BOONE, N.C. — Over Spring Break, 12 Appalachian State University students joined Dr. Cameron Gokee, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, for an intensive archaeology field course in Boone’s historic Junaluska neighborhood.
App State students in the archaeology field course work on a site in the Junaluska neighborhood. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
The weeklong field experience, held March 9-14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, is a core component of Archaeological Excavation (ANT 3130). The course introduces students to the theories and methods archaeologists use to investigate the past. Each spring, the course offers hands-on fieldwork either at a site in or around Boone or at a dig in Robeson County led by Dr. Seth Grooms, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology.
This year’s work took students into Junaluska, one of the oldest African American communities in Western North Carolina, located about a mile from App State's Boone campus. The class focused on uncovering material traces of the neighborhood’s nineteenth‑century origins. The efforts are part of the ongoing Junaluska Community Archaeology Project, launched in 2021 by Gokee and his colleague Dr. Alice Wright, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology.
App State students Phoebe Howerton and Avery Martin (left) and Charlotte Mueller and Talia Debenedette (right) excavate to find artifacts. Photos by Kyla Willoughby
The project aims to help document and preserve the material heritage of Junaluska while giving students meaningful, community‑engaged research experience. Throughout the week, students recovered several artifacts. Many items dated to the mid‑ to late‑1900s, but the group also uncovered a handful of objects that may originate from the mid‑ to late‑1800s — evidence of the community’s deep roots in Boone.
Artifacts found during excavations include an early-1900s medicine bottle (left), as well as more recent animal bones, pottery, and plastic bottles (right). Photos by Kyla Willoughby
While the field course is currently open only to App State students, Gokee hopes that future excavations in Junaluska will include community volunteers.
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About the Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology offers a comparative and holistic approach to the study of the human experience. The anthropological perspective provides a broad understanding of the origins and meaning of physical and cultural differences in the world — past, present and future. Learn more at anthro.appstate.edu.
By Lauren Gibbs
March 19, 2026
BOONE, N.C.
Mary O'Connell (left) and James Moser (right) examine an artifact. Photo by Kyla Willoughby
Mary O'Connell (left) and James Moser (right) examine an artifact. Photo by Kyla Willoughby