Quaternary Studies
Quaternary Studies Program

Frier Hall (building 12), room 105
PO Box 5644, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5644

Director--Kathryn Cruz-Uribe
520-523-9503

Assistant Director and Graduate Coordinator--Jim I. Mead
520-523-7184

"The Quaternary Studies Program provides a unique and exciting opportunity for you to combine interests in the geosciences, paleontology, paleobotany, and archaeology."
     --Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, Director

Introduction
Our program involves interdisciplinary research into Earth's present environmental conditions and biota as compared with the Quaternary geologic record.

In geologic time, the Quaternary Period is represented by the Pleistocene, the Ice Age, and the Holocene, or Recent, epochs. Dynamic changes in climate, vegetation, fauna, and geologic and pedagogic processes are registered in the geologic record of this period, which covers the last 1.6 million years. This period also witnessed the development of the human species and the arrival of early humans in the New World.

In studying this period, our M.S. program allows you to obtain specialized interdisciplinary research and academic training. Our faculty have numerous research projects in Arizona and throughout the Colorado Plateau, and excellent opportunities exist for research in other regions of North America, including California and the Great Basin. One major goal of our program is to provide you with practical knowledge of the peer review process, which includes writing grant proposals, producing research manuscripts, and presenting results at scientific meetings.

The interdisciplinary nature of our program also results in interaction and cooperation with other scientists, as part of a larger team effort. We have active teaching and research collections of pollen, seeds, and wood; modern and fossil bones; southwestern U.S. mollusks; and modern and Pleistocene dung and hair specimens.

Quaternary studies are becoming more important at the professional level for corporations involved with environmental impact clearance, restoration of mined lands, national park and recreation resource management, baseline studies before development, and climatologic and environmental change and prediction. As a result, we anticipate continued demand for our graduates.

Admission Requirements
To apply, you must submit an application and official transcripts to NAU's Graduate College.

You must also submit three letters of recommendation and a letter expressing interest in Quaternary studies and NAU directly to our graduate coordinator.

You must submit your application by February 15 to be admitted the following fall semester.

To be accepted into this program, you must have a B.A. or B.S. degree in anthropology, biology, geography, geology, or some closely related field. You must also have a grade point average of 3.0 or better.

Financial Assistance
We usually offer two program-oriented research assistantships each year. The National Park Service also provides contracts and grant funds. Contact the Quaternary Studies office for details.

You can find additional information in the Financial Information chapter of this catalog.

Degree Offered--
M.S. in Quaternary Studies
To meet our program's requirements, you must take 33 credit hours, including 3 thesis hours incorporating original field or laboratory research. (Please note that you can only count 3 hours of thesis credit toward your degree. However, you may end up taking more hours because you must register for QS 699 each semester while you are working on your thesis.) You may take up to 6 hours of 400-level courses for graduate credit to meet our total program requirements.

You must take a set of core courses in the four disciplines (geosciences, paleontology, paleobotany, and archaeology), a core course in multidisciplinary studies, and a computer or statistics course. You also choose three additional courses in the discipline to which your thesis project pertains and two courses in outside disciplines. All course that you use to fulfill the 33 hours required for this program must meet with the approval of your entire thesis committee.

To meet all of the requirements for the master's degree in Quaternary studies, you must:

Core Curriculum
You must take the following 15 hours of core courses:

Elective Courses
You choose 12 hours of electives, which may include courses from the core curriculum list that you don't use as core requirements. You may also choose electives from the following Geology
GLG 430 Geomorphology (3)
GLG 451 Hydrogeology (3)
GLG 530 Vertebrate Paleontology (3)
GLG 535 Paleoecology (3)
GLG 536 Vertebrate Paleobiology (3)
GLG 575 Geochemistry of Natural Waters (4)
GLG 610 Volcanology (3)
GLG 630 Micropaleontology (3)
GLG 632 Advanced Paleontology (3)
GLG 637 Geochronology of Quaternary Depositional Systems (3)
GLG 697 Independent Study (1-6)
GLG 698 Graduate Seminar (1-3)
GLG 698 Quaternary Mollusks

