Research Facilities

Anthropology Research

Anthropology faculty conduct research around the globe.  Our research can also be viewed by area of study (Biological Anthropology).

Anthropology Research Facilities

These facilities provide research, teaching and training support for faculty and students in the Department of Anthropology, and for students, colleagues and post-doctoral fellows outside the department who collaborate with program faculty. Lab research is frequently connected with ongoing faculty field research programs around the world.

A total of 17 laboratories dedicated to both research and teaching are located mainly in the Anthropology Department.

  • Dry laboratories (Science 1): archaeological, osteological and paleontological studies.
  • Wet laboratories (Science 2): microbial, cellular and molecular studies; forensic and ancient DNA studies; and estimation of biomarkers of health and nutrition.

Research Laboratories

  • The Archaeological Analyses Facility

    The Archaeological Analyses Facility (Room 167)

    The Archaeological Analyses Facility provides comprehensive infrastructure for artifact analysis, remote sensing, and computational research. The facility includes a dry laboratory equipped for ceramic, lithic, and other artifact studies, featuring 3D scanning systems, surface characterization instruments, furnaces, precision balances, and standard measurement equipment.

    The facility maintains a fleet of uncrewed aerial vehicles configured for multiple sensor platforms, including photogrammetric, multispectral, thermal, and LiDAR systems. These platforms support documentation of archaeological landscapes and features across a range of spatial scales and environmental conditions.

    Research in remote sensing and geophysical prospection is conducted in collaboration with the Near Earth Imaging Laboratory (NEIL), as well as through the Environmental Visualization stream of the First-Year Research Immersion (FRI) program. These partnerships facilitate student training and interdisciplinary projects integrating aerial and ground-based survey methods.

    The facility also houses computational resources dedicated to the integration of artificial intelligence tools for archaeological analysis, supporting spatial modeling, image processing, simulation studies, and other quantitative approaches.

  • The Binghamton Biomolecules and Ancient DNA (B-BAD) Laboratory

    The Binghamton Biomolecules and Ancient DNA (B-BAD) Laboratory (Science 2, Rooms 313 & 314)

    This newly established laboratory serves as a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to paleogenomic and bioarchaeological research. This specialized clean lab environment features dedicated clean rooms with positive air pressure and HEPA filtration systems to prevent modern DNA contamination, specialized extraction facilities for processing ancient bone, tooth, and sediment samples, and library preparation stations equipped for double- and single-stranded DNA library construction and targeted enrichment protocols. The laboratory will support ongoing research in ancient human migration patterns and population dynamics, paleogenomic reconstruction of past civilizations, environmental ancient DNA (eDNA) recovery from sediments and archaeological deposits, and bioarchaeological investigations with particular emphasis on the Nile Valley, South Asia, and Mediterranean regions, integrating ancient DNA data with isotopic analysis and archaeological context. A key focus of the B-BAD Laboratory will be the optimization of both wet lab methodologies for improved DNA recovery from degraded samples and dry lab bioinformatics pipelines for enhanced data processing and analysis. Our new facilities will provide graduate student training in cutting-edge paleogenomic methodologies while complementing existing research infrastructure at Binghamton University.

  • The Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Laboratory

    The Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology Laboratory (BUFA) (Room 142D).

    The BUFA lab supports forensic anthropology casework and bioarchaeology research. Forensic casework processing occurs here, as well as skeletal analysis. The room contains freezer storage for biological materials, standard osteometric equipment, a 3D digitizer, a stereoscopic microscope with photographic capability, and standard reference materials for research and casework. Notable projects that have taken place here include several involving gunshot wound research. 

  • The Computational and Virtual Anthropology Laboratory 

    The Computational and Virtual Anthropology Laboratory (Room 225) 

    This is a computer-based research and teaching facility directed by Dr. Spake. The lab is equipped with high-powered workstations and specialized software for processing and modeling large quantitative datasets, visualization of medical image stacks, creation and manipulation of 3D models, and computer-based qualitative data analysis. Researchers working in the lab leverage these tools to study a range of questions of anthropological interest across sub-disciplinary boundaries. The lab is available to students using computational and/or virtual approaches across the department, regardless of their sub-discipline. 

  • Geoarchaeology Lab

    Geoarchaeology Lab (Room 111A)

    Coming soon…..

