In an effort to garner more interest in archaeology and anthropology, the Troy University Anthropology Club has partnered with the Troy Chapter of the Alabama Archaeological Society to co-host a five-part lecture series featuring industry professionals beginning Wednesday, Aug. 31. 

Laura Beth Ann Gage, a junior anthropology major from Chipley, Fla., has been a member of the TROY club for over a year and said their main goal is to encourage students from all majors to get involved and get educated.

“We’re trying to get together some more events so people from outside the program who are interested in the topic can get more involved,” she said.

The first lecture on Wednesday features Steven Meredith, Acting President of AAS and the owner of Cedars Consulting, LLC. His work focuses on using artifact form, geologic origin and discovery location of artifacts to infer the geographic range of late Pleistocene societies in the Alabama Coastal Plain.

Future lectures will feature Dr. Kimberly Pyskza, Auburn University at Montgomery, Robby Elmore, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Dr. Gabby Purcell, Troy University, and Annie Blankenship, archaeologist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services.

“Dr. Stephen Carmody (anthropology/archaeology professor at TROY) really stresses getting exposure to as many people as possible, so he wanted us to get access to different viewpoints,” Gage said. “Because of that, a lot of the people are who are speaking come from different areas in archaeology. Some work in academics, some work with the government or the state, some work with Native American groups. He wants students to see there’s many options out there as a career path.”

Gage said she came to TROY undecided about what her area of study would be but quickly found a home in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

“It’s such a personal program. The professors know all of their students, and we really know all of them. If we need help or if we have certain goals, it’s easy for us to work one-on-one to get there,” she said. “TROY also has a lot of international connections, which is always nice to have the option to pursue.”

The meetings will be held on the last Wednesday of the month in August, October, January, March and May in the Math and Science Complex Room 114 at 6 p.m. Meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Carmody at scarmody@troy.edu.