The mission of the William R. Adams Zooarchaeology Laboratory is to provide comparative faunal collections to assist with anthropological research involving the identification and interpretation of hundreds of thousands of faunal specimens recovered from sites throughout the world.
In addition to the work carried on in the Laboratory, its facilities are made available to researchers inside and outside of the Anthropology Department, provided they make prior arrangements and have practical requests.
Current Research Projects
- Anne Kort (Ph.D. candidate, Earth and Environmental Sciences) Functional morphology of early Cenozoic mammals
Recent Publications
Anne Kort. 2020. The Virtual Paleontologist.
Barnosky, A. D., E. A. Hadly, P. Gonzalez, J. J. Head, P. D. Polly, A. M. Lawing, J. T. Eronen, D. Ackerly, K. Alex, E. Biber, J. Blois, J. Brashares, G. Ceballos, E. Davis, G.Dietl, R. Dirzo, H. Doremus, M. Fortelius, H. Greene, J. Hellmann, T. Hickler, S. T. Jackson, M. Kemp, P. Koch, C. Kremen, E. Lindsey, C. Looy, C. R. Marshall, C. Mendenhall, A. Mulch, A. Mychajliw, C. Nowak, U. Ramakrishnan, J. Schnitzler, K. Das Shrestha, K. Solari, L. Stegner, M. A. Stegner, N. C. Stenseth, M. H. Wake, and Z. Zhang. 2017. “No Going Back: Merging Paleontology with Conservation Biology to Guide the Future of Terrestrial Ecosystems." Science 10;355(6365).
Goswami, A., M. Randau, P. D. Polly, V. Weisbecker, C. V. Bennett, L. Hautier, and M. R. Sánchez-Villagra. 2016. “Do Developmental Constraints and High Integration Limit the Evolution of the Marsupial Oral Apparatus?” Integrative and Comparative Biology 56: 369-372.
Herrmann, Edward W., Rebecca A. Nathan, Matthew J. Rowe, and Timothy P. McCleary. 2016 early view. “Bacheeishdíio (Place Where Men Pack Meat).” American Antiquity 82(1):151-167.
Lawing, A. M., J. T. Eronen, J. L. Blois, C. Graham, and P. D. Polly. 2016. Community Functional Trait Composition and the Effects of Non-Ecological Processes. Ecography 39:1-13.
Lawing, A. M., P. D. Polly, D. K. Hews, and E. P. Martins. 2016. Including Fossils in Phylogenetic Climate Reconstructions: A Deep Time Perspective on the Climatic Niche Evolution and Diversification of Spiny Lizards (Sceloperus). American Naturalist 188:133-148.
Polly, P. D. 2016. Quantitative Genetics Provides Predictive Power for Paleontological Studies of Morphological Evolution. PNAS, 113:9142-9144.
Polly, P. D. 2016. Quantitative Genetics and Macroevolution. In Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology, edited by R. M. Kliman. Elsevier/Academic Press, New York, pp. 409-417.
Polly, P. D. and G. J. Motz. In Press. Patterns and Processes in Morphospace: Geometric Morphometrics of Three-dimensional Objects. In Virtual Paleontology, edited by L. Tapanila and I. Rahman. The Paleontological Society Papers 22. Cambridge University Press, UK.
Polly, P. D., J. Fuentes-Gonzales, A. M. Lawing, A. K. Bormet, and R. G. Dundas. 2017 (in press). Clade Sorting Has a Greater Effect Than Local Adaptation on Ecometric Patterns in Carnivora. Evolutionary Ecology Research 18.
Polly, P. D., J. T. Eronen, A. M. Lawing, and J. Schnitzler. 2016. Processes of Ecometric Patterning: Modelling Functional Traits, Environments, and Clade Dynamics in Deep Time. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 118:39-63.
Polly, P. D., C. T. Stayton, E. R. Dumont, S. E. Pierce, E. J. Rayfield, and K. Angielczyk. 2016. Combining Geometric Morphometrics and Finite Element Analysis with Evolutionary Modeling: Towards a Synthesis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e1111225:1-29.
Schnitzler, J., C. Theis, P. D. Polly, and J. T. Eronen. In Press. Fossils Matter - Understanding Modes and Rates of Trait Evolution in Musteloidea (Carnivora). Evolutionary Ecology Research 18.