  • The Laboratory for Ancient Food and Farming 

    The Laboratory for Ancient Food and Farming (Room 111) 

    This paleoethnobotany laboratory has facilities for the analysis of botanical remains and is equipped with six microscopes, two microscope cameras, two computers with relevant software packages, sieves, and an array of other important paleoethnobotanical sorting materials. The lab also supports graduate coursework related to ancient landscapes. To find out more check out www.langlielab.org.

  • Laboratory for Anthropometry and Biomarkers 
  • Languages Lab 

    Languages Lab (Room 107B)

    Coming soon….

  • Microscopy Lab 

    Microscopy Lab (Room 105)

    Coming soon….

     

  • Multimedia Ethnography Laboratory 

    Multimedia Ethnography Laboratory (Room 135B)

    The Multimedia Ethnography Lab (MEL) will serve as a dynamic, exploratory space where anthropology students and interdisciplinary scholars engage in critical research at the intersection of power, gender, media and culture through audio, video, photography, and digital storytelling. Equipped with audiovisual recording equipment, data editing and analysis software suites, and collaborative workstations, the lab will support the creation and analysis of ethnographic media in rich, sensory detail. It will encourage creative, community focused research projects while fostering technical skills in visual and audio documentation. By integrating traditional anthropological methods with contemporary media tools, the lab will enable scholars to produce innovative research outputs—such as ethnographic films, photo essays, podcasts, posters, and digital archives—that engage both academic and public audiences in ethical and inclusive ways.

  • Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) Laboratory 

    Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) Laboratory (Room G49).

    The Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) was organized in 1972 to provide cultural resource management (CRM) services to clients throughout the Northeastern United States but with a focus on New York state and Pennsylvania. CRM services include:

    Phase 1A Cultural Resource Sensitivity Assessments

    Phase 1B Archaeological Surveys

    Phase 2 Archaeological Site Evaluations

    Phase 3 Data Recoveries/Mitigations

    Historic Architectural Surveys (including HABS/HAER Documentation)

    Non-Technical Community Outreach Programs

    Public Archeology Facility Website

  • The Southwest Archaeology Laboratory 

    The Southwest Archaeology Laboratory (Room 220).

    The Southwest Archaeology Laboratory is used for processing archaeological data, artifacts, and materials from survey and excavation projects in the U.S. Southwest and Texas. Numerous graduate and undergraduate students have participated in research using these data and materials.

    Read more about Dr. Van Dyke's historical archaeology excavation in Castroville, Texas

    Read about Dr. Van Dyke's work on the Greater Chaco Landscape (northwest New Mexico)

  • The Zooarchaeology Research Laboratory 

    The Zooarchaeology Research Laboratory (Room 201)

    The Zooarchaeology Research Lab houses an extensive nonhuman faunal collection of over 250 skeletons supporting research focused on North America. The majority of the collection represents common and local taxa from the northeastern United States, in addition to representative specimens from other areas of North America. The facility serves as a primary hub for both undergraduate and graduate instruction. Beyond the classroom, the lab supports student research projects specializing in faunal analysis and provides critical identification expertise for the Public Archaeology Facility.

Teaching Laboratories

  • Archaeology Teaching Laboratory 

    Archaeology Teaching Laboratory (Room 106)

    The Archaeology Teaching Laboratory houses the department’s archaeology teaching collection and has options for remote instruction and virtual learning. This facility supports teaching of our large undergraduate introductory archaeology courses as well as upper level and graduate anthropology courses.

  • Osteology Teaching Laboratory 

    Osteology Teaching Laboratory (Room 144) 

    This teaching laboratory adjoins the BUFA Laboratory and houses the department’s human osteology collection, consisting of multiple skeletons, dozens of isolated bones, hundreds of fragmentary bones and many casts. The teaching laboratory receives heavy usage for classroom instruction in skeletal biology, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

  • Paleoanthropology Teaching Laboratory 

    Paleoanthropology Teaching Laboratory (Room 112)

    The Paleoanthropology Teaching Laboratory houses an extensive collection of high-quality replicas of fossil hominin specimens representing the last 7 million years of our evolutionary history. Casts of most of the major hominin fossils are used for both teaching and research, and one of the highlights is the presence of an articulated Neandertal skeleton. Nonhuman primate bones and replicas are also included in the collection, which is regularly updated with new acquisitions. The Paleoanthropology Laboratory supports teaching of our large undergraduate introductory courses as well as upper level and graduate anthropology courses in human origins, primatology and evolutionary theory.