Department of Anthropology

Faculty ProfileRecording a crypt burial at the base of an ahu (statue platform), Northwest Coast, Rapa Nui

John Vede Dudgeon, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Recording a crypt burial at the base of an ahu (statue platform), Northwest Coast, Rapa Nui

Background

B.A., University of Colorado (1990); M.A., University of Washington (1998); Ph.D., University of Hawai'i (2008).

I have conducted archaeological field work, bioarchaeological and archaeological chemistry and related bioanthropological research in Washington State, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, western Russia, Armenia, Fiji, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). After a four-year appointment as the research manager at the Institute for Integrated Research in Materials, Environment and Society (IIRMES) at California State University, Long Beach, I joined the faculty at Idaho State University in 2008. In addition to my teaching and research responsibilities at ISU, I am also an Associate Curator of Anthropology for the Wasden Site archaeological collection at the Idaho Museum of Natural History and Research Curator for the Pleistocene faunal and archaeological collections from the Wasden Site, SE Idaho.

I have current affiliations with the Center for Archaeology, Materials and Applied Spectroscopy (CAMAS), the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Elemental and Isotopic Analysis (ILEIA), the Interdisciplinary Environmental Science and Management Program and the Photon Activation Analysis in Archaeology Laboratory (PA^3L) at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC). I also serve as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Evolutionary and Historical Sciences.

Research Interests

My research is focused on lineage formation and community structure, as told through biological anthropology, bioarchaeology and demographic history. My primary research area is on Pacific Islands, due to the unusual historical trajectories written on them by isolation and insularity; however, with my colleagues at ISU and abroad, I am beginning new research projects in Armenia and western Russia studying community structure and bioarchaeological occupational signatures in Middle Bronze Age fortified pastoralist settlements. Within an explicitly evolutionary theoretical approach, I use trace element geochemistry, residue analysis and molecular genetics to understand human migration and community relatedness as a function of geography, social organization and population genetics.

In addition to chemical analyses of bone, I also use Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP-MS) to perform minimally-destructive chemical fingerprinting of archaeological glass, ceramic and metal artifacts that bear on the larger questions of prehistoric social organization and resource exploitation. In this capacity, I serve as a research scientist in the Center for Archaeology, Materials and Applied Spectroscopy (CAMAS) at Idaho State University, facilitating archaeological contract analysis and student training in archaeometric analytical techniques.

Ongoing Research

I am conducting archaeological chemistry and ancient DNA research using skeletal remains from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). My field and laboratory work is focused on the explanation of demographic change through this small and remote island's prehistory. This work involves undergraduate and graduate students, both on the island and at ISU and I am currently planning an archaeological research and museum curation field school (in collaboration with the P. Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum) on Rapa Nui, probably in the summer of 2011 or 2012.

Selected Publications and Conference Presentations (**Denotes student author)

(In Press) Lipo, C.P., **V. Harper, J. V. Dudgeon and R. C. Dunnell. Beveled Bifaces and ballistics technology. American Antiquity.

(Submitted) **Abdullah, M., **Kent, E., **Chan, T., Dudgeon, J., Mason, A. Manganese, Lead, and Mercury in Deciduous Teeth of Children with Autism and Children with Disruptive Behaviors. Submitted to Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

(In prep.) Dudgeon, J. V., H. Hogue, H. Neff. Chemical traces of blackish staining on pauper’s grave remains from Mississippi. For submission to Journal of Archaeological Science.

(In prep.) **Commendador, A., B. Finney and J. V. Dudgeon. Isotopic Analyses of Small Mammals from the Wasden Site, Idaho as Indicators of Climate Change on the eastern Snake River Plain. For presentation at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 30—April 3, 2011

(In prep.) **Tromp, M. and J. V. Dudgeon. SEM-EDS is an effective tool for population-level analysis of microfossils extracted from prehistoric human dental calculus. For presentation at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 30—April 3, 2011

(In prep.) Dudgeon, J. V. and **M. Tromp. Plant microfossils from human teeth demonstrate the persistence of the Jubean wine palm (Jubea chilensis) into the protohistoric period on Rapa Nui. For submission to International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

(In prep.) **Meredith, C., **M. Tromp, D. Peterson, J. Dudgeon, K. Meliksetian and A. Gevorkyan. New Standards in the Analysis of Archaeological Metalwork using LA-ICP-MS: A Case Study from the South Caucasus Archaeometallurgy Project. For presentation at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 30—April 3, 2011

(In prep.) **Rauh, R., J. Dudgeon, D. Peterson, **C. Meredith, **N. Holmer, **M. Tromp, B. Hanks. Comparison of Methodological Approaches for Determining Modes of Trace Metal Uptake in Archaeological Skeletal Remains. For presentation at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 30—April 3, 2011

(2010) Dudgeon, J. V. and **M. Tromp. Trace elements, residues and DNA microsatellite data in archaeological mobility studies: Evaluating demographic barriers to panmixia in Rapa Nui (Easter Island). For presentation at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, November 17-21, 2010.

(2009) Dudgeon, J. V. and **M. Tromp. Evidence for time, space and subsistence strategy recovered from dental chemistry and dental residues in Rapa Nui. Paper presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology, Honolulu, October 23-25, 2009.

(2008) Dudgeon, J. V. The Genetic Architecture of the Late Prehistoric and Proto Historic Rapa Nui (Easter Islanders). Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa.

(2008) Book Review: Janaab Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. Tiesler, V., A. Cucina (eds.). Latin American Antiquity (1):19.

