This grant provides funds which permit the equipment from the now defunct Smithsonian Institution Radiocarbon Laboratory (SIRL) to be transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. With university support it will be operated under the direction of Dr. Robert Stuckenrath, the former Smithsonian director. Over many years Dr. Stuckenrath and the SIRL have analyzed many archaeological samples and these dates have made a major contribution to the increase of anthropological knowledge. In 1986 the Smithsonian announced the closing of its Environmental Research Center of which the radiocarbon laboratory was a part and this, in effect put the SIRL out of business. Transfer of the laboratory to Pittsburgh will allow tits service to the discipline to continue and therefore funds should be provided.
