Team

Maria Bodansky

Macalester College
Major: Geology
Year: Junior

My name is Maria Bodansky and I’m a junior majoring in geology at Macalester College in Minnesota. This semester I’m studying at James Cook University in Australia (and really enjoying how many wallabies there are!). Within my major I’m interested in paleontology and sedimentology. Outside of school I also really like to read, paint, and spend time with my pets when I’m at home. I’m really excited be a part of field work in Ethiopia and to learn about human and environmental interactions in the Middle Stone Age.

Connor Elliott

Appalachian State University
Major: Anthropology – Biological Concentration

My name is Connor Elliott, I am a biological anthropology student at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. I’ve always loved learning about human evolution and foodways. I am interested in the origins of agriculture and horticultural behaviors, I am also interesting in studying how these behaviors changed human health and society over time. I enjoy cooking, hiking, and going to local punk shows. I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to be apart of this program!

Nicholas Ford

University of Texas at Austin
Major: Anthropology
Year: Junior

I am a third-year student at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in anthropology with interests in biological anthropology, as well as archaeology and bioarchaeology. This will be my
first time doing research in the field and I look forward to the experience! I’m from Houston, but I really enjoy living and going to school in Austin. In my free time I’m usually hiking, swimming, rock climbing, or reading when I have the time.

Alaric Sollenberger

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Major: Anthropology
Year: Junior

I am a Junior at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and am majoring in anthropology with a focus on paleoanthropology and paleoneurology. I love studying about the cognition of hominins and in particular, Neanderthals. I also enjoy studying about genetics and human dispersal. Outside of studying I love to draw, write, read, travel, and play with my dog.

Julia Sponholtz

University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
Major: Anthropology, Biology, and Spanish

My name is Julia Sponholtz, and I’m studying Anthropology, Biology, and Spanish at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. My research interests are mainly in bioarchaeology with a focus on diet and health, but I am excited to learn about and use many other techniques in archaeology in order to understand the MSA people more fully. So far, I have participated in field schools in Georgia and Ireland, and at my university I work in an osteology lab as well as a biocultural anthropology lab. Outside of school, I like reading, cooking, and wearing fun outfits. As I have only studied more recent peoples, I am really looking forward to the opportunity to excavate and research a site of such antiquity in this program!

Kelsey Jane Talbot

Oregon State University
Major: Anthropology and Geography

I am currently studying biocultural anthropology and geography at Oregon State University. Throughout my coursework I have developed a passion for paleoanthropology and bioarchaeology, as well as an interest in GIS and its applicability in anthropology. I am very excited to be a part of this program and get the chance to travel to Ethiopia to conduct field research and work with the National Museum of Ethiopia.

Emily Lange

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Major: Anthropology – Archaeology Concentration
Year: Junior

My name is Emily Lange, and I am currently studying archaeology with a minor in classical and religious studies. I absolutely love archaeology, and am excited to be serving as an archaeology research assistant at my university. I have additional research and fieldwork experience through my participation in the REU: Exploring Evidence of the Anthropocene. Within my discipline, I am particularly interested in Near Eastern archaeology, prehistoric settlement patterns, and the origins of agriculture. I am so excited for the opportunity to participate in this unique project, and can’t wait to learn more about Middle Stone Age environment and its inhabitants.

Keenan Riordan

University of Texas at Dallas
Major: Physics
Year: Freshman

I’m a freshman attending the University of Texas at Dallas, I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and currently I’m majoring in physics. I love the challenge of physics and I find tremendous joy in solving problems that I devote time to think about. Outside of school I like to power lift, write poetry (on occasion), and draw. This will be my first professional research experience and I am immensely excited to go overseas and conduct actual field work!

Braenn Smith

Sheridan College
Major: Machine Tool Technology
Year: Freshman

I am a first year student studying Machining at Sheridan College in Sheridan, Wyoming. I’ve always been fascinated by archaeology and I am so excited to participate in the Program. The only experience I’ve had in archaeology was assisting Professor Kappelman and Dr. Larry Todd into the backcountry of Meeteetse, Wyoming to dig. My hobbies include playing guitar, horn-hunting, fishing, and welding. My love of history and my interest in archaeology come from growing up in Wyoming; an area full of rich history. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful program!

