Before it belonged to the Smithsonian, the land at SERC was home to Native Americans, settlers, enslaved people and various kinds of farmers. Today scientists seek to understand how these generations of people lived, and how they impacted the land and waters, both intentionally and unintentionally. What environmental footprints did our ancestors leave on the landscape?

At SERC, much of this research falls under the domain of the Environmental Archaeology Lab. Unlike other labs at SERC, the Environmental Archaeology Lab consists almost entirely of volunteer scientists. Volunteers of all ages come out for an afternoon, a semester or longer to help explore archaeological sites within SERC’s 2654-acre campus.

From the 1660s to the end of the 1800s, SERC’s main campus was divided into two neighboring plantations that planted corn, wheat and tobacco. Tobacco was a cash crop that quickly drained the soil of nutrients and caused heavy erosion, which is visible today in the gently rolling hills where soil eroded off the landscape. The former inhabitants left behind tools, ceramics and animal bones that offer glimpses of how the families worked, lived and ate—and what (if anything) they hunted. The remains around some foundations even offer clues about the lives of tenant farmers and enslaved residents.

To learn more about their discoveries, click on one of the projects below. To learn how you can join the Environmental Archaeology Lab, visit our participatory science page.