Their work was focused on excavating the Gunderson Site, a prehistoric Plains Indians village located about twelve miles north of Aberdeen.The site is about 800 years old. It was discovered and described in 1886 by T. H. Lewis, who was charged with the task of surveying the Native American burial mounds in Minnesota and surrounding states.The site was surveyed again in 1970 by state archeologist Mick Zerr.The current excavation project involving NSU students and faculty began in 2008 and it is conducted in conjunction with the local chapter of the South Dakota Archeological Society, which gives students an opportunity to work with experienced volunteers. Students involved in the project did both lab and fieldwork. They learned the basics of all three levels of archaeological fieldwork: Phase I Testing (site identification and reconnaissance), Phase II Testing (site significance and limits), and Phase III Testing (data recovery excavations). Students learned to identify prehistoric artifacts including bone, stone tools, and pottery; to map their finds and to document their work in written and photographic forms; and they learned sampling strategies and methods of taking soil and radiocarbon samples. In the lab, students learned to process and catalog a full range of archaeological collections. They learned to identify faunal remains by species and to identify burnt bone, butchering marks and other evidence of prehistoric activity, and to enter site and artifact data into state databases. COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES There are currently more than twenty students engaged in research projects outside the classroom. Several of these projects are conducted under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which is committed to support undergraduate research. Evidence of this commitment includes a new Social Sciences Research Center, fully equipped undergraduate research lab in Biology, and new Geosciences labs. Undergraduate research conducted outside the classroom is often derived from capstone projects or honors theses. Research activities in the CAS range from languages and linguistics to biological sciences and social studies. Dr. Ginny Lewis is advising Chris Rieck in his undergraduate research project focused on transcribing, translating, and interpreting original documents from Germans-from-Russia. His research has shown that individuals from the late 1800s and early 1900s experienced many hardships. Chris showcased his research at the state poster session in Pierre in February. Dr. Alyssa Kiesow is advising Ambra Premo in her undergraduate research project, which is also going to serve as her honors thesis. Ambra is characterizing and isolating microsatellite loci for false map turtles. She has isolated eleven loci, and is currently working on genotyping turtle samples from above and below Gavins Point dam.These data will help determine genetic structure of recently divided turtle populations. Another research project involved students enrolled in Dr. Teresa Stallings’ SOC 410 Methods of Social Research. In the spring of 2009 the students used face-to-face structured interviews to collect data from 156 randomly selected small businesses located in Aberdeen to assess the extent to which employers of small businesses in Aberdeen provide health and wellness benefits to their employees. In the spring of 2010, the students analyzed the data and presented the results of the study to local business community in a public presentation.They did so in coordination with the Brown County Extension Office and the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. Much of the undergraduate research conducted in the CAS is done through volunteer activities or course credits. Faculty dedicate their time to engage undergraduates in research and scholarly work. One of CAS and NSU’s new strategic plan priorities is to promote research by increasing our portfolio of research grants and creating corresponding opportunities and funding support to enhance our students’ academic experience at NSU. Undergraduate Research Digging the Gunderson Site Dr. Guangwei Ding collaborated on two articles: “Soil Degradation: A Problem Threatening the Sustainable Development of Agriculture in Northeast China,” co-authored with X. B. Liu, X. Y. Zhang, Y. X. Wang, Y. Y. Sui, S. L. Zhang, and S. J. Herbert, was published in Plant Soil Environ; and “Predicting Grain Yield of Irrigation-Land and Dry-Land Winter Based on Remote Sensing Data and Meteorological Data,” co-authored with M. C. Feng, L. J. Xiao, and W. D. Yang, was published in Transactions of the CSAE. Dr. Ding also gave two conference presentations during the International Symposium on Black Soil Quality and Management in Harbin, China, in July 2010: “The Influence of Cow Manure on the Distribution Pattern of the Water Stable Aggregates and Carbon Content in the Eroded Black Soil,” in collaboration with Y. Sui, X. Liu, and X. Zhang; and “Biological Activities of Black Soil Farmland with Different Soil Organic Matter Contents,” in collaboration with Y. Sui, X. Zhang, and X. Liu. Left to right: Megan Bertaccini, Kevin Nakajima One of the hallmarks of NSU academic programs is research conducted by undergraduate students. In the middle of South Dakota summer, when most people searched for relief from the scorching sun in water, shade, or air-conditioned space, Dr. David Grettler and students enrolled in ANTH 431: Field Methods in Archeology braved the heat in search of artifacts from the past.
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