A small, unassuming building on Missouri State University’s main campus houses one of its busiest and most far-reaching programs — the Bernice S. Warren Center for Archaeological Research.

Nicknamed “CAR,” the Center does more than dig for old bones. In addition to its educational, research and public outreach activities, CAR has provided archaeological services to state and local communities since 1975.

CAR is also headquarters to the Missouri Archaeological Society (MAS).

In fact, CAR is the only public research center dedicated to the archaeology of Missouri and the Ozarks, according to its director, Kevin Cupka Head.

Celebrating 50 years

To mark the Center’s fiftieth anniversary, Cupka Head noted that several activities are in the works, including a CAR alumni reunion and a commemorative history to be published on the web and possibly in book form.

In addition, as part of Missouri’s Archaeology Month in September, CAR will hold a public artifact ID day.

“Members of the public can bring in artifacts or curiosities for identification by experts,” Cupka Head said.

Cupka Head hopes the anniversary activities will bring attention to the Center’s “impressive contributions to the archaeology and history of the Ozarks.”

“The MSU community can take pride in and ownership of our role as stewards of over 15,000 years of Missouri history,” Cupka Head said.

Services in demand

Among its services, CAR’s faculty and staff assist government agencies and the private sector in performing cultural resource assessments. Currently, the Center is working on just under 40 active projects and has proposals out for roughly 30 more, according to Cupka Head.

“It’s often a case where we’ll have one or two really big contracts and then a bunch of small to medium sized contracts,” he said.

Most of CAR’s projects are surveys to assess a potential development project. “New sidewalks. A bridge replacement. Larger than that sometimes, such as industrial developments,” Cupka Head explained.

CAR can conduct various geophysical investigations, such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry, Cupka Head said. “We can also conduct several specialized laboratory procedures, such as electrolytic rust removal, flotation and the recovery and preparation of C14 samples,” Cupka Head said. CAR evaluates and then makes recommendations as to whether further work is needed.

The Center’s current projects include the Jordan Creek renewal project in downtown Springfield, archaeological monitoring of Boeing’s St. Louis airport expansion project, and numerous transportation and infrastructure projects throughout the state.

Meanwhile, many of CAR’s smaller projects directly serve the Ozarks. “We’re willing to take on a lot of smaller jobs and specialized jobs that some of the larger firms just pass on,” Cupka Head said.

These include HUD projects, rural developments and city improvement projects such as water and sewer line installations.

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