Last modified: Tuesday, February 5, 2013
IU's Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology appoints new director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 5, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- April Sievert, senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington, has been appointed director of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology. The research center is named after pioneering archaeologist Glenn Black, who spent nearly three decades conducting scientific excavations at the Angel Mounds site in southwestern Indiana near Evansville.
Sievert began serving as Glenn Black Laboratory director at the beginning of January. With experience in both prehistoric and historic archaeology, she recently has been studying the consequences of transforming historic sites, such as Spring Mill Pioneer Village in Mitchell, Ind., into tourist attractions. An avid supporter of making archaeology accessible to the public, Sievert's research examines how people from the past manufactured and used technology, from stone tools to water mills, in their daily lives.
"Archaeology is so much more than old pots and stone tools," Sievert said. "Archaeology is also learning about past people and telling their stories. Being at the GBL means I can explore new ways to do this. With an astonishing array of Indiana's past literally beneath my feet, I'm eager to augment the impressive work already being done at the Glenn Black Lab with new ways of looking at old things."
The Glenn Black Laboratory is supported in part by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at IU Bloomington. Sarita Soni, vice provost for research at IU Bloomington, said Sievert's leadership will foster the laboratory's expansion.
"April Sievert's combination of experience in archaeological research and public outreach provides an excellent foundation for engaging campus faculty and students in archaeology research and leading the lab to regional and national prominence," Soni said.
Sievert succeeds the late Christopher Peebles, director emeritus of the Glenn Black Lab, professor emeritus of anthropology, and emeritus dean and associate vice president for information technology at IU Bloomington. Peebles' career in archaeology spanned nearly 50 years, including more than 25 years at IU. In 2009, IU President Michael A. McRobbie awarded him the Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion, recognizing his prominent achievement and dedicated service.
Founded in 1965, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory provides a research environment for scholars interested in the pre- and proto-history of the Midwest. The lab also curates nearly 12,000 archaeological collections, representing millions of artifacts from Indiana and the Midwest and houses the Ohio Valley-Great Lakes Ethnohistory Archive, a rare set of documents on Native American tribes of the Midwest.
In recent years the Glenn Black Laboratory has expanded its reach through geoarchaeology projects such as documenting the 18th-century landscape modifications undertaken by Thomas Jefferson during and after the construction of Monticello.
In collaboration with IU's Mathers Museum for World Cultures and other university and state museums, Sievert aims to broaden the Glenn Black Laboratory's reach through developing new research and scholarly initiatives and expanding fellowships for faculty and graduate students.
About the Glenn A. Black Laboratory
The Glenn A. Black Laboratory is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Guided tours of the laboratory are available during regular exhibit hall hours and by prior appointment only. Tours are regularly given for elementary through high school groups, college students and civic organizations. For more information, email gbl@indiana.edu or call 812-855-9544.
About the Office of the Vice Provost for Research
The Office of the Vice Provost for Research at Indiana University Bloomington is dedicated to supporting ongoing faculty research and creative activity, developing new multidisciplinary initiatives and maximizing the potential of faculty to accomplish path-breaking work.
