Past Seminars

Dr. Erik Otárola-Castillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University. He specializes in Computational Anthropology/Archaeology. He has been a developer of geometric morphometric methods (GM) since 2008. At Purdue University, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on statistical and computational methods. He is a founding co-developer of “geomorph,” a popular GM software in the R programming environment. He is the main developer of “GUImorph” a GM software that allows users to conduct GM analyses in R through an easy to use Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Melissa G. Torquato is a graduate student in Anthropology at Purdue University, specializing in data management and modeling and geometric morphometrics. Since 2014, she has used computational methods to answer questions related to behavioral and morphological variation in humans.

Morphology is the comparative study of form and it is fundamental to archaeological inquiry. Increasingly accessible 3D-scanning technology has allowed digital models of artifacts to have a prominent role in archaeological analyses. Modern landmark-based geometric morphometrics (GM) has become a staple analytical toolbox to evaluate archaeological hypotheses of artifact form across space and time. This seminar provides participants with examples of innovative 3D geometric morphometric analysis in the R programming environment. Instructors will work through archaeological examples to import, digitize, manipulate, analyze, and display 3D data using “GUImorph”, a user-friendly Graphical User Interface to R. No coding experience is necessary.

1. Collect 3D morphometric data
2. Conduct a limited range of analyses
3. Visualize morphometric patterns

Kristina Killgrove, PhD, has been writing online for 15 years. In that time, she has contributed to more than a dozen different blogs and has started at least as many websites. Her current outlets are her personal/professional blog Powered by Osteons and her columns at Forbes and Mental Floss. In 2016, she was awarded the New Directions award for her online outreach by the General Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association, and in 2017, she was awarded the Excellence in Public Education award by the Society for American Archaeology. She serves as the current chair of the SAA Media Relations Committee as well. Dr. Killgrove’s research lies at the boundary between classics and anthropology with a focus on the bioarchaeology of the ancient Roman world.

This seminar will focus on both why archaeologists should engage, advocate, and reach out to others about their field and ways that those goals can be accomplished through interaction with the media. Participants will learn about the expectations of journalists, how news pieces and press releases are written, and how to deal with potentially negative outcomes such as misquoting and trolling.

1. Feel more comfortable with speaking to the media.
2. Approach media interactions in a way that benefits both the journalist and the archaeologist.
3. Engage in more effective science communication.

Francis P. McManamon is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Antiquity at Arizona State University. Issues and topics related to the management of archaeological data and information are among his professional focuses. Digital Antiquity develops and maintains tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), an international repository for data and documents related to archaeology and other kinds of cultural heritage.

Leigh Anne Ellison is the Program Manager at Digital Antiquity, where she has carried out and overseen many digital curation projects. She also is an experienced advocate for the long-term preservation and access to archaeological data. She received her Master’s degree in Anthropology from Northern Arizona University. She has conducted archaeological investigations in Mexico, Honduras, the Pacific, and the American Southwest.

Archaeological research and resource management use and rely heavily on digital data, including: photographs taken in the field; GIS data recording site location and intra-site proveniences; analytical and descriptive data sets, project reports, etc. Without a well thought-out approach for managing these digital data, important information will be lost because it is overlooked, misplaced, or damaged. Good digital data management requires attention to the means of data version control, file format types, appropriate metadata, data backup and storage, and providing for long-term access to and preservation of data. In order for data to be used and re-used in the future, they need to be curated so that they are discoverable, accessible, and in file formats that remain usable over time. This online seminar describes the practical aspects of good data management: how to organize materials during the life of a project, tools and methods to adapt for research projects, and workflows to ensure that data are prepared for accessibility and preservation once a project is complete. Case studies and examples using archaeological projects and collections in tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record) repository are used as illustrations.

1. Briefly discuss the importance of effective and efficient management for digital archaeological data;
2. Outline good principles and practices of data management; and
3. Explore these principles in depth by look at the interrelated aspects of data management: storage, archiving, preservation, and curation.

Dr. Michael “Sonny” Trimble received his Ph.D. in anthropology, with a specialization in archaeology, from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1985. After completing a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Dr. Trimble accepted a position with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), St Louis District in 1987. Dr. Trimble is the Chief of the Curation and Archives Analysis Branch within the Engineering Division of the USACE, St. Louis District, and the National Director of the Corps of Engineers’ Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX-CMAC) in St. Louis, MO.

Ms. Catherine “Kate” Leese received her M.A. in archaeology from the University of Leicester. She has previously served as a laboratory manager for the Veterans Curation Program (VCP), as well as the Project Manager of the VCP for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ms. Leese currently serves as an Archaeologist and Contracting Officer’s Representative for the Corps of Engineers’ Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX-CMAC) in St. Louis, MO.

The recognition that the field of archaeology is based on scientifically-curated national collections is emerging as a core value of the archaeological community. The preservation and digitization of collections is now seen as key to the long term survival of the data that comprises the science of archaeology. While most archaeologists recognize curation and collections management are an integral component to the field, resource allocation for these collections has never adequately addressed the national need. This one-hour online seminar will address the function of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX-CMAC), the Veterans Curation Program (VCP), and the approach of data preservation and curation of public archaeological collections in the U.S. and how USACE has developed and implemented a national approach to managing these important cultural resources.

1. Provide an introduction to archaeology and curation at the USACE, St. Louis District, MCX-CMAC.
2. Discuss the curation efforts of the Veterans Curation Program (VCP).
3. Advise participants of the considerations that must be given to:

• The preparation of artifacts and archives
• Selection of curation facilities
• Accessibility of archaeological collections
• Use of technology for the purposes of education and outreach

Jarrod Burks, Ph.D. is the Director of Archaeological Geophysics at Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. He has been conducting geophysical surveys on archaeology sites since 1998 in a wide variety of survey settings, both in terms of geology/soils and archaeological targets. He has published his research in national and international journals including American Antiquity, Archaeological Prospection, and the Journal of Archaeological Science. For the past two decades he has been an instructor at the National Park Service’s geophysics workshop for archaeology, hosted annually by the Midwest Archeological Center at a range of venues around the country.

Geophysics is finally starting to take hold in American archaeology, but there are very few opportunities for good training on how to operate the instruments, process the data, and interpret the results. The primary goal of this seminar is to provide a basic introduction to the fundamental principles of making geophysics work for archaeologists. We will focus on several basic components of good practice, including choosing an instrument, setting up a survey, collecting good data, basic data processing, and most important of all—data interpretation. A wide variety of examples and case studies will be used from all across the US, with an emphasis on the three instrument types commonly used in American archaeology: magnetometers, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistance meters. Doing good geophysics in archaeology is not about how many different instruments you can throw at a site, it’s about objectives and what you hope to achieve. So, it’s time to dust off that magnetometer that’s been sitting in the closet, charge up your geology colleague’s radar, and get yourself out in the field to collect some data!

After completing this course, participants will have a basic understanding of how to (1) collect, (2) process, and (3) interpret geophysical data from the three main instruments used by archaeologists: magnetometers, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistance meters. An emphasis will be placed on doing this with an archaeologist’s eye to understanding the archaeological record.