Research

My Work.

Below you can find a summary of my research interests as well as my active research locations. Please feel free to contact me with any comments, questions, or concerns you may have.

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Research Interests

My current research uses the fossil record and stable isotope ecology to identify the cascading ecological changes associated with megafaunal extinctions and anthropogenic ecosystem engineering through time and across space. Additionally, I am interested in identifying functional and practical limitations of paleoecological proxies, particularly those associated with dental wear and stable isotopes from tooth enamel.

Research Locations

The Turkana Basin,
Kenya

Under the direction of Maryse Biernat and Dr. W. Andrew Barr (Koobi Fora Field School), my field school research investigated how stable herbivore enamel isotopes can be used to address questions of temporal and spatial-scale heterogeneity. East Turkana, due to its extensive faunal data and fossils, is a perfect place to try to answer some of these questions. This past spring, I presented a poster at the Society of American Archaeology meeting on some of this research. My current research focuses on correlating various paleoecological methods to developed a more nuanced understanding of each method and what they can and cannot tell us about paleoenvironments and behavior. More specific information regarding this research will be available in the near future.

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Upper Semliki Valley,
DR Congo

In collaboration with Dr. Alison S. Brooks at GWU since 2017, I have been studying early stone age assemblages excavated between 1985-1990 from the Upper Semliki Valley, DR Congo. This research has been focused on two sites: Katanda 2 (KT2) and Kasaka 2 (KA2). KT2 preserves Oldowan, Sangoan, and MSA horizons. The first KT2 horizon is a diminutive, Quartz and Quartzite-dominated Oldowan assemblage. Kasaka 2 (Ka2) preserved a small Acheulean assemblage. Our current research is focused on confirming these classifications, comparing these materials to an (likely older) Oldowan assembleage from Senga 5a, and exploring possible dating techniques to resolve the relationships between these assemblages.