Bethany A. Morrison, Ph.D., R.P.A.

Dr. Morrison has been teaching at WCSU since 2002. She teaches a variety of courses in cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, and archaeology.  She is the faculty advisor to both the WCSU chapter of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots and the Anthropology Club.  She is a Trustee of the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, CT.  She is a member of the WCSU Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies and promotes service learning in her classes.  Along with Drs. Laurie Weinstein and Cosimo Sgarlata, she teaches West Conn’s biannual field school in archaeology, currently held at Redding’s Middle Encampment, a Revolutionary War winter encampment site not far from campus.

Dr. Morrison has conducted archaeological investigations in Arizona, Belize, southern Mexico, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  Her research interests include human ecology, community structure, settlement pattern analysis, emergence of complex societies, ancient agriculture, New England archaeology, Latin American archaeology, cultural resource management, scientific method in archaeology, and teaching methods.

Dr. Morrison is a member of :
The Society for American Archaeology
The Registry of Professional Archaeologists
The American Anthropological Association
The Institute for American Indian Studies
The New Faculty Majority

Click Here for Dr. Morrison’s curriculum vitae

Education:
Ph.D., Anthropology.  University of California, Riverside. September, 2000.
Dissertation: Ancient Maya Settlement of the Yalahau Region: An Example from the El Eden Wetland.  Committee: Scott L. Fedick, Karl Taube, R.E. Taylor
Masters of Science, Archaeology. University of California, Riverside. September, 2000.
Thesis: The Energetics of Hinterland Architecture: Examples from the Belize River Archaeological Settlement Survey.  Committee: Scott L. Fedick, Karl Taube, R.E. Taylor, Anabel Ford
Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology.  University of California, Santa Barbara. June 1991.

Recent publications:
2012                Special Forum: Innovations in Archaeological Field Schools. Guest Editor: Bethany Morrison.  SAA Archaeological Record January: 23-40.

2012                “More than Digging Square Holes: The New Role of Archaeological Field Schools.” SAA Archaeological Record  January: 23-24.
2010                “Revolutionary History Meets Modern Technology in Redding, CT,” by Bethany A. Morrison, Cosimo Sgarlata and Laurie Weinstein.  Connecticut Geo-Focus, 3(2):1,3.
2006                Lifeways in the Northern Maya Lowlands: New Approaches to Archaeology in the Yucatán Peninsula, edited by Jennifer P. Mathews and Bethany A. Morrison.  University of Arizona.

Courses Taught:
Standard:
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Writing Intensive)
Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Introduction to Archaeology
Field School in Archaeology
Archaeological Laboratory Methods
Archaeological Method and Theory
Special Offerings:
Temples, Pyramids, and Tombs: Origins of the State
Cultural Ecology
Latin American Archaeology
Roots & Shoots