Archaeologists investigate past and present human cultures by studying the material traces—landscapes, sites, features, artifacts and ecofacts—left behind.
In the Department of Archaeology, our students engage in practical training and experiential learning in classroom, laboratory and fieldwork settings that provide a comprehensive education and transferable skills. Our state-of-the-art labs—focused on applied archaeological sciences, environmental archaeology, conservation, and artifact analysis—connect students with community-university research initiatives across Canada, the circumpolar North, the North Atlantic, and Europe.
As one of the largest Archaeology departments in the country, we prepare our students to become effective researchers, critical thinkers, and active stewards for our shared archaeological heritage.
News
The Department will be holding this year's MA proposal defences on Friday 27th March between 12pm-3:40pm at Queen's College.
The first round of proposals will be given between 12pm-1pm (QC-2013) and followed by a poster session in the Great Hall until 2:30pm. A second round of MA proposals will take place between 2:30pm-3:40pm (QC-2013). The thesis proposals are:
- Grégoire Boily: 'French fishing settlements in southwestern Newfoundland: historical and archaeological perspectives.'
- Leah Constantine: 'A contemporary archaeology of graffiti and place-making in St. John's, Newfoundland.'
- Alydia Downs: 'A blooming narrative: examining Norse ironworking at L'Anse aux Meadows.'
- Zophia McGuire: 'Food procurement and climate intersections on the Avalon Peninsula and Ferryland, Newfoundland: 6kya to present.'
- Abraham B. Packard: 'Beetles as microenvironmental disturbance indicators: a pitfall trap survey at L'Anse aux Meadows.'
- Jesse Reid: 'A comparative analysis of microblades from Groswater and Dorset sites in Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Newfoundland.'
- Alyson Tulk: 'Old Town of Gander, Newfoundland: A landscape archaeology of the contemporary past.'
The department is delighted to congratulate Roger Lewis, a former graduate student, on his appointment to the Order of Canada. A member of the Sɨkɨpne’katik First Nation and Keptin of the Grand Council of Mi'kmaq, Roger previously served as the Curator of Mi'kmaw Cultural Heritage at the Nova Scotia Museum and currently serves as Director of Consultation with the Sɨkɨpne’katik Governance Initiative.
This prestigious honour recognises Roger’s outstanding contributions, dedication, and leadership in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of Mi'kmaw archaeology and cultural heritage. Congratulations, Roger, on this exceptional achievement.
Congratulations to two Memorial Archaeology students, Jesse Reid and Zoe Helleiner, on winning awards for best student poster during the Poster Session at the 2025 CAA Annual Meeting in St. John's back in May 2025.
Jesse Reid won the Undergraduate Student Prize for their poster titled: Mapping the Little St. Lawrence Whaling Station
Zoe Helleiner won the Graduate Student Prized for their poster titled: Inuvialuit and Birds: A Holistic Look at Change and Continuity in the Archaeological Record
Congratulations Jesse and Zoe!
