Lexington, Kentucky, United States
I am a student at the University of Kentucky pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Anthropology, with minors in Classics, Geology, and History as well as a certificate in Biological Anthropology. I am a member of the Lewis Honors College and a Singletary Scholar, interested in Classical Archaeology and Biological Anthropology, with the goal of working in academia.
I have worked to clean, organize, document, and study artifacts found through a historic public archaeology dig conducted in Rendville, Ohio. Through this, I have washed, organized, and documented over 50 artifacts and helped prepare for further research. As this project continues I will be documenting artifacts, both through physical and digital catalogs, and studying the artifacts to learn about Rendville, the first town in Ohio to have an African American Mayor.
I recorded, imaged, and sorted more than 400 artifacts, including ground stone, chipped stone, and ceramic artifacts. Additionally, I organized a collection with more than 700 artifacts and created a digital record to organize paper archaeological records.
I analyzed layered ironstone tools in relationship with the time period they were made and the class of artifact they were identified as. Throughout this process, I recorded, imaged, and sorted nearly 500 ground stone tools, as well as identifying raw material and artifact class of nearly 300 of these tools.
I worked as a Programming Intern with UK’s SOA to plan and organize the 2024 Circle of Love Event, in which members of the community sponsor kids at FCPS schools to buy them gifts for the holidays. I worked with 31 schools, 20 of them being Title 1, to provide gifts for 415 students ages 1 - 16.
Working through EDUCE Lab's BENCH REU program, I used characterization tools, including an Axia Scanning Electron Microscope with energy disparate spectroscopy, Jetstream XRF spectrometer, Bruker XRD, and a Waygate Technologies Micro-CT Scanner to better understand siderite nodules found in Kentucky. Additionally, I conducted experiments to recreate natural weathering and use patterns to better understand the history of the siderite nodules we worked with.