Lindsey Trombetta

Austin Community College
Major: Anthropology

My name is Lindsey Trombetta, and I’m an anthropology major with an archaeology concentration currently attending ACC in Austin Texas. I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to take part in the MSA REU program, and am particularly interested in the ritual customs and activities of the distant past and how these may have influenced early human behavior and the origins of culture. Outside of school I am a borosilicate glassblower and love traveling as much as I possibly can. Locally I enjoy hiking, rock climbing and stand up paddle boarding- usually with at least one of my two dogs in tow!

Daniel Dalmas

Site Manager
Iowa State University
Major: Anthropology
Year: Senior

I am a senior majoring in Anthropology and minoring in History, Geographic Information Systems, and Statistics at Iowa State University. I am particularly interested in applying statistical methods to analyze variations in faunal remains and the geospatial relations between fauna and humans. I plan to continue my research at the graduate level and hope to help produce and interpret pertinent methods and information regarding the history of humans.

Chris Davis

Site Manager
University of Texas at Austin
Graduate student

I am a Ph.D. student at UT Austin. My interests include early human dispersal, behavioral evolution, and paleoecology. My dissertation research uses faunal remains from SM-1 to reconstruct the taphonomic history of the site and investigate the foraging adaptations of its MSA inhabitants. I am also interested in digital methods, and am currently working on a CT-based reconstruction of a Paleoindian skull from central Texas. I received my M.A. from Colorado State University, where my research was on the evolution of hominin body proportions and morphological integration in the hip and trunk of modern humans and fossil Homo. In the field, I have worked in Ethiopia, Austria, Colorado, California, Nevada, Wyoming, and across the southeastern US. Outside academics, I spend most of my time with my girlfriend and our dog – we enjoy live music, hiking, camping, and the dog in particular likes to terrorize neighborhood squirrels.

John Kappelman, Ph.D.

Biological Anthropologist and Geologist
Department of Anthropology
University of Texas at Austin
jkappelman@austin.utexas.edu

I am a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas and serve as co-director of the MSA Project (along with Dr. Lawrence Todd). I am broadly trained in biological anthropology and geology and have conducted research in primate and human evolution, paleoecology, geology, paleomagnetism, and computer imaging, with field projects all across Africa and Asia for the past 35 years. I have worked in Ethiopia since 1992.

My research interests for this project include the overall behavior of Middle Stone Age humans and reconstructions of the ancient habitats and climates. I am interested in directing undergraduate research projects in the taxonomy of the fossil animals (including the fish) that the MSA people collected, estimates of the body size and diversity of this fauna, the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the archaeological sites and the landscape, how we can use paleomagnetism to understand the controlled use of fire, and controlled experiments with the stone tool artefacts. Some student projects will be field-based while others will combine field-generated data with follow-up study in the National Museum in Addis Ababa or work in the computer lab or paleomagnetism lab at UT Austin.

Publications

2014. Kappelman, J., D. Tewabe, L. Todd, M. Feseha, M. Kay, G. Kocurek, B. Nachman, N. Tabor, and M. Yadeta. Another Unique River: a consideration of some of the characteristics of the trunk tributaries of the Nile River in northwestern Ethiopia in relationship to their aquatic food resources. Journal of Human Evolution 77:117-131

2008. Kappelman, John, Mehmet Cihat Alçiçek, Nizamettin Kazancı, Michael Schultz, Mehmet Özkul, and Şevket Şen. First Homo erectus from Turkey and implications for migrations into temperate Eurasia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 135:110-116. Published online 7 December 2007. DOI 10.1002/ajpa.20739

2006. Huffman, O. F., Y. Zaim, J. Kappelman, D. R. Ruez, Jr., Y. Rizal, F. Aziz, C. Hertler, J. de Vos. Relocation of the 1936 Mojokerto skull discovery site near Perning, East Java. Journal of Human Evolution 50 431-451.

2002. Todd, L.C., M. Glantz, and J. Kappleman. Chilga Kernet: An Acheulean Landscape on Ethiopia’s Western Plateau. Antiquity 76: 611-612.

