Graduate Thesis Committees
During or immediately following the completion of graduate coursework, each student is expected to select a thesis advisor, who will assist in forming a thesis committee, which will work with the student to prepare a prospectus for thesis research. Details of this process, including all forms required, are available in the Thesis Committee Process Forms document.
I presently serve on a number of graduate student committees, and will be happy to consider serving on others, although I must limit the number of committees that I chair in order to give suitable time and attention to each student. While I most commonly work with students whose master's thesis project interests relate at least in some way to my own research interests and experience (see my Research page), or which incorporate methodologies that overlap with my areas of expertise (especially historical and ethnohistorical research as a complement to historical archaeology, either terrestrial or maritime), I am willing to participate in other student committees with more broad-ranging anthropological themes. Nevertheless, based on past experience, I strongly encourage archaeology students to select thesis projects that relate in some direct way to the existing geographical and topical emphasis of the faculty and staff of the UWF Department of Anthropology, particularly emphasizing the terrestrial or maritime archaeology of the Florida panhandle region in the area around Pensacola, focusing on the prehistoric, colonial and early American periods. Moreover, given the considerable logistical difficulties and financial challenges involved in conducting new archaeological fieldwork associated with proposed student master's thesis projects, I also encourage students to work with the substantial existing collections at UWF, which will continue to provide fodder for innovative, ground-breaking research projects for many years to come.
Past (defended) thesis committees include the following (with links to online PDFs when available; more recent theses may be available first on ProQuest via UWF access); all are UWF unless otherwise indicated (a few are dissertation committees):
A full listing of all previous UWF Anthropology master's theses (with links) is also available here.
Patrick DeRoche; "In Pursuit of the Panzacola: A Historical Documentary and Archaeological Investigation" (Fall 2024), committee chair.
Ken Richter; "We Come In Peace: Identifying 16th-Century Spanish Military Behaviors within New World Settlements" (Fall 2024), committee chair.
Emily Talbert; "Analyzing a Late Mississippian Pottery Assemblage from the Naval Live Oaks Cemetery" (Spring 2024), committee member.
Christina Bolte; "'There They Went to Die, and Some Returned:' Mexica-Tenochca Indigenous Allies, Neutron Activation Analysis, and the 1559-1561 Luna Settlement Colonization Effort in Pensacola, Florida" (Fall 2023), committee chair.
Hillary Jolly; "Mississippianization and Late Woodland Resistance: An Analysis of a Wakulla Shell Midden on Pensacola Bay" (Fall 2023), committee member.
Llew Kinison; "Coosa Women and Household Lithic Production: Analyzing Gendered Activity Areas at the King Site (9FL5)" (Fall 2023), committee member.
James Gazaway; "Colonial Numismatic Archaeology of the Gulf Coast with a Special Focus on the Sites Around Mobile and Pensacola" (Summer 2023), committee chair.
Rikki Oeters; "Sands of Time: Bathymetric History of the Emanuel Point Shipwreck Area" (Summer 2023), committee chair.
Abigail Stone; "Finding Women in Their Lost Possessions: Personal Artifacts from the Luna Settlement" (Spring 2023), committee chair.
Emily McMillon; "Of Rodents, Roots, and Men: Evaluating the Effects of Pedoturbation on Artifacts at the Tristán de Luna Settlement Site" (Spring 2023), committee chair.
Kate Ganas; "Let's Talk Form: Using Vessel Form Analysis to Identify Galley Provisioning Patterns on Spanish Ships in the 16th Century" (Spring 2023), committee chair.
Caroline Peacock; "From Olive This: A Characterization of the Spanish Olive Jar in Mid-16th Century New Spain" (Spring 2023), committee chair.
Lindsey Howell Franklin; “A Stitch in Time: Unraveling Vasa’s Nålbundna Textiles” (Spring 2023), committee member.
Marissa Triola; "Before the Gold Standard: Alternative Currencies in West Africa" (Fall 2022), committee member.
Jenni Baggett; "The Manly Mound Site: Analysis of a MiddleWoodland Coastal Mound Site in Northwest Florida" (Summer 2022), committee member.
Casey Bleuel; "Ropa, Herramientas, y Armas: Comparison of the Material Assemblages of 16th-Century Spanish Probate Records to the Artifact Assemblages at the Luna Settlement Site and the Emanuel Point I Shipwreck" (Fall 2021), committee chair.
