Email: grhughes at live.unc.edu
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Area of Interest
Historical Archaeology; Archaeology of the African Diaspora; Religious and Utopian Communities; the Relationship between Landscape, Language, and Material Culture; Inequality and Social Identity; Contemporary Interpretations of the Past
Education
PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2017
MA Anthropology, University of South Carolina at Columbia, 2005
Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies, University of South Carolina at Columbia, 2001
BA Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley, 1997
Professional Background
Before coming to the University of North Carolina, I worked as a cultural resource management archaeologist for both private and university-based organizations on a variety of projects throughout the southeastern United States. Currently, I am an adjunct instructor of anthropology for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Elon University, teaching introductory courses in general archaeology and historical archaeology. I also serve as the Lot 38 project archaeologist for Old Salem Museums & Gardens where I regularly interact and collaborate with museum, preservation, and historic trades professionals at Old Salem and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.
Research and Activities
I am a historical archaeologist interested in the relationship between religion, economy, and social identity. My dissertation research examines Moravian pottery production on Lot 38 in Salem, North Carolina, from 1784 until 1831. Specifically, I want to understand how Moravian potters incorporated new production techniques and materials, modified their kiln designs, and reorganized the production landscape to navigate their complex and changing relationship with church authorities, access to labor, and consumer tastes.
Entered Program in 2012
Selected Publications
2005 Salem Asleep: A Discursive Archaeology of God’s Acre, 1771-1815. Unpublished MA Thesis, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Recent Presentations
2018 “More than a Place to Stack Firewood: Excavating the Pottery Kilns on the East Side of Main Street.” Winter Fair Lecture, Old Salem Museums & Gardens, December 28, 2018. Winston-Salem, NC.
2018 “New Insights into Moravian Pottery Production in Old Salem: The View from Lot 38, 1784-1831.” Office of State Archaeology Lecture Series, October 22, 2018. Raleigh, NC.
2018 “Balancing Trade and (Spiritual) Defense in the Congregation Pottery, Salem, NC, 1793-1831.” Paper presented at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Conference on Historic Sites Archaeology, August 9, 2018. Charleston, SC.
2017 “Looking for the Congregation Pottery on the East Side of Main Street: Recent Archaeological Work on Lot 38, Salem, North Carolina.” Paper presented at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Conference on Historic Sites Archaeology, September 15, 2017. Spencer, NC.
2017 “Archaeological Evidence of Pottery Production on the East Side of Main Street.” Public lecture given at Home Moravian Church, September 13, 2017. Winston-Salem, NC.