Archaeological Analytical Research Facility (AARF)

Science 1, Room 201

Rolf Quam, Acting Curator

The Archaeological Analytical Research Facility (AARF) provides infrastructure and analytical support for research and teaching by faculty and students in the Department of Anthropology at Binghamton University. The facility consists of a laboratory complex on the second floor of the south wing in the Science 1 building on campus. The purpose-built, multi-room laboratory complex (Rooms 201, 201A, 203 and 205) houses a number of collections and provides equipment and work space for individual and group projects. The focal collection includes over 300 vertebrate skeletons, housed in Room 201A. These comparative zooarchaeological materials are accessed for research and teaching by faculty, students and interested members of the public.

The core of the collection includes approximately 250 accessioned skeletons, most of which are disarticulated and curated in appropriately labeled and taxonomically-ordered collections boxes. A representative sample of articulated and mounted specimens is also located throughout the main collections room for display and study. The bulk of accessioned specimens represent common and local taxa from the Northeastern United States, in addition to representative specimens from other areas of North America.

An additional number of comparative specimens are available for study. These include taxa collected by departmental archaeologists in the course of their field research, and include examples from South America, West Africa and the Arctic. Other comparative materials include an expanding collection of invertebrate specimens, Interior of Taxonomy Lab primarily from the western neotropics, as well as a variety of modern butchery specimens and variously modified examples for taphonomic research. The collections are regularly accessed during undergraduate and graduate teaching, in addition to tours by non-University organizations, visits by interested members of the public and official use by various law-enforcement agencies in the course of routine investigations. The facility also is regularly accessed in the course of advanced training and research in zoorchaeology and taphonomy by graduate students at both the master and doctoral levels. Advanced undergraduate students are especially encouraged to use these materials and available wet lab space for original, independent research projects during their junior and senior years. Many of these projects have formed the basis for senior honor's theses and subsequent publication in international journals.

The facility also houses teaching collections, including ceramic and pottery, lithics and the departmental slide compilation, which are available on a sign-out basis for faculty and students. These are housed in an adjacent room (205), which also includes microscopes and illuminated lenses, digital balances, geological screens, cameras and various forms of lab equipment for independent research projects. Limited work space, computer facilities and temporary curation of study collections are also available in Room 205. The facility is also equipped with an Olympus Zoom microscope with attached photographic abilities, along with various IBM-compatible equipment to support computer-aided graphics in Room 203. Teaching and study space are available throughout the various rooms of the facility