Other websites

Lawrence Todd, Ph.D.

Archaeologist
Department of Anthropology
Colorado State University
lctodd@colostate.edu

I am Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University and a Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and serve with Dr. Kappelman as co-director of this Project. I have over forty years’ experience in field archaeology of foraging peoples. I specialize in large mammal zooarchaeology/taphonomy and site formational analysis. During the last decade, my focus has expanded to include multi-scale regional survey and excavation projects – an approach referred to as landscape taphonomy that emphasizes the interplay between biological, cultural, and physical processes in forming and interpreting the archaeological record. I participate in the Project as an instructor in archaeological excavation, documentation, survey, and analysis methods. I have been part of the team working in the project area since 2002 and currently split my research time between summers in high elevation portions of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and winter field and lab work in Ethiopia.

Publications

2004. Burger, O, L.C. Todd, T. Stohlgren, P. Burnett, and D. Stephens. Multi-Scale and Nested-Sampling Techniques for Archaeological Survey. Journal of Field Archaeology 29(3):409-423

2003. John Kappelman, D. Tab Rasmussen, William J. Sanders, Mulugeta Feseha, Thomas Bown, Peter Copeland, Jeff Crabaugh, John Fleagle, Michelle Glantz, Adam Gordon, Bonnie Jacobs, Murat Maga, Kathleen Muldoon, Aaron Pan, Lydia Pyne, Brian Richmond, Timothy Ryan, Erik R. Seiffert, Sevket Sen, Lawrence Todd, Michael C. Wiemann & Alisa Winkle. Oligocene mammals from Ethiopia and faunal exchange between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia. Nature 426:549-552.

2002. Todd, L.C., M. Glantz, and J. Kappleman. Chilga Kernet: An Acheulean Landscape on Ethiopia’s Western Plateau. Antiquity 76: 611-612.

2002. Meltzer, D.J., L.C. Todd, and V.T. Holliday. The Folsom (Paleoindian) Type Site: Past Investigations, Current Studies. American Antiquity67(1):5-36.

2000. Gadbury, C., L. Todd, A.H. Jahren, and R. Amundson. Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Isotopic Composition of Bison Tooth Enamel from the Early Holocene Hudson-Meng Bone Bed, Nebraska. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 157(1-2):79-93.

1998. Jahren, A.H., L.C. Todd, and R.G. Amundson. Stable Isotope Analysis of Bison Bone Samples from the Hudson-Meng Bonebed: Effects of Paleotopography. Journal of Archaeological Science 25:465-475.

Mulegeta Feseha, Ph.D.

Geologist
College of Natural Sciences
Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
mulugetafyg@gmail.com

I am an associate professor in the Paleoanthropology and Paleoenvironment Program at Addis Ababa University. I am trained in geology, GIS, and paleomagnetism. My research focus is on ancient environmental reconstructions, rift geology, sedimentary basin analysis and resource exploration, and the application of GIS and remote sensing in natural resources development and management. More recently I have become interested in natural and cultural tourism resource mapping, tourism product development, and community based ecotourism development and have published several books on these topics.

For the Middle Stone Age program I am interested in supervising students who are interested in a broad range of topics in geology as well as projects in tourism development.

Publications

Feseha, M., T. Gebreselassie and T. Hagos, in press. Tourism Resources and Development in Ethiopia (in Amharic), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Feseha, M., T. Selwny and G. Ambelu, in press. The Forms and Routes of Tourism in Ethiopia.

2014. Feseha, M., T. Gebreselassie and T. Hagos. Community Tourism Development in Tigray (in Tigrigna), 76p, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2012. Feseha, M. The Fundamentals of Community Based Ecotourism Development in Ethiopia, 58p, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2012. Pan, A. D., E. D. Currano, B. F. Jacobs, M. Feseha, N. Tabor and P. S. Herendeen. Fossil Newtonia (Fabaceae: Mimoseae) Seeds from the Early Miocene (22-21 MA) Mush Valley in Ethiopia, Int. J. Plant Sci. 173(3): 290-296.

2004. Feseha, M. Gradient profile Analysis of the Blue Nile (Abbay) River: a natural resource development perspective. The Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, 26, p. 101-116.