Laura Lee Junker

Email Address: ljunker@uic.edu
College: Liberal Arts and Sciences Department: Anthropology
Title: Full Professor
Office: 2152 BSB Phone: 996-3116
Webpage: http://www.uic.edu/depts/anth/faculty/junker.html
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes

Research Interest:
I am an archaeologist and ethnohistorian interested in the political economy of late first millennium to mid-second millennium A.D. maritime trading polities of island Southeast Asia, primarily the Philippines. I have carried out archaeological research in the Tanjay Region of the Philippines for two decades and in other regions of Southeast Asia, publishing on such topics as foreign trade, ritual feasting, specialized pottery production, forager-farmer interactions, and warfare.

Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 3

Qualifications of a Student:
Preference is for students who are sophomore and above, but I will consider freshmen. No background in archaeology is required, since students will be trained in lab methods, data entry, archival work, etc.
However, reading proficiency in Chinese or Spanish is particularly desired, and skills in illustration/drawing and statistical analysis are also highly valued (but not required).

Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
Student projects generally involve laboratory work in the Asian Archaeology Lab. Recent projects with students have included morphological and stylistic analysis of ancient ceramics to examine the trade origins of certain pieces, what ceramic forms can tell us about pottery use (i.e. household vs. ritual vs. feasting use), and the regional organization of ceramic production; studies of stone and metal tools to reconstruct warfare technology and tool manufacture; spatial analysis of ancient settlement patterns; and chemical analysis of soils. There are also possible projects using European and Chinese historical documents and a collection of 19th century photographs relevant to the nature of contact period Philippine societies.

Students may work on projects as little as 1 hour per week and I would be happy to arrange independent study or independent research credits commensurate with their hours of research participation and assistance.

NOTE: This researcher is currently not accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research Experience program.

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