Chico State Archaeological Field School

Exploring the Basin and Range

The Chico State Archaeological Field School offers students hands-on training in the latest archaeological field techniques in two distinct regions: the Northern Sierra Nevada of California and the Little High Rock Canyon of Northwestern Nevada.

The next Field School will take place in Summer 2025. Please check back for more information.

Field schools are an important and necessary part of a degree and career in archaeology, and a valuable addition to a resume. The Chico State Field School will provide students with an extensive course of hands-on training in the following areas:

• Archaeological survey methods
• Mapping and data recording techniques
• Excavation methods and protocols
• Identification of cultural materials
• Documentation and cataloging practices

High Rock Canyon Desert The field school is led by Chico State professors Dr. Matt O’Brien and Dr. Carly Whelan. Both directors have experience in academic and cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology, so you will gain valuable experience in both realms.

Earn Academic Credit

Field school participants conduct on-site excavation work Students earn academic units for successful participation in the field school. There are no prerequisites for this course, but an introductory archaeology class would be beneficial.

More Information

For more information, contact our field school instructors:

• Dr. Matt O’Brien | mjobrien@csuchico.edu
• Dr. Carly Whelan | cwhelan2@csuchico.edu

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basin-and-range

Field School Faculty

Matthew O'Brien

Chico State Department of Anthropology Certificate in Cultural Resource Mgmt Co-Coordinator, ARP Director

Email: mjobrien@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-5696

Matthew O'Brien - Certificate in Cultural Resource Mgmt Co-Coordinator, ARP Director

My primary focus in archaeology is the study of North American hunter-gatherers. While they are rare on the landscape today, this subsistence strategy accounts for over 99 percent of human prehistory. My current research projects include social organization of communal hunting through food sharing as seen through zooarchaeology. I am collaborating on the ongoing excavations of the La Prele Mammoth site near Douglas, Wyoming that are exploring the spatial organization of a proboscidean butchery and the associated campsite. Finally, I have begun exploring Great Basin hunter-gatherer land use patterns in Northwest Nevada as part of the Archaeological Research Program.

Carly Whelan

Chico State Department of Anthropology Certificate in Cultural Resource Mgmt Co-Coordinator, NEIC Director, ARCH Lab Director

Email: cwhelan2@csuchico.edu
Phone: 530-898-4540

Carly Whelan - Certificate in Cultural Resource Mgmt Co-Coordinator, NEIC Director, ARCH Lab Director

My research examines the pre-contact lifeways of the people of California. This dynamic region was densely populated and linguistically diverse, with an economy based entirely on wild plant and animal foods. I study change in the subsistence economies, settlement patterns, and exchange networks of the central and northern Sierra Nevada, with an interest in the role that women played in shaping these systems. In addition, I serve as Faculty Coordinator of the Northeast Information Center (NEIC), which houses the records for over 40,000 archaeological sites in northeast California.

Chico State Archaeological Field School

Exploring the Basin and Range

Earn Academic Credit

More Information

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