Benjamin P Carter
Education
- Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis
- M.A., Washington University in St. Louis
- B.A., Drew University
Teaching Interests
Teaching is a way to share in learning. I teach because I love learning and sharing ways of learning with others. I prefer to teach hands-on and in the field. One of my favorite activities is teaching students how to make stone tools. Stone tools are (usually) completely foreign to them. Being able to learn how easy it is to make simple tools—and how hard it is to make complex tools—provides a new perspective about a central aspect of human existence, one that they don’t get to experience. While we may not use stone tools today, understanding them opens their minds to ways of life unlike their own.
My primary mode of teaching is “in the field.” Sometimes, this is in a field or on a mountain top. It might be at the Recorder of Deeds, collecting data on who owned that mountain. By taking learning on the road, students can see that the raw material for their own education is all around them. But, that data cannot be understood on its own. A telescopic view, where students zoom in and out taking in the small scale and the large, aids in the contextualization of their surroundings.
Research and Scholarship
I am interested in many things, but my research has focused on two major areas. First, I study a gorgeous red/orange/purple shellfish, known as Spondylus, that was used for making beads, pendants, miniatures and more throughout much of South America starting approximately 3000 years ago. My research focuses upon the ways that the production of shell beads (many of Spondylus) is impacted by and responded to large social and political change among the Manteño and Guancavilca of coastal Ecuador.
Second, I research the history and impact of charcoal production in Pennsylvania. Charcoal powered the Industrial Revolution, especially through its use as fuel for the production of all things iron. Its production has been little studied even though it impacted the landscape across the state. While this initially began as a small project designed to get my students out into the field, it has grown. Recently, along with colleagues (including a former student) we employed remote sensing, artificial intelligence and cluster analysis to identify approximately 26,000 charcoal hearths (where the charcoal was made) within the State Game Lands of Pennsylvania. Now, we are focused on the social implications of charcoal production, including its role in the Underground Railroad.
- Anthropology Independent Study/Research: GIS, Iron, and the UGRR
- Anthropology Independent Study/Research: SixPenny Creek
- Archaeology & Prehistory
- CUE: Advanced Seminar in Anthropology
- Human Evolution
- Inca, Aztec, & Maya
Indicates student researcher
Carter, Benjamin.
In press. “Spondylus as a Driver of Interregional Exchange: Mapping Recent Ecological Research on Spondylus to Inform PreColumbian Extraction and Use." Waves of Influence: Pacific Maritime Networks Connecting Mexico, Central America, and Northwestern South America. Edited by Christopher Beekman and Colin McEwan.
Carter, Benjamin, Jeff H. Blackadar and Weston L.A. Conner *.
2021. “When Computers Dream of Charcoal: Using Deep Learning, Open Tools, and Open Data to Identify Relict Charcoal Hearths in and around State Game Lands in Pennsylvania.” Advances in Archaeological Practice. First View: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2021.17
Stothert, Karen, Maria Masucci and Benjamin Carter. 2020.
“Late Prehistoric Maritime Communities in Coastal Ecuador.” Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes, edited by Gabriel Prieto and Dan Sandweiss. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. pp. 318-348
Carter, Benjamin.
2019. “Identifying Landscape Modification using Open Data and Tools: The Charcoal Hearths of the Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania.” Historical Archaeology. 53: 432-443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-019-00171-1
2019. “Data for ‘Identifying Landscape Modification using Open Data and Tools: The Charcoal Hearths of the Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania.’” Journal of Open Archaeology Data. 7:3. http://doi.org/10.5334/joad.53
Carter, Benjamin, and Morgan Backenstoss.
2017. “Charcoal Lands: A Report on Archaeological Investigations in State Games Lands #217.” Harrisburg, Pa: Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.
Carter, Benjamin, Maria A. Masucci, and Telmo López M.
2017. “Investigación Arqueológica, Comuna Las Balsas, Provincia de Santa Elena, Informe Final.” Guayaquil: Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural del Ecuador, Dirección Regional 5.
Masucci, Maria A., Benjamin P. Carter, and Telmo López M.
2016. “Investicación Arqueológica: Microcuenca Del Río Las Varas, NW Del Cerro Las Tetas, Comuna Las Balsas, Provincia de Santa Elena.” Guayaquil, Ecuador: Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural del Ecuador, Dirección Regional 5.
Carter, Benjamin.
2015 “Elite Dress and Regional Identity: Chimú-Inka Perforated Ornaments from Samanco, Nepeña Valley, Coastal Peru” BEADS: Journal of the Bead Research Society. 27: 46-74
2014 “Real-World Problem Solving in Archaeology: In and Out of the Classroom.” Archaeological Record: The Newsletter of the Society for American Archaeology 14(3)
2012.“Archaeology of Coastal Pioneers in Downeast Maine.” Northeast Anthropological Association Newsletter 34 (2).
2011. “Spondylus in South American Prehistory.” Spondylus in Prehistory: New Data and Approaches - Contributions to the Archaeology of Shell Technologies, ed. Fotis Infantidis and Marianna Nikolaidou, pp. 63–89. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports - J & E Hedges Ltd.
- The Daniel J. and Carol Shiner Wilson Grant for the Completion of Schoalrly Projects, 2022
Research Assistantships
- Social Dimensions of Charcoal Production Fall 2020/Spring 2021 with Alana Noehrenberg and Deborah Grieder
- Building the Iron Allentown Wiki Spring/Summer 2020 with Alana Noehrenberg
- Returning Artifacts to the Moravian Historical Society with Heather Lash
Collaborative Research Across Disciplines
- 2018-2020 with six students, one staff member and three faculty members. (Funded by internal Mellon grant)
Summer Collaborative Grants
- Understanding Joseph Johns, a Black collier of Lancaster County, 2018
- Surveying Manteño sites of the Colonche Valley, Ecuador, with Weston Conner, 2017
Anthropology
Sociology & Anthropology
Sustainability Studies
Professional Website
Contact: benjamincarter@muhlenberg.edu