Desert Archaeology has a permanent staff of 37 employees with an average tenure of 13 years with the company. This depth of experience creates an environment suited to the development of methodological and research specializations.
Professional staff includes 15 project directors with a broad range of experience. We have also developed analytical specializations in ceramics, flaked stone, ground stone, animal bone, paleobotanical analyses, and petrographic sourcing of ceramic temper.
Click here for an email list of Desert Archaeology, Inc. staff in PDF format.
President
William H. Doelle (PhD University of Arizona 1980) Prehistoric
archaeology, ethnohistory, public archaeology, demography; Southwest
United States, North America. Since 1982.
Operations
Director
Patricia Castalia (MA Arizona State University 1975) Contract
archaeology, prehistoric settlement patterns, spatial analysis;
Southwest United States. Since 1989.
Project
Directors
Michael L. Brack (MA Wichita State
University 1999) Ceramic analysis, GIS/CAD, cartography, spatial
analysis, environmental adaptation, Plains ethnology; American
Southwest, Northern Mexico, Great Plains, Caddoan. Since 2000.
Patricia Cook (PhD University Arizona 1997) Prehistoric archaeology, settlement patterns, household archaeology, gender studies; Southwest United States, Mesoamerica. Since 1998.
Connie A. Darby (Bryn Mawr College 1991) Prehistoric and historical archaeology; North America and Near East. Since 2006.
Allison Cohen Diehl (MA Arizona State University 1995) Historical archaeology; North America. Since 1998.
Mark D. Elson (PhD University of Arizona 1996) Prehistoric archaeology, settlement pattern analysis, ethnographic studies, adaptation to catastrophic events; Southwest United States, Latin America. Since 1984.
Susan D. Hall (MA Northern Arizona University 1992) Prehistoric archaeology, ceramic and architectural studies; Southwest United States. Since 1995.
T. Kathleen Henderson (PhD Arizona State University 1986) Prehistoric archaeology, settlement and social organization, chronology; Southwest United States. Since 1999.
Sarah A. Herr (PhD University of Arizona 1999) Ceramic analysis, regional organization, frontiers; Southwest United States. Since 1995.
Michael W. Lindeman (PhD Arizona State University 2006) Prehistoric archaeology, Southwest United States, Hohokam archaeology, pithouse architecture, craft production, household archaeology, quantitative methods. Since 1991.
Deborah L. Swartz (BA University of Arizona 1979) Prehistoric archaeology, field methods; Southwest United States. Since 1984.
J. Homer Thiel (MA Arizona State University 1992) Historical archaeology, genealogy, faunal analysis; Southwest United States. Since 1992.
James M. Vint (MA Northern Arizona University 1992) Southwestern U.S. and Protohistoric archaeology, Colorado Plateau and Northern New Mexico prehistory, ethnohistory, ceramic analysis, settlement pattern and borderlands studies. Since 1993.
Henry D. Wallace (MA University of Arizona 1980) Prehistoric and protohistoric archaeology, ceramic studies, iconography; Southwest United States, Northern Mexico. Since 1983.
Gregory J. Whitney (BA University of Georgia 1994) Prehistoric archaeology, cartography; Southwest United States. Since 1999.
Helga Wöcherl (PhD University of Arizona 1997) Subsistence-settlement research, site structure, extramural space, resource ecology; Southwest United States, Western Europe. Since 1992.
Analysis
Specialists
Jenny L. Adams (PhD University of Arizona
1994; Ground Stone
Specialist) Prehistoric archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, experimentation,
use-wear analysis; Southwest United States. Since 1995.
Michael W. Diehl (PhD State University New York-Buffalo 1994; Paleobotanical Specialist) Paleoethnobotany, human ecology, social change and complex adaptive systems; Greater Southwest. Since 1998.
James M. Heidke (BA University of Illinois 1981; Research Ceramicist) Ceramic analysis, ceramic petrography and provenience studies, quantitative methods; Southwest United States. Since 1984.
Carlos P. Lavayen (BA University of San Simon 1995; Assistant Petrologist) Petrography, optical minerology, geostatistics, research methods; South America. Since 2001.
Stacy L. Ryan (BA Buffalo State University 1995; Lithic Analyst) Lithic technology, prehistoric archaeology, historical archaeology; Southwest United States. Since 2001.
R. Jane Sliva (MA University of Illinois-Chicago 1992; Lithic Specialist) Prehistoric archaeology, lithic technology, microwear analysis; Southwest United States. Since 1994.
Jennifer A. Waters (MA Arizona State University 1995; Faunal Specialist) Early Agriculture, hunter-gatherers, historical archaeology; Southwest United States. Since 1996.
Laboratory
Director
Lisa G. Eppley (BA Appalachian State 1979) Prehistoric archaeology,
lithic analysis, curation, repatriation; Southwest United States. Since
1984.
Information
Systems
Theodore J. Oliver (BA University of North Dakota 1990; Database
Administrator) Prehistoric archaeology, database development, GIS,
spatial analysis; Southwest United States. Since 1999.
Mapping
Michael L. Brack, Mapping Director. Since 2000.
Catherine B. Gilman, Mapping Specialist. Since 1991.
Susan D. Hall, Mapping Specialist. Since 1995.
Tyler S. Theriot, Mapping Specialist. Since 2007.
Support
Staff
Mario E. Arechederra, Field and Office Support. Since 2009.
Robert B. Ciaccio, Drafting. Since 1994.
Donna G. Doolittle, Word Processor. Since 2001.
Lauren W. Falvey, Ground Stone Assistant. Since 2009.
Val M. Hintze, Reception and Production. Since 2001.
Jean E. Kramer, Office Manager. Since 1991.
Sara Lely, Database Assistant. Since 1991.
Andrea S. Mathews, Word Processor. Since 1998.
Emilee M. Mead, Publications Director. Since 2000.
Partners:
Southwest Petrographic Specialists, Inc.
Desert Archaeology staff members work closely with Dr. Elizabeth Miksa
of Southwest Petrographic Specialists, Inc. Dr. Miksa is a former
Desert Archaeology employee and worked closely with James M. Heidke and
Carlos P. Lavayen on development of petrofacies analysis of
sand-tempered
pottery from southern and central Arizona. We continue to collaborate
on projects and on the advancement of ceramic petrography as a
productive research method. View the Southwest Petrographic Specialists
website at: www.swpetrographic.com.
Quality Thin Sections, Inc. prepares high-quality polished and thin sections.
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