Keck Lab
Peering into their sophisticated instruments, archaeologists can learn what people ate, how they made tools and other lessons from civilizations thousands of years old. You've seen it in the movies. At Millsaps College, it happens every day.
Millsaps College has the only archaeometric laboratory in the United States devoted exclusively to undergraduate research and study. Millsaps students work in the field and the laboratory identifying everything from the earliest chocolate in the Maya world to recipes for ancient wine and food from Albania and Greece. Students have helped make breakthrough discoveries on the use of metals in Europe and the development of early trade in Yucatán.
The Keck Lab (officially known as the Keck Center for Instrumental and Biochemical Comparative Archaeology) allows Millsaps students to examine the past by studying the ancient residues on and chemistry of artifacts. The 1.2 million dollar laboratory consists of a suite of archaeometric instruments,allowing students to perform research in ICP-, GC- and LC- Mass Spectrometry, laser ablation and Portable X-Ray Florescence spectrometry. The Keck Lab is directed by professor of chemistry Dr. Timothy Ward who works with Dr. Michael Galaty and Dr. George Bey to explore the high-tech world of archaeological science.
