News

Alex Jansen and Bill Fitzhugh plan to finish their publication and project on the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Koliktalik site collection, which is one of the most important Dorset sites in Labrador. Alex worked on the photo-documentation and digitization of the collection which will be released in a publication. This is a part of a collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History’s Arctic Studies Center.

Alex’s most recent reseach at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History looked at Chesapeake oysters, other coastal resource use, human technological change, and coastal environmental change and dynamics through time utilizing archaeological sites and museum collections from Native American times until present as a baseline for looking at contemporary environmental issues. This work was published into a series of research papers.

Alex’s recent paper “Shell middens and human technologies as a historical baseline for the Chesapeake Bay, USA” was recently cited in written testimony during the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resource’s hearing on Ocean Climate Action: Solutions to the Climate Crisis.

Alex’s work was recently cited in the books Chesapeake Bay Explorer’s Guide: Natural History, Plants, and Wildlife published by Globe Pequot and The Archaeology of Human-Environmental Dynamics on the North American Atlantic Coast published by University Press of Florida.

Alex and colleagues’ paper, “Shell Middens, Cultural Chronologies, and Coastal Settlement on the Rhode River Sub‐Estuary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA,” on SERC shell middens published in Geoarchaeology, was featured in the Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, published by Springer, which is one of the most comprehensive and definitive reference works in archaeology.

Alex’s papers, “Reconciling Cultural Technologies, Chronologies, and the Rising Tide at Fishing Bay, Maryland” on Chesapeake oysters and other coastal resource use, shell middens, and technological change at Fishing Bay, MD published in North American Archaeologist, and “Shell Middens, Cultural Chronologies, and Coastal Settlement on the Rhode River Sub‐Estuary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA,” a radiocarbon paper on SERC shell middens published in Geoarchaeology, were recently cited in the August 2019 editions of Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology and Antiquity.

Alex has been conducting numerous fieldwork projects and expeditions in the Chesapeake on coastal and marine environments utilizing research as well as the use of photo-documentation, hydrophone recording, underwater photography, and video. Alex has recently developed a new website which features photographs from his work as well as hydrophone recordings. There are two new singles entitled, “Stream” and “Benthic,” with additional hydrophone recordings and photography coming soon. You can check out the website: here. You can also view photographs from Alex’s work on his Flickr: here.

Alex’s paper, “Shell Middens and Human Technologies as a Historical Baseline for the Chesapeake Bay, USA” has just been published in North American Archaeologist. The paper looks at the prehistoric, historic, modern, and contemporary Chesapeake oyster fishery as a baseline for oyster and other fisheries and natural resources management in the Chesapeake and other coastal areas. The paper focuses on human technological change, use of oysters and other coastal resources, and coastal environmental change and dynamics through time. The paper also focuses on his research on the use of eastern oysters and other shellfish in the production of early ceramics. You can check out a link to the paper: here.

Alex’s paper, “Shell Middens and Human Technologies as a Historical Baseline for the Chesapeake Bay, USA,” was recently featured in the Bay Journal. You can check out a link to the news article: here.

Alex’s work was recently published in a feature in Hakai Magazine, which is one of the most authoritative and preeminent publications on coastal science. The work, Hidden in a Midden: Shell mounds reveal secrets of ancient oyster harvesting in Chesapeake Bay, focuses on his work on human technological change and oysters in the Chesapeake.

Alex will be featured at Science Cafe at Oliver Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland on January 10, 2018 from 6PM to 8PM to discuss his work in the Chesapeake and upcoming publication in North American Archaeologist on SERC. You can learn more information: here.

Thanks for everybody who turned out at the event at Oliver Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland to hear Alex discuss his work in the Chesapeake and upcoming publication in North American Archaeologist on SERC. Thanks to Oliver Brewing Company for hosting this event and a number of organizations for helping promote the event.

Alex will be presenting his work at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Annual Meeting, which will take place in Washington DC from November 29 to December 3, 2017. Alex’s presentation, “The Use of Photography and Contemporary Art Practice in the Reconstruction of the Archaeological Site,” will focus on the use of photography, illustration, hydrophone recording, and other media and contemporary art practice in the reconstruction and documentation of the archaeological site and fieldwork. Alex’s presentation will focus on a number of projects that he is currently working on which use photography and contemporary art practice in the reconstruction of the archaeological site and experience of fieldwork.

Alex is currently making several field trips into the Chesapeake to document coastal and marine environments. This includes fieldwork, laboratory analysis, photo-documentation, illustration, and hydrophone recording of these environments including rivers, streams, and creeks as well as marine organisms, specimens, and native species.

Alex will be continuing work on the photo-documentation and digitization of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) MacFarlane collection for the Inuvialuit Living History Project website. Alex has worked on the MacFarlane collection and is continuing worked on ethnographic and natural history collections.

