Northeast North America (Mississauga Campus)

Dr. Edward R. Swenson
Archaeology, complex societies, theory and method, religion and ideology; Andes, Latin America

Dr. Alice Yao
Archaeology; China and mainland Southeast Asia; complex societies, intercultural exchange and imperialism, mortuary ritual, and material culture

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Esteban J. Parra
Biological anthropology, molecular anthropology, human genetics, biomedical science; Americas (Mississauga Campus)

Dr. Susan K. Pfeiffer
Biological anthropology, skeletal biology of past peoples; Southern Africa, North East North America

Dr. Tracy Rogers
Forensic anthropology: sex determination, human variation in modern populations, crime scene analysis (Mississauga Campus)

3. Facilities – In the Department:

a) Archaeology Centre

4. Field Schools:

a) Forensic field school
b) Introduction to Archaeological Field & Laboratory Methods

University of Waterloo, Waterloo



Department: Anthropology
Location: Waterloo, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA (3 year); Honours BA (4 years)

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Robert Park
Archaeological anthropology, cultures of the Far North (the Canadian Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Greenland and Alaska) and Northeastern North America

Dr. Robert I. MacDonald
Ecological archaeology, archaeological site potential modelling, and geographic information system (GIS) applications in archaeology, cultural resource management

Dr. David Lubell
Human-environmental relationships, palaeoecology, palaeoeconomics and bioarchaeology, lithic analysis. Late Pleistocene-early Holocene prehistory of the western Mediterranean and southern Europe

Dr. Christopher Watts
Monumentality, landscape practices, materiality, and relational ontologies, particularly among Woodland Period (ca. 900 BCE – CE 1550) communities in the lower Great Lakes.

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Nancy Barrickman
Biological anthropology and anatomy, life history, ontogeny, cooperative breeding, energetic budgets, and the evolution of brain size and complex behaviour

3. Facilities – In the Department:

4. Facilities – Outside the Department:

5. Field Schools:

Western University, London



Department: Anthropology
Location: London, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA, MA, PhD (including, at the MA level, an Applied Archaeology Stream, which supports both full and part time student enrolment).
Funding available for eligible full time MA and PhD students.

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Christopher Ellis
Paleo and Archaic, Hunting and Gathering Societies, analysis of stone artifacts, Peopling of the Americas. Ontario, Great Lakes, Northeast.

Dr. Neal Ferris, Lawson Chair of Canadian Archaeology
Woodland and Historic, Settlement-subsistence, ceramics, colonialism, Applied Archaeology/CRM, archaeology as policy and heritage, contemporary issues of archaeological practice. Ontario, Great Lakes, Northeast. Cross-Appointed to the Museum of Ontario Archaeology.

Dr. Peter Timmins
Woodland – Iroquoian, applied archaeology/CRM, Indigenous Archaeology. Ontario, Great Lakes, Northeast.

Dr. Lisa Hodgetts
Zooarchaeology, Hunter and Gatherers. Canadian Arctic, Newfoundland, Norway.

Dr. Jean-Francoise Millaire
GIS, Settlement patterns, ritual practices, textiles, early complex societies. Peru and the Andean region.

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Alexis Dolphin
Osteology – Dental Anthropology – Trace Elements – Maternal & Child Nutrition/Health – Biocultural; Norway, Mexico, Belize.

Dr. El Molto
Biological Archaeology. Egypt, Baja Mexico.

Dr. Andrew Nelson
Human Skeletal Biology, Paleoradiology, Hominid Evolution, Paleopathology, Archaeometry, Mummy Studies. Peru, Egypt.

Dr. Christine White
Isotopic Anthropology, Skeletal Biology. Mesoamerica, Peru, Egypt.

3. Facilities – In the Department:

a) Zooarchaeological lab (extensive comparative faunal remains from Ontario and Arctic)
b) Digital Media Lab (GIS, audio-video recording)
c) Geophysical facilities (GPS, dual array magnetometer, mag sus, resistivity meter, GPR)
d) Centre for Research and Teaching of Native Languages

e) Great Lakes Archaeology Lab (Ellis)

4. Facilities – Outside the Department:

a) Museum of Ontario Archaeology/Lawson Site Late Woodland Village: Research Institution affiliated with the Department. Joan Kanigan, Executive Director. Specializes in the promotion and research of Ontario Archaeology. Extensive holdings including the Wilf and Elsie Jury Collections. Multiple Publication Series.
b) Sustainable Archaeology at Western: Located at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. Extensive holding of compiled Ontario collections and site data (research and CRM), digital imaging and object analysis facilities (3D modelling and printing, microCT, digital X-ray, immersive environments), and First Nations collaboration program. Dr. Neal Ferris, Director.
c) Guañape Research Centre and Field School. Base camp and research operations for long term archaeological fieldwork in the Virú Valley, Peru.
d) Laboratory for Stable Isotope Science. In the Earth Sciences Department, UWO.

Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo



Department: Archaeology and Classical Studies
Location: Waterloo, Ontario (Main Campus) and Brantford, Ontario (Brantford Campus)

Website

1. Degrees in Archaeology or Bioarchaeology Offered:

BA (3 years); Honours BA (4 years)
– Honours BA in North American Archaeology and Honours BA in Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology available.

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. P. M. Michèle Daviau
Iron Age towns, ceramic technology, the archaeology of Jordan, Near Eastern Archaeology, Egyptian Archaeology

Dr. Gerald Schaus
Greek Archaeology with a special interest in Archaic Greek pottery; Greek history; Greek colonization, Greek and Roman sports, Classical Civilization

Dr. John Triggs
Historical archaeology, industrial archaeology, archaeological field and laboratory methods, post-excavation analysis, statistical methods, and occasionally human osteology

(Bioarchaeology):

Dr. Bonnie Glencross
bioarchaeology and human biology with specialized teaching and research interests in health and disease in the past. American Southeast, American Northeast, Anatolia.

3. Facilities – In the Department:

4. Facilities – Outside the Department:

5. Field Schools:

York University, Toronto



Department: Anthropology
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Website

1. Degrees Offered:

BA, Honours BA and International Honours BA in Anthropology offered
The graduate program in Social Anthropology offers MA and PhD degrees

2. Faculty (Archaeology):

Dr. Kathryn Denning
Archaeology and material culture, socio-cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, history and philosophy of science, social theory

Notes on the program:

While the main focus at York is on social anthropology, past course topics have included: Early Civilizations: Complex Societies of the New and Old Worlds; Archaeology and Society: Local Pasts in a Global Present; The Social Lives of Places and Things: Material Culture and the Archaeology of the Contemporary Past; Humanity’s Journeys: Introduction to Palaeoanthropology and Archaeology.