Vermillion, W. A., P. D. Polly, J. J. Head, J. T. Eronen, and A. M. Lawing. Accepted. Ecometrics: A Trait-Based Approach to Paleoclimate And Paleoenvironment Reconstruction. In Latest Methods in Reconstructing Cenozoic Terrestrial Environments and Ecological Communities, edited by D. Croft, S. Simpson, and D. Springer, New York, NY.
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Head, J. J. and P. D. Polly. Evolution of the snake body form reveals homoplasy in amniote Hox gene function. Nature. (doi: 10.1038/nature14042). 2015
J. Ryan Kennedy. Zooarchaeology, Localization, and Chinese Railroad Workers in North America. In Historical Archaeology 49(1):122-133, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura L. Paths, Places, and Positions: Exploring Rocky Mountain Landscapes as Resource, Symbol, Wilderness, and Refuge. In Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology of Social Investment, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and María Nieves Zedeño, pp. 23-48. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura L. and María Nieves Zedeño (editors). Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology of Social Investment. University of Utah, Salt Lake City. 2015
Scheiber, Laura L. and María Nieves Zedeño, Introduction. In Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology of Social Investment, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and María Nieves Zedeño, pp. 1-6. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake, 2015.
Zedeño, María Nieves and Laura L. Scheiber. People and Mountains. In Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology of Social Investment, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and María Nieves Zedeño, pp. 186-192. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake, 2015
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Scheiber, Laura L. and Judson Byrd Finley (2011) Situating (Proto)History on the Northwestern Plains and Rocky Mountains.The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology, edited by Timothy R. Pauketat, pp. 347-358. Oxford University press, New York.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Judson Byrd Finley (2011) Obsidian Source Use in the Greater Yellowstone Area, Wyoming Basin, and Central Rocky Mountains.American Antiquity 75(2):372-394.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Judson Byrd Finley (2011) Mobility as Resistance: Colonialism among Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers in the American West.In Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology as Historical Process, edited by Kenneth E. Sassaman and Donald H. Holly. Jr., pp. 167-183. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Scheiber, Laura L., Kelly M. Branam, Judson Byrd Finley, Rebecca A. Nathan, Katherine L. Burnett, Maureen P. Boyle, Dawn M. Rutecki, Aaron E. Erickson, Chris Finley, Alda Good Luck (2011). "Crow Rediscover a Piece of Their Homeland":America's Best Idea at Bighorn Canyon. SAA's Archaeological Practice January 2011 prototype, pp. 29-34.
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Mitchell, Mark D. and Laura L. Scheiber (2010) Crossing Divides: Archaeology as History .In Across a Great Divide: Continuity and Change in Native North American Societies, 1400-1900, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and Mark D. Mitchell, pp. 1-22. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Mark D. Mitchell (editors) (2010) Across a Great Divide: Continuity and Change in Native North American Societies, 1400-1900.Amerind Studies in Archaeology, edited by John Ware. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Judson Byrd Finley (2010) Domestic Campsites and Cyber Landscapes in the Rocky Mountains. Antiquity 84(323):114-130.
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Clark, Bonnie J. and Laura L. Scheiber.A Sloping Land: An Introduction to Archaeological Landscapes on the High Plains In Archaeological Landscapes on the High Plains, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and Bonnie J. Clark, pp. 1-16. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Scheiber, Laura L. Intersecting Landscapes in Northeastern Colorado: A Case Study from the Donovan Site In Archaeological Landscapes on the High Plains, edited by Laura L. Scheiber and Bonnie J. Clark, pp. 17-40. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Scheiber, Laura L. Life and Death on the Northwestern Plains optimized Life and Death on the Northwestern Plains: Mortuary Practices and Cultural Transformations. In Skeletal Biology and Bioarchaeology of the Northwestern Plains, edited by George W. Gill and Rick L. Weathermon, pp. 22-41. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Scheiber, Laura, Maureen Boyle, and Judson Finley (2009) Archaeology: Combining Mapping Techniques with Digital Technology PositionIT (Nov/Dec 2009):25-29.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Bonnie J. Clark (editors). Archaeological Landscapes on the High Plains. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Scheiber, Laura L., Judson Byrd Finley, and Maureen P. Boyle. Bad Pass Archaeology. American Surveyor 5(4):12-23.
