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Larry Zimmerman

Professor of Anthroplogy and Museum Studies
Public Scholar of Native American Representation

Professor Larry Zimmerman traces his love of archaeology back to his childhood on an eastern Iowa farm that contained several archaeological sites. He vividly remembers collecting arrowheads while walking fields with his father. Dr. Zimmerman believes that archaeology, although predominately viewed as a discipline concerned with only the ancient past, affects people and society today, and wants his students to understand the impact that contemporary archaeology has on our present-day lives in "the way people perceive their identity, and sometimes even the way they see their futures."

His forty years of experience in Anthropology and Archaeology bring a wealth of experience to the School of Liberal Arts. Prior to becoming a faculty member at IUPUI, Dr. Zimmerman taught at the University of South Dakota and the University of Iowa, and he was chairman of the Minnesota Historical Society's Department of Archaeology. At IUPUI he is the Public Scholar of Native American Representation, a position that is shared with the nearby Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and that aims to link the university to the community, as well as a professor of anthropology and museum studies.

His expertise in Native American culture led him to the Museum Studies program in the Department of Anthropology at IUPUI. An opportunity to work closely with the Eiteljorg Museum--renowned for its emphasis on Native American culture and history-was too good to pass up, and Dr. Zimmerman admits its conjunction with a teaching position with the university was "the perfect job and opportunity for me."

Dr. Zimmerman's interest in Native American archaeology led him to the University of Iowa where he received his B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology. As a sophomore, his academic pursuits were reinforced when he was introduced to the state of Iowa's chief archaeologist. This encouraging encounter propelled Dr. Zimmerman further in his studies, including a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Kansas.

During his career, the professor has excavated archaeological sites in the Dakotas and the Midwest and has worked closely with several American Indian tribes on a range of archaeological and contemporary issues. The great pre-historical city of Teotihuacan, located in the Valley of Mexico near present day Mexico City, is another of the many archaeological field research projects on which Dr. Zimmerman has worked.

From Iowa arrowheads to ancient cities and contemporary Native peoples, Zimmerman indeed uses archeology to connect past to present--both in his own life and for his students, colleagues, and the public.

--Sam Krauter, BA English 2008
Liberal Arts News Bureau

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