Graduate Student Graduate Research Associate at Center for Applied Isotope Studies, UGA Travis is a PhD student trained in anthropological archaeology and archaeological science. Travis’ theoretical interests include applications of time in archaeology, organizational complexity, landscapes, and identity. His methodological expertise is in chronological modeling, materials analysis (isotopic and elemental), and the application of large datasets. His dissertation research investigates the timing and tempo of settlement formation and intergroup competition among the earliest villagers in the Middle Missouri region of the Northern Plains. The goal of this research is to: 1) create a durable, high-resolution settlement chronology for early Plains Village groups using Bayesian modeling of new and legacy radiocarbon dates; and 2) explore the relationship between village-making and the evolution of social organization among middle-range societies transitioning to sedentism. Travis is also currently collaborating with other researchers at the Center for Applied Isotope Studies, the Smithsonian Institution, and various regional institutions and agencies on the first pan-regional obsidian provenance database for the Great Plains. Of note: National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipient (2016-present) SAA, Ethics Bowl (1st place), 81st Annual Meeting of The Society for American Archaeology Research Research Areas: Archaeology Research Interests: Applications of Time in Archaeology (theoretical and methodological) Regional Archaeology Organizational Complexity Archaeological Materials Analysis (isotopic and elemental) Bayesian Modeling Middle-Range Societies Landscapes Kinship Identity Grants Grants: 2017 North Dakota Archaeological Association, Cynthia Kordecki Scholarship 2017 UGA, Willson Center Graduate Student Research Grant Recipient 2017 UGA, Norman Herz memorial Grant Recipient 2016 National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship (5 Year Fellowship, 3 Years of Funding) 2014 UGA, Berkman Charitable Foundation Scholarship Recipient 2013 UGA, Brian Daniel Gumbert Award in Archaeological Field Studies Recipient 2012 UGA, Melissa Hague Scholarship Recipient
