Austin graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2021 with a B.S. in History with minors in Anthropology and Religious Studies. Austin’s research interests are paleobotany in the Near East. Specifically, how botanical remains reconstruct hierarchal systems during the Bronze Age in Syria/Palestine. Austin is also interested in reconstructing a historical environment using the Old Testament to understand the dietary practices of Israelites in the Levant during the rise of Israelite civilization.

Lauren graduated from the University of South Alabama in May 2021 with a BA in Anthropology and minor in Psychology. Her research interests include globalization, sustainable development, aid networks, geopolitics, and middle eastern cultures.

Brittany received her B.A in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures from Mississippi State University in 2018. She has been an intern at Fort Drum Cultural Resources in New York through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. She also spent time working with several Cultural Resource Management companies. She is interested in Old World Bioarchaeology focusing in the Mediterranean and the Near East, pathologies, human osteology, how religion and landscapes influenced burials, and archaeology of violence.

Sarah Jerden graduated from Mississippi State University with a B.A. in Anthropology. As an undergraduate, she worked in the archaeology labs located in the Cobb Institute of Archaeology. Sarah participated in survey and excavation work in Mississippi through Mississippi State University field schools. Her current interests are Near Eastern Archaeology and human interaction with the environment in archaeological contexts.

Laura received her B.A. from Mississippi State University in Anthropology. Her past careers were diverse and ranged from concert piano to welding. Laura’s research interests include historic southeastern archaeology and the Choctaw tribe. Her advisor is Dr. Shawn Lambert.

Grayson graduated from Mississippi State University in Spring 2020 with a B.A. in Anthropology. As an undergraduate, he worked with SCDNR to conduct surveys of the Pockey Island shell rings and Fig Island in South Carolina. He also conducted surveys at the Hester site in Amory, Mississippi. Grayson’s interest include GIS, Southeastern United States Archaeology, lithic analysis, community archaeology and working with local Native American communities. He hopes to expand on these interests with his time at Mississippi State University and add more to the list.