Anthropology Collections Student Assistant

Position Title: Anthropology Collections Student Assistant

Semester/Year: 2025 Fall Semester

Total Positions Available: up to 2

Supervisor: Brian Clark

Pay rate: $15.50

Hours per week: 3-6 

Start Date: 10/20/2025

End Date: 12/15/2025

Position Summary

The goals of this project include, at minimum, cataloguing the artifacts and teaching materials the Anthropology Department has accrued over the past 120+ years, and researching said materials as time allows. The collection currently contains hundreds of archaeological artifacts from the Stone Age to 20th century, dozens of fossil hominin and primate casts, and a library of books and journals. In their present state, the collections are of limited utility and accessibility even to the Anthropology faculty and students. By producing an accessible catalogue with images and descriptions of these materials we hope to spread awareness of the richness of our collection and make them available for use in other courses and programs. 

Responsibilities

A hired student or students will spend a total of 40 hours engaged with the following tasks in order of priority as time permits: Taking documentary photographs and writing basic descriptions of artifacts in the archaeological collection and entering them into a database. Properly labeling artifacts with unique ID’s corresponding to the database. Expanding on our current catalogue of the primate and fossil hominins in our collection by photographing each one and adding additional details about sources to identify where the collection is strong and where it can be improved. Producing a basic inventory of excavated material from the Near East and Geneva and conducting preliminary research into their origins. To accomplish these tasks students will receive basic training in artifact photography and cataloguing and will learn and utilize an open-source artifact database program. 

Qualifications

An ideal candidate for this position will have some experience and familiarity with museum collections and/or archaeological material and research. At minimum, they should have an interest in archaeology and archaeological artifacts and the care to properly handle such artifacts. Students should be able to take good quality photographs and work with a computer database. 

Additional Information

Student schedule should be flexible enough to work with the collections in Stern 103 when classes are not being held (i.e. evenings and/or weekends). The work is 40 hours total divided up into a few hours per week (3-6) with regular progress reports by in-person meetings or emails with faculty supervisor. 

Application Instructions

Review of applications will begin immediately. You may be contacted by the hiring supervisor for additional information.