Archaeology Experience
My second undergraduate qualification (Cognitive Psychology was my first degree) is in archaeology, one of the disciplines of anthropology. My focus was experimental archaeology, where I developed new techniques (utilizing a combination of GIS, astronomy, and mathematics) to reconstruct ancient landscapes in 3d with a focus on ancient lunar alignments, presenting that research at the annual Society for American Archaeology (SAA) conference. That research was later published in the Journal of North Carolina Archaeology. I received my degree from Appalachian State University in 2013, graduating with honors.
After graduation. I worked as a volunteer scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC- a division of the Smithsonian Institute), analyzing 17th-century historic middens using statistical k-means cluster analysis of faunal remains. I also did what any other shovelbum would do- perform field technician work for several different CRM firms across the country, including HDR and Stantec.
My archaeological interests included experimental archaeology, remote sensing, 3d recording, GIS, geology, and oceanography, so I pursued my master’s degree at the University of Southampton in Southern England. My education focused on 3d analysis and recording techniques using remote sensing, benthic, side-scan-sonar, seismic, and satellite raster datasets. My dissertation included hands-on research work at the British Museum, utilizing computer vision techniques in the analysis of iron cannon crests, and photographic datasets and field notes from the Sutton Hoo boat burial excavation -research that continues remotely to this day. I also trained in the analysis of NOAA oceanographic datasets and deep-water core samples. I earned my MSc in Maritime Archaeology with Distinction and graduated in 2016.
Upon my return to the states, I continued working in 3d and CRM pipeline projects in Northern California. Throughout the pandemic, I worked as an Archaeology Research Program Manager at Western Carolina University. I assisted in the management of a small team of archaeologists, instructing them in new data recording techniques I developed during my tenure there, and testing new equipment and field data collection methods in North Carolina and Western Georgia. I documented archaeology sites using a mix of GIS, photogrammetry, 3d laser scanning, and 360-degree photography and video. I also spent time creating and deploying “gamification” interactive demonstrations, video games targeting PC and Mac hardware platforms using the Unity 3d engine. Much of my work there was experimental, which involved copious amounts of research and old-fashioned backyard, archaeological engineering.
Post-pandemic, I started a small cultural visualization startup based around a core archaeological research computing group after attaining my registration as a professional archaeologist. After three years of experimental archaeology research in “gamification”, 3d recording techniques, reality capture, and statistical analysis (with a few clients in-between) our little company closed its doors in early 2024, my partners and I heading different directions in varying fields.
So here we are. What’s next? Possibly taking a break from archaeology and returning to game development. Possibly another degree, this time in AI, as I have hit too many seemingly insurmountable walls with a layman’s understanding of neural networks.
I can say that the future involves motorcycles, surfing, game development, archaeology, and cognitive research on the evolution of the human brain within an artificial intelligence context.
In other words, lots of fun stuff.