Meet the CAP Fellows
Introducing this years CAP fellows:
Kate Frederick: Kate is a fifth year Ph.D. student in the anthropology dept, with a focus on Great Lakes archaeology. Her research focuses on hunter-gatherer use of food storage as a risk management strategy. Additionally, Kate uses experimental archaeology to better understand the efficiency of subterranean food storage pits. For the past two years Kate has been the acting Campus archaeologist where she truly came to appreciate the history of MSU. She is very excited to continue her work with Campus Archaeology as a CAP fellow. Her CAP project will revolve around education and bringing archaeology into the classrooms.
Katy Meyers Emery: Katy is a Ph.D. candidate studying mortuary archaeology. Her research specifically focuses on examining the spatial relationship between cremation and inhumation burials in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. She enjoys working both in the field on various projects and on the digital side of archaeology. She has been an active member of the Campus Archaeology Program since her first year at MSU. From 2011-2013, she was CAP’s Campus Archaeologist and is proud to continue working with CAP as a graduate research fellow. Over the next year, she will be helping to develop a cultural heritage plan for MSU, work on a number of publications, and help with the various events. You can learn more about her personal research and interests at Bones Don’t Lie, and follow her @bonesdontlie.
Nicole Geske: Nicole is a third year doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology. Her research focuses on mortuary archaeology and bioarchaeology in the Midwest. Her past research for CAP has focused on public outreach and engagement and sustainable practices at MSU. This year she will continue to examine MSU sustainability, especially in how it relates to food and agriculture.
Susan Kooiman: Susan is a third year Ph.D. student in Anthropology. Her research focuses on prehistoric pottery use, cooking practices, and diet in the Upper Great Lakes of North America. This is her first year as a CAP fellow and she plans to complete the analysis and interpretation of the sole prehistoric site found on the MSU campus by CAP. She also hopes to assist with a project that will attempt to recreate historic MSU meals based on artifacts found in a privy during CAP survey this summer, feeding into her obsession with food and ancient cuisine.
Nicole Raslich: Nicole is a PhD student whose dissertation examines the impacts of sacred landscapes on the ritual expression of identities in early hunter-gatherer groups in the Boreal Forest. Much of her fieldwork has been in working for indigenous communities to protect sacred landscapes through navigating archaeological policies and laws. This is her first year as a CAP Fellow and her project this year will examine deaccessional policies and practices in place at various museums. Through several museum research fellowships and assistantships an interest in museum policy and practices formed which will be highlighted in her CAP project. Follow her on Twitter @nicolle1977 and at her blog www.nicoleraslich.wordpress.com to keep up with her research and interests.
Amy Michael: Amy is in her fourth year as a CAP fellow. This semester she will continue her investigation into gendered landscapes on the early historic campus by incorporating artifacts from the CAP field school into her archival research. By the end of the semester, she plans to have a publication draft for this project. Amy is a PhD candidate who is currently working on writing her dissertation on the dental health of the prehispanic Maya of Central Belize.
Blair Rose Zaid: Blair is a doctoral student in both African American and African Studies and Anthropology here at MSU. Her research focuses on the African Diaspora expansion of the Kongo Kingdom of 15th century west central Africa. Her interests include historic archaeology, community engagement, increasing diversity in archaeology, and raising a toddler. This will be Blair’s fourth year as a CAP fellow.