Bio
I am presently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - Columbia, while maintaining my position as manager of the cultural resource management program at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University. I received my undergraduate and MA degrees in Anthropology from Mississippi State University in 1998 and 2003, respectively. My research interests are varied and include evolutionary anthropology, cultural transmission, archaeological systematics, cultural resource management, archaeometry and remote sensing.
My approach to archaeology is strongly influenced by unapologetic (some might say naive) positivism and a belief that archaeology will either find its way forward as a science or, if it insists on being nothing more than a purveyor of "just-so" stories, will become increasingly irrelevant. As just-so stories, I see no reason to privilege archaeological stories of the past above those told by the descendants of the people we study. If this is the best we can do then we serve no real purpose. I am also dubious of the merits of an anthropological archaeology, at least in terms of how this relationship has been historically conceived. I feel that archaeologists in the 20th century were caught in the trap of believing that archaeology should be nothing more than sociocultural anthropology of the past and that archaeological method and theory should be built for this purpose. I believe it is the failure to appreciate the phenomenological difference between the targets of ethnographic and archaeological study that has stymied archaeological research for the past 50 years. Like many of my colleagues who have felt similarly frustrated by the old model of anthropological archaeology, I too see a way forward in the evolutionary and ecological models of the biological sciences and their potential for explaining human behavior and our unique capacity as social learners.
My approach to archaeology is strongly influenced by unapologetic (some might say naive) positivism and a belief that archaeology will either find its way forward as a science or, if it insists on being nothing more than a purveyor of "just-so" stories, will become increasingly irrelevant. As just-so stories, I see no reason to privilege archaeological stories of the past above those told by the descendants of the people we study. If this is the best we can do then we serve no real purpose. I am also dubious of the merits of an anthropological archaeology, at least in terms of how this relationship has been historically conceived. I feel that archaeologists in the 20th century were caught in the trap of believing that archaeology should be nothing more than sociocultural anthropology of the past and that archaeological method and theory should be built for this purpose. I believe it is the failure to appreciate the phenomenological difference between the targets of ethnographic and archaeological study that has stymied archaeological research for the past 50 years. Like many of my colleagues who have felt similarly frustrated by the old model of anthropological archaeology, I too see a way forward in the evolutionary and ecological models of the biological sciences and their potential for explaining human behavior and our unique capacity as social learners.
Purpose of this site
This site is meant to serve a variety of purposes related to my archaeological research efforts in the Big Black River Basin of Mississippi:
1. Report on research - this site will record the developmental story of my research. Summaries documenting my progress will be provided when there is anything of value to be reported.
2. Personal thinking space - the site will also serve as a place to organize and develop ideas, and reflect on progress. In this regard, it will hopefully serve as an oven for furthering half-baked ideas.
3. Promote interaction with other researchers - by sharing my ideas and findings I hope to engage other researchers in mutually beneficial ways that will enhance our collective research efforts and results.
4. Collect information about sites - my research will require testing at a large number of archaeological sites in the Big Black Basin. I have already benefited from a number of leads on sites that I can use in my research from archaeological colleagues familiar with the region. I am hoping that this site will further enable me to collect this sort of information.
1. Report on research - this site will record the developmental story of my research. Summaries documenting my progress will be provided when there is anything of value to be reported.
2. Personal thinking space - the site will also serve as a place to organize and develop ideas, and reflect on progress. In this regard, it will hopefully serve as an oven for furthering half-baked ideas.
3. Promote interaction with other researchers - by sharing my ideas and findings I hope to engage other researchers in mutually beneficial ways that will enhance our collective research efforts and results.
4. Collect information about sites - my research will require testing at a large number of archaeological sites in the Big Black Basin. I have already benefited from a number of leads on sites that I can use in my research from archaeological colleagues familiar with the region. I am hoping that this site will further enable me to collect this sort of information.