Alex will be publishing four upcoming scholarly publications on his archaeological work in the Chesapeake and Middle Atlantic. Alex’s paper, “Reconciling Cultural Technologies, Chronologies, and the Rising Tide at Fishing Bay, Maryland,” with Smithsonian colleagues, was recently published in the April 2015 edition of North American Archaeologist. Alex worked on the paper, “Shell Middens, Cultural Chronologies, and Coastal Settlement on the Rhode River Sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA,” with Smithsonian colleagues and other researchers, which was published in the September/October 2014 edition of Geoarchaeology. Alex’s work has been on coastal sites and the research and analysis of archaeological sites and museum collections. Alex is also currently working on a paper on his photo-documentation and digitizaton of museum collections and conferences at the Smithsonian. Stay tuned for more details.

Alex and Smithsonian colleagues’ paper, “Shell Middens, Cultural Chronologies, and Coastal Settlement on the Rhode River Sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA,” along with other researchers, was cited in the recent article, “Shellfish Gathering and Shell Midden Archaeology Revisited: Chronology and Taphonomy at White Oak Point, Potomac River Estuary, Virginia,” which appeared in the February 2015 edition of Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology published by Routledge. Alex and colleagues’ paper was also cited in the recent article, “Ancient Experiments: Forest Biodiversity and Soil Nutrients Enhanced by Native American Middens,” which appeared in the April 2014 edition of Landscape Ecology published by Springer.

Alex’s paper, “Shell Middens, Cultural Chronologies, and Coastal Settlement on the Rhode River Sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA,” was cited in the book chapter, “Coastal and wetland ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed: Applying palynology to understand impacts of changing climate, sea level, and land use,” in Tripping from the Fall Line: Field Excursions for the GSA Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 2015, which highlights cultural and natural resources in the Chesapeake.

Alex Jansen and Torben Rick made a field trip to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) recently to obtain samples of Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) from shell-tempered ceramics for 14C dating. This work will be used in the research of early shell-tempered ceramics. Alex also analyzed the source collection for these materials. Alex is particularly interested in researching these specimens to determine how people interacted with past coastal and marine environments.

The Inuvialuit Living History Project was recently featured in “Representing Natural Heritage in Digital Space: from the National Museum of Natural History to Inuvialuit Living History,” in the book, Shifting Interpretations of Natural Heritage. Alex worked on the photo-documentation and digitization of the MacFarlane collection for the project. The project was featured in “From the Smithsonian’s MacFarlane Collection to Inuvialuit Living History,” in the book, Museums in a Digital Culture: How Art and Heritage Become Meaningful.

The Inuvialuit Living History Project’s paper, “Virtual Repatriation and the Application Programming Interface: From the Smithsonian Institution’s MacFarlane Collection to ‘Inuvialuit Living History’” was selected as the top paper for the Museums and the Web Conference for 2012. The top 20 papers from past conferences have been selected for a special volume that looks at the role of technology in museum practice.

Alex has again collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Arctic Studies Center on the photo-documentation and digitization of the Greenlandic Film and Cultural event held on February 27, 2014. The event featured performers from the Uummannaq Children’s Home in Uummannaq, Greenland. Alex documented the work of these particular Greenlanders during the 18th Inuit Studies Conference.

Alex recently worked on the documentation of the 18th Inuit Studies Conference hosted by the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The work will be used to produce a new online virtual exhibition produced by the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) to extend the experience of the 18th Inuit Studies Conference to the academic and larger global community. Stay tuned for details.

Alex also worked with the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Smithsonian Institution S. Dillon Ripley Center, the Canadian Embassy, and local and indigenous groups during the 18th Inuit Studies Conference. Alex worked on the photo-documentation and digitization of the Yup’ik Sewing Demonstration as well as the performance by the Uummannaq Children’s Home, conference film festival, and conference banquet that took place at the NMAI Potomac Atrium. Alex also worked on the photo-documentation and digitization of the conference reception and contemporary Inuit art exhibition at the Canadian Embassy as well as five Inuit art exhibitions housed at the S. Dillon Ripley Center.

Alex’s documentation of the conference will also be used in a number of publication and print initiatives to extend the experience of the conference to the academic and larger global community. Publication spreads of the documentation have included the Fall 2012 edition of Anthropolog, Newsletter of the Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), and the 2013 edition of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Arctic Studies Center newsletter.

Alex recently worked on the photo-documentation and digitization of the 18th Inuit Studies Conference session, Celebrating Inuvialuit Culture and Heritage, for the Inuvialuit Living History project website. Alex’s work for the project has included the photo-documentation and digitization of the MacFarlane Collection for the Inuvialuit Living History website. The Project was recently featured in the September 2012 edition of the SAA Archaeological Record.