A Legacy in Education
The Gault School of Archaeological Research
GSAR’s education aims go beyond higher education; we are also in front of hundreds of K-12 kids each year. We are in the classroom giving presentations, hosting classroom tours of the Gault site, and arranging large field trips for various schools. It is truly a unique institution in the Texas education landscape.
How It All Began
This journey couldn't be understood without hearing from one of our institutional pioneers, Dr. Wernecke.
“Mike and I believed very strongly that archaeology programs at universities were not teaching the skills that students would need to get a job and function as archaeologists. Universities tend to teach lots of theory and history aimed toward turning out teachers/professors rather than practicing archaeologists. We felt that we could help, in some small way, to fill that gap and help prepare students for life after college. This meant learning about practical skills, CVs, meeting other archaeologists, and getting field and lab experience. When I started in anthropology, most graduates still worked in academia, and now something like 85% work outside of education. When you apply for a job, they don't ask you what theory classes you took - they want to know what you can DO. Archaeology is an apprenticeship discipline, but often we have waited until students get graduate degrees before exposing them to this reality. Mike was doing this long before me when he set up the CRM program at the University of Kentucky. When we first talked about this (probably around 2000), we found that we shared this belief in what the mission of an organization like the GSAR should be. And not just education for college students but also telling the public what we do and why it should be important to them. Also talking to schoolchildren of all ages to not only acquaint them with archaeology but also to encourage those who might have an interest in pursuing the field.”
- Dr. Clark Wernecke
Successes In Higher Education
As a result of the founding vision, GSAR has played a crucial role in helping numerous young scholars accomplish advanced degrees. The following is a short list, and we will be adding more GSAR alumni, praising their accomplishments and thanking them for their interest and involvement at Gault and GSAR!
- Geoarchaeological Investigation of Natural Formation Processes to Evaluate Context of the Clovis Component at the Gault Site (41BL323), Bell County, Texas - A Thesis by Dawn Aileen Joyce Alexander Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS, May 2008
- Geoarchaeological Investigations of Site Formation Processes in Area 15 at the Gault Site, Bell County, Texas - Presented to Texas State University-San Marcos in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of ARTS by Anastasia Gilmer, B.S., San Marcos, Texas, August 2013
- Analysis of the Lithic Debitage from the Older-than-Clovis Stratigraphic Layers of the Gault Site, Texas - Jennifer L. Gandy, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in Anthropology, December 2013
- Exploring the Interpretive Potential of Clovis Waste Flakes Submitted - Nancy V. Littlefield The University of Exeter as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Archaeology, February 2015
- Testing the Atlantic Ice Hypothesis: The Blade Manufacturing of Clovis, Solutrean and the Broader Technological Aspects of Production in the Upper Paleolithic - Thomas Joseph Williams The University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology, October 2014
- Investigations of Area 12: Gault Site - Laura E. Vilsack, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in Anthropology,
December 2016 - The Angostura Anomaly: A Comprehensive Analysis of This Unique Projectile Point Type - Jennifer B. Anderson, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in Anthropology, December 2013
- Form and Function: A Case Study Using Pedernales Points from The Gault Site (41BL323) In Central Texas - Kristine Fischer To the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of MS by Research in Archaeology, January 2015
- An Experimentally Supported Model of Flaked Stone Analysis for Prehistoric Dart Point Technologies - Sergio Javier Ayala To the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology, September 2022
Our 2024 Interns:
- Katharine Febres – University of Exeter student (lithics studies)
- Jade Gather – University of Texas (curation and field methods)
- Catarine Flores – University of Texas (curation)
- Sam Reynolds – University of Texas (curation and lithics)
- Kristi Cavazos – University of Texas (curation)