Geography
GGR 422 Remote Sensing Techniques I (4)
GGR 423 Remote Sensing Techniques II (4)
GGR 424 Remote Sensing Techniques III (2)
GGR 453 Quaternary Environments (3)
GGR 545 Arid Lands (3)

Biology
BIO 528 Mammalogy (3)
BIO 570 PlanT Ecology (3)
BIO 572 Limnology (3)
BIO 660 Organic Evolution (3)
BIO 663 Biogeography (3)
BIO 670 Advanced Ecology (3)
BIO 680 Biological Techniques (2-3)

Environmental Sciences
ENV 495 Global and Environmental Change

Anthropology
ANT 452 North American Prehistory (3)
ANT 511 Introduction to Anthropological Fieldwork (3-6)
ANT 512 Advanced Anthropological Fieldwork (3-6)
ANT 517 Southwestern Archaeology (3)
ANT 550 Analysis of Archaeological Materials (3)
ANT 551 Quaternary Archaeology (3)
ANT 553 Faunal Analysis(3)
ANT 554 Paleoethnobotany (3)
ANT 555 Lithic Analysis (3)
ANT 575 Paleopathology (3)
ANT 600 Anthropological Theory (3)
ANT 605 Pre-Thesis Seminar (3)
ANT 635 Archaeological Theory (3)
ANT 636 Archaeological Methods and Inference (3)
ANT 697 Independent Study (1-3)

Quaternary Studies Courses
Some courses may not be offered every semester. Check with the department for current information about when specific courses are offered.

QS 599 Contemporary Developments (1-3). Examination of recent trends and investigations in a selected area. Course graded on a letter-grade basis only.

QS 672 Quaternary Pollen Analysis (4). Analysis of pollen and spore morphology, use of pollen assemblages to deduce vegetation and climate change. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. Prerequisite: coursework in ecology, plant taxonomy, or Quaternary geology or instructor's consent.

QS 681 Advanced Studies in Quaternary Science (1-12). Advanced topics in multidisciplinary field of Quaternary sciences, with separate emphases in malacology, packrat midden, osteology, cladistics, techniques, paleolimnology, paleoclimatology, and paleopedology. Prerequisites: graduate status and instructor's consent.

QS 697 Independent Study (1-3).

QS 698 Graduate Seminar (1-3).

QS 699 Thesis (1-9). Prerequisite: admission to master's program. Course graded on pass/fail basis only.

Faculty
Larry D. Agenbroad, Ph.D., Professor of Geology
Quaternary geology, Pleistocene megafauna, hydrogeology, archaeogeology

Stanley A. Ahler, Ph.D., Research Associate in Anthropology
Archaeology, lithic technology, quantitative methods, North America

R. Scott Anderson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Director, Quaternary Studies Pollen Lab
Palynology, Quaternary paleoecology and paleobotany, glacial geology

William R. Baron, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History and Quaternary Studies
Historical climatology, environmental studies

Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director, Quaternary Studies Program
Zooarchaeology, archaeology, human evolution
e-mail: Kathryn.Cruz-Uribe@nau.edu

Leland R. Dexter, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Geography
Physical geography, snow and ice, geomorphology

Richard H. Hevly, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology
Plant taxonomy, paleobotany, paleoecology

Jim I. Mead, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Geology; Chair, Department of Geology; Assistant Director, Quaternary Studies Program; Curator, Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology
Quaternary paleontology, osteology, paleoecology
e-mail: Jim.Mead@nau.edu

Francis E. Smiley IV, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology
Archaeology, method and theory, early agricultural societies, chronometric studies, museology, ethnoarchaeology; U.S. Southwest, High Plains

Stanley W. Swarts, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Geography
Quaternary environments and soils

Michael E. Timpson, Ph.D., Research Associate in Quaternary Studies
Quaternary soils, geoarchaeology
e-mail: Mike.Timpson@nau.edu

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Please note that this electronic version of the 1996-1998 Graduate Catalog is a reproduction of the official printed catalog and is not updated more frequently than the printed catalog. If you have questions or comments about these pages, please e-mail Graduate Admissions and Academic Services.