Johnathan Burns, PhD, and Provost Lauren Bowen, PhD, created the Juniata College Cultural Resource Institute in 2015 to facilitate the study and interpretation of material culture, through archaeological field schools and laboratory analysis opportunities.
While the institute was founded in 2015, its creation was influenced by the work of the late Professor Paul M. Heberling. Professor Herberling began teaching at Juniata College in 1957, where he first taught psychology and later changed departments to teach sociology. It was not until 1967 that Herberling created the archaeology and anthropology program at Juniata College. He was a prominent and enthusiastic archaeological researcher, and with his coordination, there was once a joint Penn State and Juniata College archeological field school. Students who participated in this field school used a laboratory at Juniata to clean and catalog artifacts, such as those from Sheep Rock Shelter.
The current director of the Cultural Resource Institute, Jonathan Burns, is a past student of Paul Heberling shortly before Heberling retired in 1989. As Burns returned to Juniata College later in his career, it is noted that Heberling’s work with students influenced his vision to create a place for students to study material culture and to function as a foundational platform for it.
Since its founding, the Cultural Resource Institute has been involved in the excavation of multiple Pennsylvania archaeological sites. These archaeological sites have led to the discovery of artifacts and structures from prehistoric Native American sites and United States colonial military forts. Juniata College students are able to participate in the excavation of these sites through field schools, which are conducted every summer. The field schools are possible due to the high cost associated with partnering with a private archaeology firm, so many small non-profits and associations partner with the Cultural Resource Institute to provide archaeological reconnaissance and excavation instead. Past field schools have spanned roughly ten to twenty-one days at the historical sites of Fort Halifax, Fort Lyttleton, and the Hessian Powder Magazine.
The field schools allow undergraduate students to participate in archaeological work that is typically introduced in graduate school, such as excavating a gridded archaeological field. Once students excavate artifacts, they are packaged and sent to the Cultural Resource Institute lab at Juniata College to be cleaned, sorted, cataloged, and properly packaged during the academic year. After the Cultural Resource Institute lab processes the artifacts, the institute sends them to either a non-profit organization, like the Fort Ligonier Association Museum, or an organization like the State Museum of Pennsylvania. If there is no organization where the artifacts can be housed, Juniata College will hold them in perpetuity.
Juniata College Students at Summer Field School Excavation.
Beyond the excavations and cataloging of artifacts, the Cultural Resource Institute has been heavily involved in interdisciplinary study with other academic programs at Juniata College since its creation. Previously, the Institute has worked with the Juniata Geology Department to conduct an isotopic analysis of the geological material of artifacts to verify the location of George Washington's “friendly fire” incident of November 12, 1758. The Institute has also worked with the Art Department to explore ceramic use by the Native people near the Juniata River watershed and to research the production and use of historical ceramics.
Other than interdisciplinary study with other academic programs, the Institute focuses on interdisciplinary study among its students, as well. Of the students involved in the Institute, there have been biology, history, computer science, environmental science, and geology POEs. Burns noted that naming the Institute the “Cultural Resource Institute” and not including the word “Archaeology” was intentional. He worried that if “Archaeology” were in the name, then the Institute would seem as if it were only targeted to history and archaeology students, when the vision was to include students from all POEs who are interested in material culture.
Outside of the collegiate domain, the Cultural Resource Institute partakes in education projects such as “Archaeology in a Box.” The concept of Archaeology in a Box began in the spring of 2022 when Jonathan Burns wanted to develop a K-12 curriculum that included 3D-printed replicas of artifacts that were excavated by the Cultural Resource Institute to introduce children to archaeology through a hands-on method. The project’s team spanned across departments and included students from both the Instructional Design Team in the Statton Learning Commons and student archaeologists who participated in the Institute's summer field schools. The project began its production in 2024, and the first trial of the curriculum was presented at a local school in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, in February of 2025.
The Cultural Resource Institute also participates in adult educational projects through its partnership with the Veterans Archaeology Program. Burns created this program shortly after the founding of the Cultural Resource Institute. The Veterans Archaeology Program combines veterans interested in archaeology with the Juniata College students during the Institute's summer field schools. The addition of veterans to archaeological battlefield research was beneficial as veterans understand more about a studied combat zone than college students, through their lived experiences. Through the resources and personal connections that the Institute provides, numerous veterans have entered the archaeological field after participating in field schools.
In addition to the field schools and laboratory experiences, the Cultural Resource Institute acts as a facility where Juniata students can participate in independent or ongoing research. Past students have focused their senior thesis on locations and artifacts they studied through the field schools conducted by the Cultural Resource Institute. Students have also participated in faculty-led research based on excavations such as the George Washington “Friendly Fire” incident, which is expected to be published in the Smithsonian Magazine in late 2025.
The Cultural Resource Institute celebrated its tenth anniversary in the spring semester of 2025.
Isabel Shelatz '27
Bibliography
“Arch in a Box.” Accessed February 24, 2025. https://juniataidt.pythonanywhere.com/mainweb/ourstory/. Cultural Resource Institute Interview.
Burns, Jonathan. Cultural Resource Institute Interview, Interviewed by Isabel Shelatz, February 23, 2025.
Burns, Jonathan. “Finding Purpose in Finding Battlefields: The Veterans Archaeology Program at Fort Ligonier.” Juniata Voices 24 (2024): 6–28.
“Cultural Research Institute | Juniata College.” Accessed February 17, 2025. https://www.juniata.edu/academics/history/cultural-research-institute.php.
Juniata College. Juniatian Vol 92 2015 to 2016, 2016. http://archive.org/details/juniatian-vol-92-2015-2016.
Juniata College Students at Fort Halifax Excavation, Halifax, 2024, photograph, Juniata College Archaeology, Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1086134809709605&set=pb.100049392888730.-2207520000&type=3.
“Juniata Magazine.” Accessed February 24, 2025. https://www.juniata.edu/magazine/fall-2020/paul-heberling.php.
McMarlin, Shirley. “Behind the Art: Fort Ligonier Work Depicts George Washington’s ‘Friendly Fire Incident.’” TribLIVE.com, November 27, 2022. https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/behind-the-art-fort-ligonier-work-depicts-george-washingtons-friendly-fire-incident/.
Thomas, McClain. “AiB,” February 24, 2025.