Emily Johnson

Ph.D. Student, University of California, Santa Barbara; NSF Graduate Research Fellow

  • Title Ph.D. Student, University of California, Santa Barbara;
    NSF Graduate Research Fellow
  • Education BA summa cum laude, Boston University, 2017

Areas of Interest

Paleoethnobotany; Environmental archaeology; Experimental archaeology; Origins of agriculture and domestication; Near East; Mesoamerica

Research Interests & Fieldwork

For my senior thesis through Kilachand Honor’s College I analyzed whether the process of nixtamalizing maize (turning corn into hominy) leaves identifying characteristics on its starch grains. Through this experimental process, I hope to make it possible to identify this practice in the archaeological record. See results in our JAS article, linked below.

In addition, I worked with Prof. Marston on various projects in the Environmental Archaeology Lab. With funds from UROP, I assisted Prof. Marston in sorting and analyzing botanical samples taken from the Hellenistic period at the site of Ashkelon, located in southern Israel.

Projects

The San Bartolo-Xultun Regional Archaeological Project, Guatemala

Kaymakçı Archaeological Project, Turkey

Gordion Archaeological Project, Turkey

Publications

Johnson, Emily S., and John M. Marston. The experimental identification of nixtamalized maize through starch spherulites. Journal of Archaeological Science 113:105056. Link

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