Lab
Jennifer Pournelle's Lab
Institution: University of South Carolina
Department: School of Earth, Ocean and the Environment
About the lab
"Connecting viable pasts to sustainable futures."
The Sealands Archaeology and Environment Program conducts archaeological, geoarchaeological, and paleoenvironmental research, in order to understand how cities in Iraq sustained themselves through deep time. The results of this work guide projects to restore environmental services to Iraq's southern cities, promote resilient environmental management strategies, and support sustainable lifeways for the future.
The Sealands Archaeology and Environment Program conducts archaeological, geoarchaeological, and paleoenvironmental research, in order to understand how cities in Iraq sustained themselves through deep time. The results of this work guide projects to restore environmental services to Iraq's southern cities, promote resilient environmental management strategies, and support sustainable lifeways for the future.
Featured research (1)
Two sites of Hareer's region is located in the southern part of Iraq, specifically in the northern Basrah Governorate. The sites are at a depth of 5 meters. The results of heavy mineral analysis showed that there are fifteen types include; Opaque grain (Iron Oxide), Chlorite, Muscovite mica, Biotite, Orthopyroxene, Clinopyroxene, Amphibole (Hornblende and Actinolite), Epidote, Garnet, Kyanite, Staurolite, Zircon, and Tourmaline. On the other hand the light minerals and the results of the mineral analyses revealed that they were primarily composed of rock fragments, with a variety of quartz minerals, feldspar minerals, evaporate minerals, clay-coated grains, and trace amounts of unidentified minerals. The abundance and diversity of heavy minerals indicate the diversity of the sources of the parent rocks, such as igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The large amount of opaque and small amount of other minerals in the study area samples is due to the oxidation process where many of the ferromagnesian minerals such as pyroxenes, and hornblende decompose to form iron oxides (e.g. hematite, limonite). Light minerals were visible as irregular, sharp, or occasionally semi-sharp crystalline forms, which suggests that the sources were close by and that the light minerals originated from the sedimentary basin or within it through the processes of deposit erosion and re-deposition. The study area, which is a part of the Undissected Arc, is primarily distinguished by a high content of quartz (mono- and polycrystalline quartz, including chert), and feldspar, which can occur in fluvial environments.
Lab head

Department
- School of Earth, Ocean and the Environment
About Jennifer Pournelle
- Dr. J.R. Pournelle is an archaeologist and anthropologist who studies millennial-scale urban sustainability. A past Visiting Scholar at UCL-Qatar, and past ASOR Mesopotamian Fellow, she is a Research Associate Professor in the University of South Carolina’s School of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Her work in Turkey, Iraq, and the Caucasus has been featured by the National Science Foundation, Science, The New York Times, National Geographic Television, the Discovery Channel, and PBS-NOVA.