Email: dianelyn at email.unc.edu
Phone:
Diane Slocum
Email: dslocum@unc.edu
Areas of Interest:
Community-based Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Oral Histories, Maya Archaeology, Yucatán
Education:
M.A. Anthropology, Archaeology emphasis, May 2018. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Thesis: Contextualizing Xunantunich in the Late Classic Upper Belize Valley through Investigations of Structure A9.
B.A. Environmental Studies, Policy emphasis, December 2005. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
Research:
My primary research interests include community-engaged archaeology and cultural heritage in Yucatán, Mexico. I am especially interested in how archaeologists integrate oral history methods into their work to gain better understandings of what archaeological sites mean to local and descendent communities. My main goal is to engage in an applied archaeology that allows for inclusion of local and descendant communities in decision-making processes.
In the Spring of 2018, I completed an M.A. in the Anthropology program at Northern Arizona University where I gained experience working as an archaeologist in Belize, Central America. Prior to beginning the M.A. program, my archaeological knowledge focused on the American Southwest where I worked in cultural resources management. My extensive fieldwork informs my belief in the importance of opening lines of communication between archaeologists and local communities. Practicing archaeology in both the U.S. and Mesoamerica instilled in me an ethical concern about how archaeologists interact with local and Indigenous communities that extends beyond the confines of legal mandates.
Currently, I am Program Director for InHerit (Indigenous Heritage Passed to Present [https://in-herit.org/en/]), an organization that is affiliated with the Research Labs of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. InHerit works with Indigenous communities to document silenced stories and empower people to reshape cultural narratives. Our current project, “Amplifying Native Voices in North Carolina History” is a partnership with the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and the Lumbee community. We are working to develop educational resources for K-12 North Carolina teachers and students that incorporate Native perspectives and shed light on Indigenous voices and histories often underrepresented in school curriculum.
Selected Publications and Technical Reports:
Slocum, Diane L.
2021 The Fort Huachuca Cemetery before 1968, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Cultural Resources Report FH-18-19. Report on file at Fort Huachuca Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Awe, Jaime J., Christophe Helmke, Diane L. Slocum, and Doug Tilden
2020 Ally, Client or Outpost? Evaluating the Relationship between Xunantunich and Naranjo in the Late Classic Period. Ancient Mesoamerica 31(3):494-506.
Slocum, Diane L. and Jaime J. Awe
2018 The 2017 Investigations of Structures A9, A28, and A1 at Xunantunich, Belize. In The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2017 Field Season, edited by C.E. Ebert, J.A. Hoggarth, and J.J. Awe, pp. 310-332. Institute of Archaeology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Slocum, Diane L. and Jaime J. Awe
2017 The 2016 Investigations of Structure A28 on El Castillo at Xunantunich, Belize. In The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2016 Field Season, edited by C.E. Ebert, C.C. Burke, J.A. Hoggarth, and J.J. Awe, pp. 304-314. Institute of Archaeology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Selected Presentations:
Clark, Dylan J., Diane L. Slocum, and Nancy Strickland Fields
2021 Partners for Change: Mobilizing Cultural Heritage to Advance Public Education and Conservation in Yucatán and North Carolina. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Maya at the Lago Conference, Davidson, North Carolina.
Slocum, Diane L.
2019 An Investigation of Demographic and Spatial Patterns at the Fort Huachuca Cemetery, Arizona. Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Morrison, Blythe M. and Diane L. Slocum
2018 Creative Approaches to Site Documentation and National Register Nomination Criteria at Tsopki Pueblo, Arizona (WS 1807). Poster presented at the 2018 Pecos Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Slocum, Diane L., Blythe M. Morrison, and Creighton Gerber
2018 Applying Photogrammetric Mapping Techniques to Historic Properties Documentation on the CO Bar Ranch. Paper presented at the 2018 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Slocum, Diane L. and Jaime J. Awe
2018 Contextualizing Xunantunich in the Late Classic Upper Belize Valley Through Investigations of Structure A9. Paper presented at the 83nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, D.C.
Slocum, Diane L., Doug Tilden, Jaime J. Awe, and Christophe Helmke
2017 Xunantunich Reloaded: Examining the Socio-political Implications of Structure A9. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver.
Slocum, Diane L.
2016 Exploring the Upper Ranges: High Temperature Heat Treatment of Petrified Wood. Poster presented at the Northern Arizona University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Fall Poster Symposium, Flagstaff, Arizona.