The Dayton Society of Natural History is offering eight paid intern positions for college and graduate students interested in Midwestern prehistory. This will be our institution's 47th continuous year of fieldwork. The site that we are excavating (33 My 127) dates to approximately A.D. 1200 and is a Fort Ancient culture habitation site (unrelated to the famous Fort Ancient earthwork of southern Ohio). We typically encounter house floors, postholes, pit features, and well preserved lithic, ceramic, and faunal assemblages. We will also be working at a previously excavated site named SunWatch, which is partially reconstructed and open to the public (www.sunwatch.org). The internship includes approximately six weeks excavating at 33 My 127 and two weeks reconstructing full-scale similar structures and features at SunWatch utilizing materials indicated in the archaeological record.

The program is structured with equal emphasis on conducting research and the professional development of the participants. Interns will learn skills equivalent to those employed in a Phase III investigation, supplemented with workshops, lectures, and other learning opportunities. The internship is run under the direction of a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA).

This is a nationally competitive internship. Our typical applicant is an anthropology major or is studying a closely related discipline. Field experience is not required, but is recommended. Most successful applicants will have one previous season of experience, often in a university field school or similar setting. We usually decline to hire applicants with lengthy excavation experience as they are often overqualified for this internship and supervisory positions are limited. University credit is not offered, although some past participants have arranged independent study credit through their own universities. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or authorized to work in the U.S. The Dayton Society of Natural History is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity employer.

The internship is scheduled for eight weeks and is a paid internship ($7.25/hour with 40 hour weeks). We will have a place for non-local participants to stay, although a final decision on housing will not be made until April. In recent years, we have used an apartment complex called Irving Commons (www.irvingcommons.net) and we are likely to do so again. The cost for housing will be partially subsidized, with non-local interns asked to contribute $500 for housing for the summer.

If you would like to apply for this internship, please mail a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to:

Bill Kennedy, Curator of Anthropology
Dayton Society of Natural History
2600 DeWeese Parkway
Dayton, Ohio 45414

There is no specific application form for the internship, although selected applicants will be asked to complete an employment application and a disclosure form. We accept volunteers on a limited basis, but we cannot provide housing for volunteers. We begin accepting resumes in January and the deadline is March 14th. We do not accept emailed resumes.

REVISED APPLICATION DEADLINE: The previously advertised application deadline was March 14, 2008. Since this year's deadline has caught some applicants during their finals week, we will continue to accept resumes up to, but no later than March 26, 2008. Interviews will still begin after the March 14th date. Preference will be given to applicants who submitted prior to this deadline.

Questions may be emailed to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it