The UWA Archaeology Lab

The Archaeology Lab is a research and analysis facility used by UWA undergraduates, postgraduates, student volunteers, honours students, staff and visiting researchers. It is an essential working space to examine artefacts, botanical and faunal specimens and other material brought back from excavations. The lab is used to analyse materials such as seeds, animal bones, shells, eggshells, stone artefacts and charcoal collected during fieldwork.

In the lab, students develop their skills in post-excavation sorting and analysis of material, while contributing to current research projects. Learning how to use the equipment and developing skills in a professionally operating laboratory provides students with essential real-world experience.

Equipment in the Archaeology Lab includes:

• Drying ovens, donated by Shell Australia
• Fume hood
• AmScope stereo microscopes
• Olympus Adjustable Lens Microscopes for charcoal analysis
• Leica Microscope with photography ability
• Nikon Microscope for transmitted and reflected light microscopy and fluorescence work
• Computers equipped with ArcGIS software for mapping, SPSS statistical package and LaSphinx for interview analysis
• Photobox