Rory Becker- Doctoral Student

roryb@uwyo.edu

Shanna Cox- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

shannac@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: First and foremost, I consider myself an anthropologist, and I am devoted to a four-field approach to anthropology. Currently, I am interested in the affect that increased energy development in the Western United States is having on archaeological sites and public archaeology. My other research interests include gender archaeology, spatial analysis, and GIS.

Rod Garnett- Doctoral Student

rgarnett@uwyo.edu, website

Rod Garnett teaches classes in world music and flute at the University of Wyoming. He currently performs extensively at the University, regionally with classical guitarist Alex Komodore, nationally with the Irish Folk Ensemble Colcannon, and at the Boxwood Festival in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. In addition to teaching at the University of Wyoming he is coordinator and assistant instructor for the Wyoming Gamelan Chandra Wyoga and Sikuris de Wyoming, and is a teacher and assistant for the Boxwood Festival.Garnett studied flute with Karen Yonovitz, Larry Jordan, Geoffrey Gilbert, and Thomas Nyfenger. He has worked extensively as a free-lance musician in orchestras, jazz and chamber music ensembles, and recording studios.In addition to his duties in the Department of Music Garnett is currently pursuing a PhD in the UW Department of Anthropology. The past several years he has worked in Indonesia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Moldova, and the Czech Republic, studying and documenting traditional flutes and music.Rod Garnett is a recipient of the Wyoming Governor's Arts Award. He was the 2007 University of Wyoming Presidential Speaker and in 2008 was honored with the University of Wyoming Internationalization Award.
 

Joseph A.M. Gingerich- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

jgingeri@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: Hunting and Gathering Societies, Paleoindian Archaeology, and New World Colonization. My specific research interests in Paleoindian archaeology include lithic technology, spatial analysis, mobility, and subsistence. Other interests include geoarchaeology and paleoethnobotany. I work primarily in eastern North America (Mid-Atlantic Region). I have also done fieldwork in Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, France and Japan.

Nathaniel Kitchel- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

nkitchel@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: The primary focus of my research to date focuses on Paleoindian subsistence behaviors in northeastern North America, particularly northern New England. Specifically I have investigated Paleoindian relationships with plant resources in the Northeast. I am also interested in lithics and flint knapping.

 

Elizabeth Lynch- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

elynch2@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: My research centers on building a conceptual framework for understanding social and communal gathering landscapes of prehistoric peoples of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico. I am interested in developing a model to explore the distribution, form and function of bedrock grinding areas as a social landscape unique in this area. I am interested in cognitive mapping, landscape knowledge and perception of the land through a study of Jicarilla narratives and other oral traditions in this region. I am currently exploring how to incorporate confocal light microscopy, GIS and photogrammetry in my research.

Meg Morris- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

mmorris@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: Primarily, I am interested in the application of geographic information systems (GIS) and corresponding theory and methods to archaeological research questions. My dissertation research focuses specifically on how archaeologists integrate (or don't integrate) GIS outputs and analyses into meaningful archaeological interpretations. Other interests include the development of ‘complex' societies and social organization; archaic states; Woodland Period of the Ohio Valley; the Neolithic, Copper and Bronze Ages on the Great Hungarian Plain; and deductive versus inductive approaches to understanding the past.
 

Patrick O. Mullen- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

pmullen@uwyo.edu, website

Research Interests: I'm interested in understanding how foragers adapt to their environments especially to changing environments. My research has been focused on the paleoenvironment and paleoclimate of the Younger Dryas as well as Paleoindian adaptations to climatic changes associated with the Younger Dryas. My general interest is in forager archaeology, but I have also worked throughout the southwest and in Portugal with the archaeology of agriculturalists for private companies, the forest service, and in academic contexts. When I can, I engage in all facets of climbing.

Paula Renaud- Doctoral Student

prenaud@uwyo.edu

Dora I. Ridenour- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

drideno1@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: Applied archaeology and ZooArchaeology. Public Outreach and Education
 

Paul Santarone- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

psantaro@uwyo.edu

Research Interests: Paleoindian (especially Clovis) archaeology, technology, lithics, experimental archaeology, archaeological field method.
 

Geoffrey M. Smith- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

gsmith25@uwyo.edu, website

Research Interests: My current research interests include the Paleoindian-Archaic transition in the Great Basin and the peopling of the New World. Additional research focuses include lithic technological organization, hunter-gatherer mobility, zooarchaeology, academic publishing and editing, and biological anthropology. When I had free time I liked to snowboard and listen to heady music.
 

Norbert Wasilik- Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

gsmith25@uwyo.edu, website

Rick Weathermon- Research  Scientist/  Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

radams@state.wy.us, website

Rick L. Weathermon received his B.A. with honors in Anthropology in 1990 and his M.A. in Anthropology in 1996, both from the University of Wyoming. Mr. Weathermon joined the Department of Anthropology as an Assistant Academic Professional Research Scientist. He serves as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Contact, with half of his time devoted to Physical Anthropology and half to Archaeology. His primary activities consist of NAGPRA compliance, archaeological and human osteological laboratory instruction, and collections access and maintenance. Mr. Weathermon's current research interests include bioarchaeology, historic and prehistoric use of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, experimental archaeology, and bison ethology. In his spare time, he enjoys roaming the hills with his family, antique weaponry, and collecting information on sabretooth rodents of unusual size in Black Hills field camps.

Chris Young - Doctoral Student (Archaeology)

youngc@uwyo.edu, website

Research Interests: I am primarily interested in Paleoindian adaptations in the Northwestern Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. I am also interested in Paleoenvironmental reconstruction, geoarchaeology, and geomorphology. Additionally, I work for the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and have a strong interest in public archaeology.