Assistant Professor Bobbi Hornbeck with Aleut archaeologist Sean Mack, left, and Dominic Bush, a professor from East Carolina University. The three were part of a 10-day National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expedition this summer to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to survey and inventory historical sites tied to the World War II Battle of Attu. PHOTOS: STOCKTON UNIVERSITY
When Andreya Rusnak first heard about Stockton University’s new Archaeology minor, she didn’t think it would interest her, even though she’s always loved history.
“When I think of an archaeologist, I always think of someone who digs up dinosaur bones,” said the sophomore from Vineland. “But when Dr. Hornbeck explained it to me, she talked about how it’s actually the study of cultures of the past.”
That’s exactly what Bobbi Hornbeck, assistant professor of Archaeology and the creator of the new minor, wants to hear.
“There’s not enough awareness of the fact that Archaeology is applicable to so many different disciplines and jobs,” she said. “It literally is appropriate for anybody.”
That is, anybody who has an interest in the scientific study of the material culture left behind by humans in the past.
Hornbeck said Stockton’s Archaeology minor is unique among schools in New Jersey because of its tailored structure. Students must choose a focus—general archaeology, classics, geoarchaeology or zooarchaeology, which involves biology. These subjects echo the real-world demands of the field and can lead to jobs in research science, protecting or preserving heritage sites or museum curation.
“People can’t agree on whether Archaeology is history, a social science or an environmental science because it doesn’t actually fit into one box,” Hornbeck said. “You have incorporate all of it to actually answer questions about humanity and what it means to be human.”
Junior Justin Popdan is not as interested in what’s under the ground, but what’s under the sea. Growing up in the “seafaring town” of Cape May, he wants to mix his love of Marine Science and shipwrecks with Archeology.
“The normal anthropology side of finding bones or looking at ancient civilizations is cool to me, but I like the ocean aspect, specifically because of how unexplored it is. So much has gone missing at sea that’s just so untouched,” he said.
The potential of finding pirate treasure is kind of cool, too.
Hornbeck works with a group of students in her Archaeology Field Methods class at a dig site at The Museum of Cape May County in 2023.
“You hear stories about people finding Roman and Spanish galleons and stuff like that,” said Popdan, who plans to declare Archaeology as a minor. “But I love trying to figure out where shipwrecks came from and what they were a part of. It’s almost like a time capsule.”
Hornbeck can relate to Popdan’s marine interests. This summer, she was part of a 10-day National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expedition to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to survey and inventory historical sites tied to the World War II Battle of Attu between the United States and Japan. She served as the expedition’s sole Aleutian archaeologist and offered expertise regarding the maritime lifeways of the Indigenous people of the islands.
She has visited the Aleutians several times as a part of projects that investigate the cultural landscapes of the Unangax. Recently, she supported the Aleutian Mercury Dynamics Project by working with Stockton archaeology students to examine bone samples that will help scientists track mercury concentrations in the area over the past 3,000 years.
Archaeology students work with Hornbeck to analyze bone samples as part of the Aleutian Mercury Dynamics Project.
Hornbeck said archeology has a long and ugly history with Indigenous cultures for many reasons, including the ignoring of Indigenous voices and perspectives in favor of Western science. She is passionate about using her skillset to unravel and contribute to the decolonization of those histories.
“The discipline is undergoing a radical transformation,” she said. “Many archaeologists and Indigenous tribal communities today are collaborating to uncover the truth about the past. There is still a great deal of work to do, but the discipline has been trying to make equitable and respectful research a priority.”
Hornbeck is also excited that the new Archaeology minor will provide students with opportunities to do hands-on research. In addition to studies tied to the Aleutians, Hornbeck also has students working on an archaeological dig at the Museum of Cape May County and helping to catalogue about 5,000 Indigenous and colonial artifacts found in the Richard Cook Curation Collection. Cook, a former longtime Cape May County resident, donated his collection to the Nature Center of Cape May.
Rusnak, a Communication Studies major, can’t wait to get involved in some of that research. She originally declared her minor in Anthropology but is now switching to Archaeology.
“It fits more of my interests. I’d love to have opportunities like those. Having a minor in Archaeology is one way to make stuff like that more accessible to me,” she said. “I just want to learn more about the history of humans and how different cultures have shaped us today.”