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P. David Polly (2007) Development with a Bite. Nature 449: 413-414.
Scheiber, Laura L. and Charles A. Reher (2007) The Donovan Site (5LO204): An Upper Republican Animal Processing Camp on the High Plains. Plains Anthropologist 52(203):337-364.
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Scheiber, Laura L. (2006) Skeletal Biology: Plains. In Handbook of North American Indians: Environment, Population, and Origins, Volume 3, edited by Douglas Ubelaker, pp. 595-609. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
Scheiber, Laura L. (2006) The Late Prehistoric on the High Plains of Western Kansas. In Kansas Archeology, edited by Robert J. Hoard and William E. Banks, pp. 133-150. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
Recent Presentations
Cory, Mackenzie. Skin Lodges and Stone Circles: Re-examining Finnigan’s Models of Domestic Taphonomy. Presented at the 2017 Indiana University Anthropology Graduate Student Association Symposium, Bloomington, Indiana. (2017)
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Bormet, A. K. and P. D. Polly. Substrate and limb evolution: a global ecomorphological analysis of ruminant unguals. Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Salt Lake City, UT. Oct 31, 2016.
Bormet, A. K. and P. D. Polly. Substrate and limb evolution: a global ecomorphological analysis of ruminant unguals. International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Washington, DC., Jul 1, 2016.
Bormet, A. K. and P. D. Polly. Ruminant unguals: a global ecomorphological analysis of substrate and evolution. American Society of Mammologists meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 27, 2016.
Burtt, Amanda. Revisiting Canid Collections: Applying DMTA to Examine Ancient Provisioning Practices. 74th Plains Anthropological Society meeting, Lincoln, Nebraska. October, 2016.
Burtt, Amanda, Alex Badillo, Gary Motz, Lindsey Kitchell. Identifying Canid Tooth Modification: A Side-by-side Comparison of 3D Imaging Techniques. 81st Society for American Archaeology meeting, Orlando, Florida, April 2016.
Burtt, Amanda, Gary Motz. Scanning the Past: Applications of 3D Image Capture for Analyzing Archaeological Materials. Paper presented at the 10th Anthropology Graduate Student Association Symposium at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, February, 2016.
Bykowski, R. J. D. and P. D. Polly. Ecological ontogeny and functional changes in the growth of tyrannosaurids. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. October, 2016.
Cook, Della, Cheryl Ann Munson, Susan Spencer Helfrich, Steven Kuehn, Mark Schurr, and Katie Zedjlik. A Young Man with Developmental Delays at the Murphy Site, 12Po1: Can Grave Goods Shed Light on Social Identity? Midwest Archaeological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa. Friday, October 7, 2016.
Cory, Mackenzie. From Home to Hearth: Expanding on a Model of Tipi Transformation. Presented at 21st Suyanggae and her Neighbors International Symposium, Laramie, Wyoming. (2016)
Cory, Mackenzie. Another Stone Circle Excavation: Last Canyon (24CB879), Western Pryor Mountains, Montana. Presented at the 2016 Wyoming Archaeological Society Spring Meeting, Cheyenne, Wyoming. (2016)
Cory, Mackenzie. Stone Circle Test Excavation at Last Canyon (24CB879). Presented at the 58th Montana Archaeological Society Meeting, Great Falls, Montana. (2016)
Cory, Mackenzie J. Play Stone Circles: Expressions of Childhood on the North American High Plains. Presented at the 2016 Indiana University Anthropology Graduate Student Association Symposium, Bloomington, Indiana.(2016)
Cory, Mackenzie. Transforming Tipi Rings: Re -examining a Model of Stone Circle Creation and Destruction. Presented at the 74th Plains Anthropological Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska. (2016)
Cory, Mackenzie J., Laura L. Scheiber, Cally Steussy, Thomas Brimm, Kirsten Hawley, Ryann Seifers, and Kyle Sprunger. Three Faces of Heart Mountain: Results of the 2016 Bighorn Archaeology Field School. Plains Anthropological Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska, October, 2016.
Farrugia, P., P. D. Polly, and J. K. Njau. An analysis of shape differences in crocodylian dentition using geometric morphometrics. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. October, 2016.
Hasenmueller, N.R., Hasenmueller, W.A., Motz, G.J., and Daniels, M.S. Linking the Indiana Geologic Names Information System to Complementary Geological Databases. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 48 (7): .