Courtney Boren; "An Examination of Pensacola Archaeological Culture and the Use of BOSL for Interpreting Pensacola Ceramic Chronologies in the Pensacola Bay Region of Northwest Florida" (Summer 2021), committee member.
John Robert Elmore III; "I Can Barrel-Ly Contain Myself: Identifying Types of Wooden Casks Within the Emanuel Point II Artifact Assemblage" (Spring 2021), committee member.
Danielle Dadiego; Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz; "Beads, Bullets, and Brokerage: Exploring Economic Agency in Eighteenth-Century West Florida" (Fall 2020), committee member.
Emily Dietrich: "Another Brick in the Wall: A Pedagogical Approach to Excavations at a 19th-Century Brickyard" (Fall 2020), committee member.
Kad Henderson: "Mahogany and Iron: The Construction of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario y Santiago Apóstol" (Spring 2020), committee member.
Cyndal Mateja: "Patterns and Practice: Lead Glazed Coarse Earthenwares of the Luna Settlement and Fleet" (Fall 2019), committee chair.
Meghan Mumford: "A Tale of Two Early Jails: Using a Curational Research Approach to Study the Colonial and Antebellum Jails of Pensacola, Florida" (Fall 2019), committee chair.
Krista L. Eschbach; Doctor of Philosophy., School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University: "Mechanisms of Colonial Transformation at the Port of Veracruz and the Northwest Florida Presidios" (Spring 2019), committee member.
Cody James: "Mapping Colonial Strategies: A Comparison of British and Spanish Pensacola" (Spring 2019), committee chair.
Ericha Sappington: "Facilitating Trade on the Florida Frontier : An Historical and Archaeological Analysis of Fort San Marcos de Apalache, 1639-1821" (Summer 2018), committee chair.
Jillian Okray: "Sister Sawmills: An Historical and Archaeological Analysis of Households and Socioeconomic Status at Two Second Spanish Period Sawmills" (Spring 2018), committee chair.
Patrick Johnson, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va.: "Vengeance with Mercy: Changing Traditions and Traditional Practices of Colonial Yamasees" (Spring 2018), committee member.
Patricia McMahon: "A Study of the First Spanish Occupation of the Old Christ Church Site (8ES49B) in Downtown Pensacola, Florida" (Fall 2017), committee member.
Gregg Harding: "Fort Walton Culture and Cultural Change in the Upper Chipola River Basin" (Fall 2017), commitee member.
Christopher Thrasher: "Surviving Spanish Conquest: Yucatec Maya Social and Cultural Persistence" (Summer 2017), committee member.
Stewart Hood: “Espionage and United Fruit: An Analysis of the SS. San Pablo Using Video Frame Photogrammetry and Multi-Phase Scanning” (Spring 2017), committee member.
Mercedes Harrold: "Cannon to Crossbows: An Archaeological Glimpse at Sixteenth-Century Spanish Naval Weapons" (Fall 2016), committee member.
Charles Bendig: "Studying the 'Hearts' of Ships: Sixteenth-Century Mainmast Steps and Bilge Pump Assemblies Through an Annales Nautical Archaeological Perspective" (Summer 2016), committee member.
Michelle Pigott: "The Apalachee after San Luís: Discussing Cultural Hybridization through Ceramic Practice" (Summer 2015), committee chair.
Sarah Bennett: "Cultural Crossroads and Other Complexities: Examining Creolization at Nuestra Señora del Rosario de la Punta, St. Augustine, Florida" (Spring 2015), committee chair.
Jennifer McNiven: "The Question of Anomalies in Slave Archaeology: Evidence from an Antebellum Industrial Site" (Fall 2014, committee chair.
Kelsey McGuire: "They are Rich Only By The Sea: An Examination of Calusa Agency in Processes of 16th and Early-17th Century Spanish Shipwreck Salvage" (Fall 2014), committee chair.
Christina Ebenal: "Applying Anthropology to Fantasy: A Structural Analysis of 'The Lord of the Rings" (Fall 2014), committee member.
Katherine Brewer: "Engendered Death: A Comprehensive Analysis of Identity in the Mission System of 17th Century Spanish Florida" (Fall 2014), committee chair.
Tonya Chandler: "An Archaeological and Historical Study of Fort Hampton, Limestone County, Alabama (1809-1816)" (Summer 2014), committee chair.
Danielle Dadiego: "Spanish Frontiers: A Study of Social and Economic Exchange Networks Present in 18th Century Spanish Missions" (Spring 2014), committee chair.
