Email: cmikeska at live.unc.edu
Phone:
Areas of Interest:
Zooarchaeology, Southwest Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Human-Animal Relationships, Development of Complex Societies, Geometric Morphometrics (GMM), Isotope Analysis
Education:
In Progress University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Ph.D.
Expected 2019 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, M.A.
May 2016 Boston University, B.A. Archaeology and Classical Civilizations
Professional Background:
I am an anthropological archaeologist with a specialty in zooarchaeology. I am interested in human-animal interactions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia, though I have also worked on archaeological faunal assemblages from Europe, Africa, and North America. I am particularly interested in using faunal remains to study specific cultural systems and phenomena, such as the development of complex societies in Southeast Asia or the introduction of the deerskin trade in the North Carolina piedmont, the latter of which is the focus of my Master’s research. My research methodology combines traditional faunal analysis, isotope analysis, and geometric morphometric (GMM) approaches to understanding human-animal interactions. I have also worked as an excavator on archaeological excavations in Italy, Turkey, and Cyprus, the latter of which includes my continued work as a trench supervisor at the Makounta-Voules Archaeological Project. My dissertation research will combine these methods to study the development and maintenance of complex societies in Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, with a particularly focus on Bronze Age Cyprus.