Hays, Christopher and Cheryl Ann Munson. Poverty Point Culture in the Lower Ohio Valley: The Clarksville and Murphy Sites. Midwest Archaeological Conference. Iowa City, IA. October 6-8, 2016.
Hensley-Marschand, B. and P. D. Polly. Ecometric indicators demonstrate seasonally warm and arid environments in the Early Pleistocene of Northern East Asia. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. October, 2016.
Kennedy, Ryan. Tastes for New and Old: Fish Consumption in the Market Street Chinatown. Society for Historical Archaeology meeting, Washington, D.C., January, 2016.
Kennedy, Ryan. Snakehead: Terror from the East or a Tasty Treat?” Society for Historical Archaeology meeting, Washington, D.C., January, 2016.
Laherty, J. and Motz, G.J. Boundless use of Indiana University’s biological research collections possible in partnership with IU Libraries. IFLA. Motz, G.J., Johnson, C.C, Njau, J.K., 2016.
Motz, G.J. Taxonomic differentiation of preferred prey items in the Indo-Pacific persistent hotspot of biodiversity. 2015. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 47 (7): 348, 2016.
Polly, P.D., J. Laherty, and N.R. Hasenmueller. Broad citizen-science engagement, enhanced preservation of metadata, and public accessibility of Indiana’s Fossil Record using an integrated digital repository and collection management system using a distributed framework connected by Darwin Core. Geological Society of America 48 (7): 2016.
Polly, P. D., J. Schnitzler, J. T. Eronen, and A. M. Lawing. Long-term directional transitions in global climate rather than short-term fluctuations drive changes in vertebrate diversity. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. October, 2016.
Polly, P. D. Functional traits, environments, and clades: at the interface of climate, ecology, and evolution. Florida Museum of Natural History Seminar Series. Dec 9, 2016.
Polly, P. D. Ecometric patterning in hind limb morphology of North American carnivorans (Carnivora, Mammalia): community-level functional morphology and evolutionary ecology. International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Washington, DC. July, 2016.
Polly, P. D. Functional traits, environments, and clades: at the interface of climate, ecology, and evolution. Paleobiology Seminar Series, Stony Brook University, May 5, 2016.
Polly, P. D. Functional traits, environments, and clades: at the interface of climate, ecology, and evolution. Anthropological, Environmental, and Geological Interdisciplinary Sciences (AEGIS) seminar series, University of Minnesota, Feb 26, 2016.
Riley, Jenny. Possible Evidence of Sloth Butchery: Results from a Faunal Analysis of Padre Nuestro Cavern, Dominican Republic Society for American Archaeology meeting, Orlando, FL 2016.
Scheiber, Laura. DeMaris Hot Springs in Cultural Perspective: Anthropology, Archaeology, and Public Discourse. Invited Participant in “Invisible Genealogies: The Continuing Relevance of the Americanist Tradition in Contemporary Anthropology on the Northern Plains” Symposium. Plains Anthropological Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska, October, 2016.
Scheiber, Laura. Beyond Houses and Hoes: Zooarchaeological Contributions to Central and High Plains Spatial Dynamics. Invited Participant in “The Unfilled Vessel, the Kindled Mind: Papers in Memory of Donna C. Roper” Symposium. Plains Anthropological Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska, October, 2016.
Scheiber, Laura and Amanda Burtt. Investigating High-Altitude Campsites the Rocky Mountains: A Decade Later. Society for American Archaeology meeting, Orlando, Florida, April, 2016.
Scheiber, Laura and Amanda Burtt. Investigating High-Altitude Campsites in the Rocky Mountains: A Decade Later. Society for American Archaeology meeting, Orlando, Florida, April, 2016.
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Belle, Nicky, Laura L. Scheiber. The Rocks at Joliet. Invited Participant in “People of the Willows: Research In The Study Of Hidatsa Origins, Archaeology, History, And Culture” Symposium. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, October, 2015.
Burtt, Amanda, Laura L. Scheiber, and Lindsey Simmons. Mountain Shoshone Landscape Occupation of Caldwell Basin, Fremont County, Wyoming. Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meeting, San Francisco, California, April, 2015.
Hawley, Kirsten, Laura L. Scheiber, Amanda Burtt, Cally Steussy, Adam Stevens. The Heart Mountain Archaeology Project: In the Shadow of Foretop’s Father. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, October, 2015.
