Research Professor

Research Interests
Broad archaeological experience in prehistory of western North America,
Specialty in archaeobotanical analysis (study of plant remains - macrofossils, starch grains, pollen)
Pleistocene and Holocene climate and vegetation history in western North America (packrat middens, palynology, stable isotopes)
Projects
- BLM-NV Cultural and Paleontological Resources Assistance
- Cultural Resource Support, Section 106 & 110 Surveys for Nellis Air Force Base
- Class III Cultural Resource Inventory and Mitigation Support of Proposed Baker Strong Point Archaeological Project for U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Tooele County, Utah
- Identifying Riparian Habitats within Nevada utilizing Landsat Imagery (Co-PI for sub-project)
Biography
After earning my PhD in anthropological archaeology from the University of Washington in 1987, I have been a research professor at DRI since 1989. I serve as cultural resources management program leader for large multi-year programs for the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies. I have acted as PI or co-PI on numerous NSF-funded research programs in archaeology and paleoecology in the Great Basin and other areas in western North America, Mexico, and western China. I have participated as a graduate faculty member at UNR and UNLV since the early 1990s. My research specialties and interests include long-term human adaptation to drylands and montane environments, archaeobotanical analyses of prehistoric and historic remains, Quaternary paleoecology (particularly long-term climate and vegetation change), and western natural history.
Education
- BA, Botany and BA, Anthropology, University of California, Davis (1978)
- PhD and MA, Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle (1987, 1982)