The Stone Age Institute is an independent research center dedicated to the archaeological study of human origins and technological development. International in scope, the purpose of the Stone Age Institute is to advance research and education in human origins studies, including fellowship support to visiting scholars, publication of books and articles, mentoring the next generation of scientists drawn from global talent and intellect, and educational outreach to the general public. Click here to read our mission statement.
The Institute Library and Great Room
The Institute Library and Great Room
The Institute is housed in a 11,400 square foot facility located on a 30-acre rural site outside Bloomington, Indiana. This scenic location is surrounded by protected forest and provides an ideal working atmosphere for the Institute staff and visiting scholars.
The Institute's first seminar (October 2003) with Professor Ron Clarke of South Africa, discussing the complete Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Cave.
The Stone Age Institute is an autonomous research facility, but it has strong ties with Indiana University, especially CRAFT (the Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of Technology) and the Human Evolutionary Studies Program, both of which are also co-directed by Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth. With the Stone Age Institute’s funding, we are able to hire and support researchers and staff, enhance laboratories and research projects, host visiting scientists, and sponsor our lecture programs.
The facility includes a world-class research library on early prehistory and an extensive artifact collection donated by the late J. Desmond Clark, professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley. Presently, Institute scientists have a number of research projects underway including work at Gona and Ain Hanech, research with Kanzi, brain imaging and biomechanics.
Find out more about the Stone Age Institute by:
- Touring our facility and learning about its construction
- Reading our mission statement
- Meeting our staff and reading some selected publications
- Meeting our officers and advisory board
- Learning more about Institute research projects
- Reading about the Institute's lectures, awards and other events.
- Learning about the many contributions of the late J. Desmond Clark, both to the science of archaeology and to the Stone Age Institute.
- Reading a news story about the Institute's opening