Ryan Kennedy. Fish, Food Choice, and Connection in the Market Street Chinatown. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, IL, April 2015.
Ryan Kennedy, Plants, Animals, and Food Choice within the Market Street Chinatown, San Jose, California. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, CA, April 2015.
Ryan Kennedy. Plant and Animal Consumption in the Market Street Chinatown, San Jose, California. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Seattle, WA, January 2015.
Jenny Riley and Kevin D. Hunt. Preservation of Faunal Remains from an Underwater Cavern, Padre Nuestro, Dominican Republic. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting, San Francisco, CA 2015.
Scheiber, Laura. (Re)Contexualizing Heart Mountain, Apsaalooké: Past And Present. Invited Participant in “Contemporary American Indian Anthropology on the Northern Plains” Symposium. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, October, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura L. Bighorn Archaeology at Foretop’s Father, Year 1. Invited Presentation at Indiana University’s Native American Graduate Student Organization (NAGSA), Bloomington, Indiana, September, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura L. Heritage at the Intersection of Time and Place: From the Wild Wild West to the Verona Arena and Back Again. Invited Presentation at Indiana University’s Ancient Studies Colloquium Series, Bloomington, Indiana, March, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura L. The Future of Zooarchaeological Collections in Twenty First-Century Scholarship. Invited Participant in ““Bones Are Not Enough”: Research in Honor of Diane Gifford-Gonzalez” Symposium. Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meeting, San Francisco, California, April, 2015.
Scheiber, Laura and Amanda Burtt. Re-Defining Late Prehistoric Mountain Shoshone Occupations: Evidence from the Caldwell Creek Site (48FR7091) of Northwestern Wyoming. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, October, 2015.
Seifers, Ryann, Laura L. Scheiber, Amanda Burtt, Samuel Haskell, Jacob Heredos, Ian Carrico, Stephón Gilder (Indiana U), Lucas Chraponski. Continued Investigations at the Caldwell Campsite (48FR6917), A Long-Term Basecamp in the Absaroka Mountains. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, October, 2015.
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Scheiber, Laura L., Maureen P. Boyle, Judson B. Finley, Gina Q. Zavala, and David L. Maki (2006) Multivariable Data Collection at High Altitude Shoshone Campsites. Paper Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Topeka, Kansas, November 2006.
Scheiber, Laura L., Donna C. Roper, Yasemin Gencer, Ashley Fragomeni, Robert Hoard (2006) Beyond Houses and Hoes: New Interpretations of Prehistoric Farmers in Western Kansas. Paper Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meetings, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April, 2006.
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Scheiber, Laura L. (2005) Late Prehistoric Bison Hide Production and Hunter-Gatherer Identities on the North American Plains. In Gender and Hide Production, edited by Lisa Frink and Kathryn Weedman, pp. 57-75. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, California.
Scheiber, Laura L. (2005) Bison Acquisition and Butchering Intensity on the North American High Plains. PaperPresented at the Society for American Archaeology Meetings, Salt Lake City, Utah, April, 2005.
Scheiber, Laura L. (2005) Social Inequality and Cooperation as Evidenced in North American Plains Faunal Assemblages. Paper Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Billings, Montana, October, 2004.
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Scheiber, Laura L. and Amy McCabe (2003) Upper Republican Bison Processing:A Comparison of Two Faunal Assemblages. Presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference, Fayetteville, Arkansas, October, 2003.
Recent Grants
National Science Foundation Research Grant EAR-1338298. 2013-2017. ELT Collaborative Research: Bayesian Paleoclimate Proxies – Transforming the Vertebrate Fossil Record. P.D. Polly (PI), K. M. Johnson, S. C. Brassell, and A. Schimmelmann (co-PIs), J. J. Head (Collaborative PI, U. Nebraska) ($168,394).
George C. Frison Institute for Archaeology and Anthropology, Fund for Wyoming Archaeology. In The Shadow of Foretop’s Father: The Heart Mountain Archaeological Project. L. Scheiber (PI) ($1,900).
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Museums for America 2016-2018. ACCESSioning at Indiana University: Promoting Digital Access and Discovery of the IU Paleontology Collection. Gary Motz (PI) ($112,505).
Names in Bold are Affiliated Faculty, Students, and Former Students
