Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Joshua Varkel Humanities and Social Science

Lithic and Spatial Analysis of Kharaneh IV

I will be analyzing/making sense of a collection (~30,000 pieces) of lithic materials from a 20,000 year old archaeological site in the Azraq Basin of Jordan. I will then put all the information obtained from the lithic remains into a GIS and run various statistical and spatial analysis, which will allow me to quantify my results and help understand the structure of the site through time and space.

Message To Sponsor

The archaeological site, Kharaneh IV, is groundbreaking since it is one of the earliest sedentary sites in the world that we know of. I am honored that my adviser Dr. Lisa Maher has given me the opportunity to work with her on such an important site. Additionally, the SURF scholarship and support of the JSB Fund donors allows me to stay here over summer which in turn gives me more time and opportunity to make as much of a contribution to the field as possible. Lastly, this scholarship is the first time that I am receiving money for my individual thoughts, and makes me very excited for the future.