FORT COLLINS, CO.- A $1 million gift to Colorado State University’s Department of Anthropology will help support better understanding of the role that Native Americans played in forming the cultural and ecological landscapes of the southern Rocky Mountains. The gift, which establishes the James and Audrey Benedict Mountain Archaeology Fund, also will help train a new generation of Colorado State students as archaeologists by allowing for exploration of new mountain ranges in alpine country, one of the least understood cultural environments. “As long-time friends and supporters of the Department of Anthropology, Jim and Audrey Benedict have dedicated their lives to studying how humans have continued to adapt to changing environmental conditions,” said archaeology Professor Jason LaBelle. “This invaluable gift – the largest ever in the department – will advance geological and archaeol