AAS-SAU equipment ready to conduct research in the field–any time, anywhere across 11 counties in southwest Arkansas. Photo by Anthony Clay Newton.
The Arkansas Archeological Survey‘s mission is to study and protect archeological sites in Arkansas, to preserve and manage information about those sites, and to communicate what we learn to the public. Survey staff provides the general public and professional colleagues with information about research findings through various means. Technical and popular publications are distributed widely in the state and across the nation. Specific archeological information is provided to government agencies, professional archeologists, and researchers through on-line access to the Survey’s computerized databases. University-based teaching and programs to school classes, civic groups, and the Arkansas Archeological Society reach many other Arkansans.
The Southern Arkansas University Research Station (ARAS-SAU) is but one of ten research stations located across the state–eight at state universities and two at Arkansas state parks.
The Arkansas Archeological Survey is a unit of the University of Arkansas System, but (like Agricultural Extension Agents) we are stationed in communities across the state to help research and educate the public about archeological topics.
You can follow the ARAS-SAU Research Station through various social media by following the links below:
Below are outlined some of the ways we at the ARAS-SAU Research Station meet our mission goals.
The research territory of the AAS-SAU Research Station: Calhoun, Columbia, Hemsptead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita, Sevier, & Union Counties.
Research
The ARAS-SAU Research Station is responsible for researching and cataloging the archeological resources of 11 counties in southwestern Arkansas. The station territory stretches from the southern edge of the Ouachita Mountains to the Arkansas/Louisiana state Line, and incorporates the Great Bend region of the Red River. Much of our current fieldwork, research, and writing focuses on historical archeology in southwestern Arkansas and our continuing work on the archaeology of the Caddoan and pre-Caddoan cultures who lived in the areas around southwest Arkansas, northeast Texas, northwest Louisiana, and southeast Oklahoma. You can learn more about our current and past research projects by following the “Research” link on the navigation bar to right.
Teaching
Dr. Drexler teaches at SAU in the Department of History, Political Science, and Geography–two courses in the spring semester, an archeological field school during occasional summer semesters, and occasional independent studies geared to student interests. Other ARAS-SAU Research Station staff (and graduate students working with the ARAS-SAU Research Station) occasionally teach courses at SAU as well.
Additionally, the ARAS-SAU Research Station staff work with graduate students from the Anthropology Department of University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and other institutions. These students are working on research topics within the station’s research territory, or on topics that fit into the expertise of the ARAS-SAU Research Station staff.
For more information on the teaching mission of the ARAS-SAU Research Station, including course descriptions, please follow the “Teaching” link on the navigation bar to the right.
Public Archeology
We serve as the local archeologists for the 11 counties in southwest Arkansas, giving talks to school children and civic groups, creating exhibits about Arkansas archeology, and helping people to preserve sites on their property.
The ARAS-SAU Research Station also plays host to the local chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society–open to anybody interested in protecting, preserving and studying Arkansas’ historic heritage. The Red River Chapter of the AAS meets monthly (except January, June-August) on the second Tuesday evening on the SAU campus. Contact us at cdrexler@uark.edu, (870)235-4230 for more information, or follow the Red River Chapter on Facebook.
For more information on public archeology and the outreach mission of the ARAS-SAU Research Station, including information about volunteering with the Arkansas Archeological Society, please follow the “Outreach” link on the navigation bar to the right.
