Actor Harrison Ford made archaeology cool as Indiana Jones, whose death-defying adventures played out on the silver screen in the eighties. This past June, an Anderson University professor followed in Indy’s footsteps—well, sort of.
Art History Professor Dr. Candace Livingston was part of an expedition to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. Though she’s a veteran of several archaeological expeditions to ancient sites across Europe and Asia, Dr. Livingston eagerly anticipated this unique expedition, named for Roy Chapman Andrews—an American explorer who inspired the Indiana Jones character—a pop culture archeological icon. She credits—at least in part—seeing Indiana Jones movies in her childhood for sparking her own interest in archaeology.
Dr. Livingston, a faculty member of the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University, served as assistant team lead for archaeology on the Roy Chapman Andrews Legacy Expedition, which was organized to commemorate Andrews on the centennial of his 1925 expedition he was forced to abandon midway.
Andrews led the Central Asiatic expeditions between 1923 and 1930 into the Gobi Desert. These expeditions significantly impacted man’s understanding of paleontology, the scientific study of life in the past. Andrews’ team was the first to find dinosaur eggs; they also unearthed the first bones of velociraptors—small dinosaurs that roamed across Asia.
The 2025 expedition was developed and led by Bob Atwater, a past vice president of The Explorers Club and board member of the Roy Chapman Andrews Society. Dr. Livingston was among the expedition team of 30 researchers from around the world with expertise in archaeology, paleontology, geology, biology and cultural heritage. They spent two weeks traveling the Gobi Desert, examining ancient artifacts while immersing themselves in Mongolian culture.
In her role, Dr. Livingston assisted in her team’s data collection. The expedition worked in tandem with five Mongolian scientists to explore and document paleontological sites, decaying historical and natural landscapes, and the intangible cultural heritage of nomadic herders whose lifeways in the Gobi are slowly fading away.
“We talked several times about the fact that within another couple of generations there will be no more nomads in the Gobi desert because the kids don’t want that lifestyle,” she said, adding that the cultural heritage team learned from a nomadic family how they take down and set up a ger, which is a type of tent they live in. The nomads were welcoming, sharing of food and drink with visiting team members.
Following a welcome ceremony the team set out from the steppe into the Gobi Desert. After more than 40 miles of off-roading in Russian-built four-wheel-drive vans, the team rode 38 Bactrian camels, similar to the camels Andrews and his team used. (Note: While Andrews used camels, he was also the first to employ motor vehicles in this kind of expedition).
“We could go for hours without seeing anyone—it’s amazing,” said Livingston, noting that the caravan took nearly two days to reach their first base camp site. “Once we went off road, we didn’t see roads for weeks, but there are paths you can see that people have driven before. So they have forged their way, and the people who ran the logistics for us did a really good job of hiring drivers who are local to each of the areas.”
The 2025 team set up camp at various sites—a mobile village that included a food truck, latrine tents and hand-pump showers, and specially-designed tents to sleep in.
At left: Dr. Livingston had the opportunity to look through the same binoculars used by explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, the namesake of the expedition. Top right: A view of camp tents. Bottom right: Bactrian camels.
The months before the expedition were spent painstakingly going over the many details that would spell the difference between success and failure in the unforgiving Gobi Desert environment. For example, eyewear might be considered a minor detail in most circumstances, but Dr. Livingston asserts that the expedition required special glasses designed not only to filter out the intense desert sun but also protect the eyes from sands kicked up by the desert winds.
Dr. Livingston contends that while arid conditions—complete with triple-digit temperatures, venomous snakes and scorpions—can be deadly, the biggest risk comes from inattention brought on by fatigue from long hours of work in desert conditions. One team member came down with heatstroke, but fortunately another member, a paramedic, was able to render aid. One of the vans got stuck in the sand while another broke an axle, but the drivers were resourceful and efficient, making repairs on site. She adds that some of the camels provided for them could be temperamental, but a more agreeable herd was found. And while the camels weren’t used to cover long distances, they were helpful in traversing terrain that would be difficult to travel on foot.
“We were riding the camels down through [the Flaming Cliffs] as a way of getting out into the canyon without hiking all the way, and also trying to recreate, not just the experience, but some of the actual photo shots that have survived of Andrew and his team, which was an interesting exercise,” she said. “But even then, it was it was difficult because we had 38 camels. It was literally the largest Bactrian camel caravan since Andrews in 1925.”
Despite the dangers, Dr. Livingston recalls the beauty of nature that could only be seen in the desert. Although the weather was variable and storm clouds often rolled in, there were times when the skies were a feast for the eyes.
“Being able to see the Milky Way was really cool. I haven’t spent a lot of time in very dark places. Even in the country we have light pollution from streetlamps and things. It was nice although it was cloudier at night than I expected it to be a lot of the time, so we only got a couple of really clear nights,” she said.
According to Dr. Livingston, team members shared a sense of camaraderie and community, complementing one another’s areas of expertise to achieve expedition goals.
Also, interacting with nomadic locals was valuable for learning about the various sites and what they contained. While many of the Mongolian people they encountered were warm and trusting, Dr. Livingston points out that there could also be a bit of wariness, brought on because of outsiders who have removed artifacts from the sites with self-serving motives. Also, this being a two-week expedition, there was no time for actual archaeological digs.
“We could not in good conscience go in and actually dig anything up, because we did not have the time to do it correctly and to recover it and protect it, so we were doing what we call a field survey at most of the sites where we’re looking on the surface to help us determine whether a site is a potential place where we or other archaeologists may want to go spend time later or if it’s worth going out there,” she said.
Despite time constraints, Dr. Livingston adds that there were some noteworthy finds.
“We were finding things even on the surface that were unexpected,” she said. “The petroglyphs—they were known to be there… It’s only a tiny piece of the puzzle, because we’re moving through there so quickly,” said Dr. Livingston, estimating the petroglyphs, ancient images carved into desert rock, to be three to four thousand years old. “We found things ranging from the Neolithic up to the 19th Century just lying on the ground, which gives us a snapshot of how long the history of this [area] is.”
Dr. Livingston feels enriched from living and working with her teammates, adding that she forged some lifelong friendships and hopes to one day invite members of the team to speak at the University.
As for future expeditions into the Gobi Desert, Dr. Livingston quipped, “If they asked me if I wanted to go back I think I would say ‘yes.’ I would want to go stay in one area for longer and really dig in—that’s kind of a bad pun.”