Alphabetical listing of available taxa

Accipiter cooperii    Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter striatus    Sharp-shinned Hawk
Agkistrodon contortix   Copperhead
Agkistrodon piscivorus    Cottonmouth
Agouti paca     Paca
Aix sponsa    Wood Duck
Alces alces    Moose
Alligator mississippiensis    Alligator
Alopex sp.    Arctic Fox
Alouatta palliata    Howler Monkey
Ambystoma opacum    Marbled Salamander
Ambystoma talpodeum    Mole Salamander
Ambystoma texanum    Small Mouth Salamander
Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum    Eastern Tiger Salamander
Anas domestica    Domestic Duck
Anas platyrhincos    Mallard X Domestic Duck
Anguilla rostrata    American Eel
Anolis carolinensis    Green Anole
Anolis sagrei    Brown Anole
Anser domesticus    Domestic Goose
Apalone spinifera spinifera    Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle
Aplodinotus grunniens    Freshwater Drum
Archilocus colubri    Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Blarina brevicauda    Short-Tailed Shrew
Boa constrictor     Boa
Bombycilla cedrorum    Cedar Waxwing
Bonasa umbellus    Ruffed Grouse
Bradypus variegatus    Three-toed Sloth
Branta canadensis    Canada Goose
Bubo virginianus    Great Horned Owl
Bufo americanus    American Toad
Bufo marinus    Giant Toad
Buteo jamaicensis    Red-Tailed Hawk
Caiman sp.     Caiman
Cairina moschata   Muscovy Duck
Canis familiaris    Domestic Dog
Canis latrans    Coyote
Capra hircus    Domestic Goat
Carpodacus mexicanus    House Finch
Castor canadensis    American Beaver
Cavia porcellus    Guinea Pig
Cephalophus sp.    Forest Duiker
Cercopithecus aethiops    Vervet
Cervus canadensis    Wapiti
Chelydra serpentina    Snapping Turtle
Chen caerulescens    Snow Goose
Chionactis palarostris    Sonoran Shovel-nosed Snake
Chrysemys picta belli    Western Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta dorsalis    Southern Painted Turtle
Clemmys insculpta    Wood Turtle
Columba livia     Domestic Pigeon
Colaptes auratus   Common Flicker
Condyura cristata  Star-nosed Mole
Corvus brachyrhyncos    Common Crow
Cyanocitta cristata   White-Toothed Shrew
Crocidura sp.    White-Toothed Shrew
Cricetomys gambianus     West African Giant Rat
Crotalus atrox    Western Diamondback Rattler
Cyanocitta cristata   Blue-Jay
Cygnus olor    Mute Swan
Cynomys gunnisoni    Whitetail Prairie Dog
Cyprinus carpio    Carp
Dasypus novemcinctus    Armadillo
Dendroica petechia    Yellow Warbler
Dendroica pinus   Pine Warbler
Desmognathus fuscus    Dusky Salamander
Didelphis virginianus    Common Opossum
Dorosoma cepedianum    Gizzard Shad
Dryopithecus pileatus    Pileated Woodpecker
Enhydra lutris    Sea Otter
Epinephelus nigritus    Warsaw? Grouper
Eptesicus fuscus    Big Brown Bat
Equus sp.    Dwarf Domestic Donkey
Equus caballus    Horse
Erethizon dorsatum    Porcupine
Eurycea bislineata    Two Lined Salamander
Eurycea longicauda    Dark Sided Salamander
Falco sparverius    Sparrow Hawk
Felis domesticus    Domestic Cat
Gallus domesticus    Domestic Chicken
Gallus domesticus    Domestic Cornish Hall Cross
Gallus domesticus    Domestic Rock Cornish Game Hen
Geomys bursarius     Eastern Gopher
Graptemys kohnii    Mississippi Map Turtle
Grus canadensis    Sandhill Crane
Homo sapiens    Human
Ictalurus nebulosus    Brown Bullhead
Ictalurus punctatus    Channel Catfish
Iguana iguana     Iguana
Junco hyemalis    Dark-eyed Junco
Kinosternon subrubrum    Mississippi Mud Turtle
Kinixys sp.    West African Hinged-Back Tortoise
Larus delawarensis    Ring-Billed Gull
Leontopithecus rosalia    Golden Lion Tamarin
Lepisosteus osseus    Longnose Gar
Lepomis macrochirus    Bluegill
Lepus californicus    Blacktail Jackrabbit
Lutra canadensis    River Otter
Lynx rufus    Bobcat
Macaca mullatta    Rhesus Monkey
Marmota monax    Woodchuck
Meleagris gallopavo    Domestic Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo    Turkey "Broad-Breasted White"
Meleagris gallopavo    Wild Turkey
Melospiza melodia   Song Sparrow
Mephitis mephitis    Skunk
Mesocricetus auratus    Golden Hamster
Microtus pennsylvanicus    Meadow Vole
Mus musculus    House Mouse
Mustela erminea    Stoat
Mustela frenata    Long-Tailed Weasel
Mustela vison    American Mink
Myotis lucifugus    Little Brown Bat
Necturus maculosus    Mudpuppy
Neotoma albigularis    Wood Rat
Nerodia sipedon sipedon    Northern Water Snake
Numida meleagris    West African Guinea Fowl
Odobenus sp.     Walrus
Odocoileus virginianus    White-Tailed Deer
Oncorhyncus sp.    Salmon
Ondatra zibethicus    Muskrat
Opheodrys vernalis    Smooth Green Snake
Ophichthus zophochir    Yellow Snake Eel
Oporornis philadelphia    Mourning Warbler
Oryctolagus cuniculus     Domestic Rabbit
Oryzomys bombycinus    Rice Rat
Oryzomys caliginosus    Rice Rat
Otus asio    Screech Owl
Ovis aires    Domestic Sheep
Passer domesticus    European Sparrow
Perca flavescens    Yellow Perch
Peromyscus eremicus    Cactus Mouse
Peromyscus leucopus    White-Footed Mouse
Peromyscus maniculatus    Deer Mouse
Phasianus colchicus    Ring-Necked Pheasant
Philohela minor    American Woodcock
Phoca sp.    Seal
Pica pica    Black-billed Magpie
Picoides villosus    Hairy Woodpecker
Plecostomus sp.    South American Catfish
Pomatomus saltator    Blue Fish
Potos flavus     Kinkajou
Prionotus evolans  Striped Sea Robin
Procyon lotor    Raccoon
Proechimys semispinosus    Spiny Rat
Pseudemys concinna    Heiroglyphic River Cooter
Pseudemys concinna concinna    Eastern River Cooter
Pseudemys rubiventris    Redbelly Turtle
Rana catesbiana    Bullfrog
Rana clamatins,    Green Frog
Rana pipiens    Northern Leopard Frog
Rattus sp.    Rat
Regulus satrapa    Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Salmo sp.    Atlantic Salmon
Salmo clarki    Cutthroat Trout
Sciurus carolinensis    Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus niger    Fox Squirrel
Serrasalmus sp.    Piranha
Sialia sialis    Eastern Bluebird
Sorex cinereus    Masked Shrew
Sphyrapicus varius    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sternotherus odoratus    Common Musk Turtle
Storeria occipitomaculata    Northern Redbelly Snake
Strix varia    Barred Owl
Sturnus vulgaris    Starling
Sus scrofa    Domestic Pig
Sylvilagus auduboni    Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus    Eastern Cottontail
Tamias striatus    Eastern Chipmunk
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus    American Red Squirrel
Terrapene carolina carolina    Eastern Box Turtle
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis    Eastern Garter Snake
Thryonomys swinderianus    Grasscutter
Trachemys scripta    Slider
Trachemys scripta elegans    Red-eared Slider
Turdus migratorius    American Robin
Urocyon cinereoargentus    Gray Fox
Ursus americanus    American Black Bear
Varanus sp.    Monitor Lizard
Vulpes vulpes    Red Fox
Xenopus laevis  African Clawed Frog
Zapus hudsonicus    Meadow Jumping Mouse
Zenaidura macroura    Mourning Dove