A Brief Look at a Select Glass Jar Lid from Community Excavations at Ithaca’s St. James AME Zion Church
CIAMS M.A. student, Li Hayes, shares what we can learn from a fragment of a fruit canning jar lid.
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In 2012 we launched the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS), a unique initiative that links archaeology and material studies through multidisciplinary collaboration among a wide range of departments and units. The new Institute grows out of Cornell’s long-standing Archaeology Program. Founded in 1967, the Archaeology Program is one of the few entities in the United States to offer both an undergraduate major and master’s degree in archaeology. We seek to combine theory and method, practice and analysis.
Explore Our Program
Giving to CIAMS:
Archaeology has always depended on private and public philanthropy. You can support a variety of excavations, student research, and Cornell archaeology generally, with your tax deductible, charitable donation. Whether you’re a philanthropist, charity, parent or just concerned individual who wants to invest in the future of education and research while discovering the past, giving is easy by following this link:
Archaeology News
Stitch by Stitch: Uncovering the Past Through Textiles
CIAMS M.A. student, Sarah Orsinger, analyzes the largest textile found to date at St. James AME Zion Church.
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Doing Archaeology of the Spiritual
CIAMS M.A. student, Haley Stuckey, reflects on excavating at St. James AME Zion Church.
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A Historical Analysis of the Intact Royal Salad Dressing Bottle Found at Ithaca’s St. James AME Zion Church
CIAMS M.A. student, David Dishman, analyzes an intact glass bottle that was recovered from St. James AME Zion Church.
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CIAMS Director Presents on the Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage by Azerbaijan
On September 19, 2024, Prof. Adam T. Smith (Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology, Director of CIAMS, and Co-director of Caucasus Heritage Watch) presented testimony to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress. Smith’s testimony was part of a hearin...
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Almonds, pottery and wood help date famed Kyrenia shipwreck 
The Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory identified the likeliest timeline of the Hellenistic-era ship's sinking as between 296-271 BCE, with a strong probability it occurred between 286-272 BCE.
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CIAMS Celebrates Juneteenth at St. James AME Zion Church
As part of Saturday’s festival on June 15th, Cornell’s Institute for Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) and St. James AME Zion Church organized an artifact washing activity for kids next to the church.
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Alumni Spotlight: Samuel Disotell
Congratulations to former CIAMS M.A. student Samuel Disotell (M.A. '21), who successfully defended his master's thesis this past December. Sam's thesis is titled, "An Analysis of Faunal Materials From the White Springs Site, a 17th-18th Century Seneca Town in Upstate New York." Sam's research interests are in zooarchaeology; ritual, ceremony and feasting; inequality; and Neolithic Europe. Sam was also a founding member of the Archaeological Science Group at Cornell, one of two graduate groups affiliated with CIAMS.
Click here to explore profiles of our current CIAMS graduate students, and here to view a list of our CIAMS alumni and their thesis and dissertation titles.