My research combines aspects of evolutionary theory, physical geography, landscape ecology, middle-range research, and geoscience into studying human behavior. I am interested in multidisciplinary approaches to anthropology and archaeology. My research has been featured in several media outlets, including the Texas Standard, The Dallas Morning News, BBC – Earth, The Washington Post, Newsweek, American Archaeology, and Science NOW.
Prior to coming to SMU, I was a Senior Research Specialist in the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor. While there, I conducted research involving the elemental and isotopic compositions of archaeological, geological, and environmental materials, produced technical reports for clients, and worked to preserve archaeological data generated at now-closed laboratories such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Manchester. I continue to build on many of the projects I initiated while there.
I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Missouri. My dissertation involved morphological and phylogenetic analyses of Paleoindian projectile points from eastern North America. My Master’s thesis focused on the effects of rapid social change among a Native American community living on the peripheries of the three colonial powers in the New World in the mid 1600s.
On a personal note, I have one very well-behaved Keeshond named Circe. When I’m not writing or reading, I keep myself busy watching and reading science fiction, and riding and working on my motorcycle, but not at the same time.