Lauren Walls: "You Know the Place: Identifying a Special Use Site in a Region of Enduring Biotic Richness" (Spring 2014), committee member.
Matthew Gifford: "Everything is Ballast: An Examination of Ballast Related Practices and Ballast Stones from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks" (2014), committee member.
Sarah Linden: "Materials of Conquest: A Study Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry in the Metallurgical Analysis of Two Sixteenth-Century Spanish Expeditions" (Fall 2013), committee chair.
Marisa Foster: "Paradox on the Blackwater: The History of an Unknown Shipwreck" (Fall 2013), committee member.
Erica Gifford: "Organic and Inorganic Chemical Characterization of Artifacts from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks" (Fall 2013), committee member.
Joseph Grinnan: "Molino Mills Maritime Cultural Landscape of a Reconstruction Era Steam Powered Sawmill in Molino, Florida" (Summer 2013), committee chair.
Sarah Patterson: "Using Cemetery Data to Reconstruct Immigration Patterns: St. Michael’s Cemetery, Pensacola, FL" (Spring 2013), committee chair.
Stephanie Poole: "The Lady of the Lake and Historic Tourism in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire" (Spring 2013), committee chair.
Scott Sorset: "A Comparison of Ceramics from the Padre Island and Emanuel Point Shipwrecks" (Fall 2012), committee member.
Rachel DeVan Perrine: "Bourbon Field: Preliminary Investigations of a Barrier Island Plantation Site, Sapelo Island, Georgia" (Fall 2012), committee chair.
Nicole Bonomo Lipson: "An Investigation into the Identity and Location of the 1882 Yellow Fever Epidemic Victims in Pensacola, Florida" (Summer 2012), committee member.
Andrew Marr: "A Comprehensive Investigation of Lead Sheathing from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay" (Summer 2012), committee member.
Morgan Wampler: "Social Identity of the Crew aboard the Nuestra Señora del Rosario y Santiago Apóstol" (Summer 2012), committee chair.
Tiffany Goldhamer: "A River in Name Only: Assessing Submerged Historic Resources in Kentucky Lake" (Spring 2012), committee chair.
Patrick Johnson; "Apalachee Agency on the Gulf Coast Frontier" (Spring 2012), committee chair.
Matt Napolitano; "The Role of Back-barrier Islands in the Native American Economies of St. Catherines Island, Georgia" (Spring 2012), committee chair.
Jacob Daniel Shidner; "A Macro- and Microscopic Zooarchaeological Examination of Living Conditions aboard the Emanuel Point Wrecks" (Summer 2011), committee member.
Linda Suzanne Borgen; "Prelude to Rebellion: Diego de Rebolledo vs. Lúcas Menéndez in Mid-17th Century Spanish Florida" (Spring 2011), committee chair.
Jennifer Ann Melcher; "More Than Just Copies: Colono Ware as a Reflection of Multiethnic Interaction on the 18th-Century Spanish Frontier of West Florida" (Fall 2010), committee chair.
Siska Marie Williams: "Tracing the Trade: A Proposed Archaeological Model for Panton, Leslie, and Company Trade Site Types in Second Spanish Florida" (Summer 2010), committee member.
Colleen Reese Lawrence: "An Analysis of Plant Remains from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks" (Summer 2010), committee member.
Willet A. Boyer, III; Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville: "The Acuera of the Ocklawaha River Valley: Keepers of Time in the Land of the Waters" (2010), committee co-chair.
Amanda Dawn Roberts: "Secret Exchange: Alternative Economies of Presidios Santa María de Galve and Isla de Santa Rosa" (Summer 2009), committee chair.
James Daniel Collis: "Empire’s Reach: A Structural and Historical Analysis of the Emanuel Point Shipwreck" (Summer 2008), committee member.
Willet A. Boyer, III: Master of Arts, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville: "Nuestra Señora del Rosario de la Punta: Lifeways Of An Eighteenth-Century Colonial Spanish Refugee Mission Community, St. Augustine, Florida" (2005), committee member.
Stephen C. Hahn; Doctor of Philosophy, Department of History, Emory University, Atlanta; "The Invention of the Creek Nation: A Political History of the Creek Indians in the South’s Imperial Era, 1540-1763" (2000), committee member.
Dea Mozingo; Master of Heritage Preservation, Georgia State University, Atlanta; "The Bridge: Correlating Resource Utilization and Social Complexity at an Upland Site in The Oconee River Valley" (1998), committee member.