Emily Warner, right, with the USA Center for Archaeological Studies, and Thomas Grace, with Wiregrass Archaeological Consulting, bisect a feature in the soil at a site that is along the route for a proposed Mobile Bay bridge.

Center for Archaeological Studies

The Center for Archaeological Studies conducts archaeological research, teaching, and public service in the north-central Gulf Coast region. The Center promotes the archaeological study and appreciation of the region's prehistoric and historic past; disseminates to the public information about the region's archaeology; and preserves archaeological evidence of the region's past for future study, use, and enjoyment. The Center involves students in research projects, providing hands-on experience in archaeology.

Our staff has carried out over 1,000 survey and excavation projects during the last thirty years. Ground-breaking research at sites like Old Mobile and Port Dauphin revealed much about Alabama's earliest colonial history. The rapid pace of modern development has also led us to study sites like Bottle Creek, the Exploreum, and Dog River Bridge, where Indigenous People, French, British, Spanish, and Early American settlers left their marks on the landscape.


 

  Latest News and Research
Archaeology Open House Showcases the Dig
Archaeology Open House Showcases the Dig
Thursday - December 5, 2024
An archaeologist's goal is to refine and improve understanding of the past through research, excavation, finding and exhibiting artifacts. Recently, the University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work held a summer open house to allow students, faculty and staff to visit the archaeology labs to see what happens after the artifacts have been collected.
Read more
South Creates 'Growing Up Down the Bay' Exhibit
South Creates 'Growing Up Down the Bay' Exhibit
Thursday - December 5, 2024
As a part of the I-10 Mobile River Bridge Archaeology Project, the University of South Alabama's spring 2024 undergraduate Museum Methods in Archaeology class created the exhibit "Growing Up Down the Bay," focusing on a Mobile community.
Read more
Jewett's Mill and Labor Organizing in Reconstruction-Era Mobile
Jewett's Mill and Labor Organizing in Reconstruction-Era Mobile
Thursday - August 29, 2024
In 1867, Black workers at the mills and docks along the Mobile riverfront went on strike for higher wages. We excavated Jewett's Mill, the site of one strike, for the I-10 Mobile River Bridge Archaeology Project.
Read more