Justin Nels Carlson

Education:
Ph.D., University of Kentucky 2019
M.A. in Anthropology, University of Kentucky 2015
BS in Anthropology & BA in History, Minor in Archaeology, College of Charleston 2011
Biography:

I am an archaeologist interested in human-environmental interactions throughout the Holocene. My dissertation research is focused on fire histories and the role of Native American populations in creating anthropogenic environments such as the Big Barrens grasslands in the Sinkhole Plain in south-central Kentucky. To do this, I utilize geoarchaeological and soil geomorphological methods such as magnetic susceptibility, loss-on-ignition, and soil micromorphology, and consider these data in conjunction with the archaeological and environmental record. I utilize a number of anthropological and economic theoretical approaches to model how hunter-gatherers may have organized such activities and how ecological knowledge and approaches to the environment changed over time.

Research

anthropogenic environments, geoarchaeology, soil geomorphology, fire histories, climate change, soil micromorphology, historical ecology, Archaic period, hunter-gatherers

Selected Publications:

https://30daysofkentuckyarchaeology.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/what-can-w…

 

2018 (fall)

  • Justin N. Carlson, Middle to Late Holocene (7200-3000 cal. BP) Site Formation Processes at Crumps Sink and the Origins of Anthropogenic Environments by Fire in Central Kentucky, paper presented at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Augusta, Georgia.

2017 (fall)

  • Justin N. Carlson and George M. Crothers, Middle to Late Holocene (7000-3000 cal. BP) Archaeological Site Formation Processes at Crumps Sink and Changing Land Use Patterns in the Central Kentucky Karst, USA, paper presented at the Frontiers for Archaeological Sciences Conference, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

2017 (spring)

  • Greg J. Maggard, Justin N. Carlson, Daniel Sea, and Gary E. Stinchcomb, Middle Archaic Lifeways and the Holocene Climatic Optimum in the Falls Region, paper presented at The Falls of the Ohio River Native American Archaeological Symposium, Kentucky Heritage Council Conference, Louisville, Kentucky.

2016 (spring)

  • Justin N. Carlson, Archaeological Investigations of Deeply Stratified Deposits at Crumps Sink, South-Central Kentucky, USA, paper presented at Society for American Archaeology Conference, Orlando, Florida for symposium “Student Contributions in Geoarchaeology” sponsored by the Geoarchaeology Interest Group.
  • Justin N. Carlson, Archaeological Investigations of Deeply Stratified Deposits at Crumps Sink, South-Central Kentucky, paper presented at Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeology Conference, Pine Mountain, Kentucky.

2015 (spring)

  • Justin N. Carlson and George M. Crothers, Anthropogenic Fire Management and Changing Land-Use Strategies in the Mammoth Cave Plateau and Sinkhole Plain, Central Kentucky, USA, paper presented at Society for American Archaeology Conference, San Francisco, California for symposium “Archaeology and Geoarchaeology of Rockshelters and Caves” sponsored by the Frison Institute and the Geoarchaeology Interest Group.
  • George M. Crothers, Justin N. Carlson, David Gárate, and Matthew Litteral, Electromagnetic Induction Survey at Matacanela to Detect Off-Mound Structures and Landscape Features, paper presented at Society for American Archaeology Conference, San Francisco, California.
  • David Pollack, A. Gwynn Henderson, and Justin N. Carlson, Fox Farm: The 2014 Field Season, paper presented at Kentucky Heritage Council Conference, Cadiz, Kentucky

2014 (fall)

  • Justin N. Carlson, Caching, Mobility, and Hunter-Gatherer Social Dynamics in the Middle to Late Archaic Green River Valley, Kentucky, paper presented at Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Greenville, South Carolina.

2013 (fall)

  • Justin N. Carlson and George M. Crothers, Macroscopic Analysis of Late Archaic Ground Stone Pestles from Carlston Annis (15Bt5), Kentucky, presented at the Midwest Archaeological Conference, Columbus, Ohio.
  • Edward R. Henry, David Pollack, and Justin N. Carlson, Winchester Farm Earthwork and the Woodland-period Mount Horeb Site Complex, presented at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Tampa, Florida.