(2008) Compositional Zonation of the Arico Ignimbrite, Tenerife, Spain: Implications for Depositional Processes. Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December 15-19, 2008. (with M. McCurry)

(2008) The Application of Laser Ablation ICP-MS as a Method to Identify Historic Burial Dental Stains. Paper presented at the at the 75th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, March 26-30, 2008

(2008) Phylogenetic analysis of prehistoric population structure: New insights from old genomic DNA. Poster presented at the at the 75th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, March 26-30, 2008

(2008) Heavy Metal Concentrations in the “Baby Teeth” of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Poster presented at the 2008 International Meeting for Autism Research, London, England. (with M. M. Abdullah, A. R. Ly, W. A. Goldberg, A. Clarke-Stewart, T. Chan, E. Kent, C. Mull, K. Osann, M. A. Spence, J. E. Ericson)

(2007) Dudgeon, J. V., W. Balsanek, H. Neff, A. Saint. Exploring the Analytical Utility of LA-ICP-TOFMS for the Provenancing of Archaeological Materials. Special session publication, Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS).

(2007) Dudgeon, J. V., H. Neff, A. Saint, W. Balsanek. Evaluating the precision requirements for isotope ratio determination of archaeological materials using LA-TOF-ICP-MS: Increasing Ratio Precision. In M. D. Glascock, R. J. Speakman and R. S. Popelka-Filcoff, (eds), Archaeological Chemistry: Analytical Techniques and Archaeological Interpretation. Oxford University Press.

(2007) Cucina, A., J. Dudgeon, H. Neff. Methodological strategy for the analysis of human dental enamel by LA-ICP-MS. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(11):1884-1888.

(2007) Hale, L.F., J.V. Dudgeon, A.Z. Mason and C. Lowe. Elemental signatures in the vertebral cartilage of the round stingray, Urobatis halleri, from Seal Beach, California. Environmental Biology of Fishes, Special Edition: Age and growth of chondrichthyan fishes: new methods, techniques, and analyses.

(2006) Phylogeography of archaeological populations: A case study from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). In C. P. Lipo, M. J. O’Brien, M. Collard and S. J. Shennan (eds), Mapping Our Ancestors: Phylogenetic Approaches in Anthropology and Prehistory, pp. 131-148. New York: Aldine.

Technical Reports and Special Publications

(In prep.) Evaluating the Potential of U-Th Equilibrium Measurement using LA-ICP-MS-Estimated Dose Rate in Fossilized Teeth for Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Dating. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon and H. Neff.

(2010) Report on lead and other heavy metals recovered by sampling swabs associated with historical rifle range activities, Reed Gymnasium, Idaho State University. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon, September, 2010.

(2010) LA‐ICP‐MS Analysis of fish vertebrae recovered from archaeological excavations along the Columbia River. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon, September, 2010.

(2010) Report to the Nampa, Idaho Municipal Police Department: Identification of forensic glass residues recovered from burglary suspect, Case Number XX-XXXX. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon, May, 2010.

(2009) Deciphering the Occupational and Diagenetic Metal Uptake in Bronze-Age Human Skeletal Remains from the Kamennyi Ambar V cemetery in western Siberia. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon and D. L. Peterson, September, 2009.

(2006) LA-ICP-MS Analysis of Ceramics and Ceramic Raw Materials from the Gila River Indian Community, Arizona. Prepared by H. Neff and J. V. Dudgeon, August 10, 2006.

(2006) ICP-MS Analysis of Bioavailable and Toxic Metals of the Feathers and Blood of the Costa Rican Sandpiper (Calidris mauri). Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon and C. Mull, August 4, 2006.

(2006) Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis and Elemental Mapping of Chablekal Fine Gray Ware Ceramics. Prepared by J. V. Dudgeon, July 20, 2006.

(2006) Micro-Chemical Elemental Analysis Core Facility: Progress Report. Poster presented at the 18th Annual CSUPERB Conference, San Jose, California. (with A. Z. Mason)

 

Courses Taught

ANTH 4499/5599 - Advanced Analytical Methods

ANTH 4499/5599 ‐ Introduction to Laser Ablation ICP-MS for Archaeologists and Earth Scientists

ANTH 4430/5430 - Topics in Human Evolution (revolving topics)

ANTH 6615 - Seminar In Biological Anthropological Theory

ANTH 2237 - Prehistory of Southeast Asia and the Pacific

ANTH 2233 - Sex, Culture and Human Evolution

ANTH 2203 - Introduction to Archaeology

Funding History

(2010) NSF Archaeology/Geography Research Grant: Archaeology and Geography of Prehistoric Social Networks on the Armenian Plateau (Pending Submission—$278,000; Co-PI with D. L. Peterson, S. Hinman)

(2010) Wenner-Gren International Collaborative Research Grant: Bioarchaeology and Bone Chemistry Analysis of Middle Bronze Age (c. 2200-1800 B.C.) Skeletons from Samara, Russia (Pending Submission—$30,000; Co-PI with D. L. Peterson, K. H. Meliksetian and A. Bobokhyan)

(2010) NSF Archaeometry Grant: Technique Development, Standardization and Interlaboratory Calibration for Instrumental Analysis of Mineralized Tissues using Integrated LA-ICP-MS and SEM-EDS (Pending Request—$156,000; Co-PI with B. Hanks, L. Dussubieux, M. Golitko and D. L. Peterson)

(2010) Faculty Enhancement Grant: Building capacity and expanding research activity in anthropological genetics (Pending Request—$5,000)

(2010) Faculty Research Council Grant: Nanoscale tools for Anthropology: Scratch testing (profilometry) equipment for surface analysis (Pending Request—$4,200)

(2010) NSF Archaeology Research Grant: Collaborative Proposal: Investigating the Subsistence Transition in Post-Lapita Fiji (2500-1500 years BP) (Pending Request—$237,174; Co-PI with J. S. Field, C. Roos)

(2010) NSF MRI Grant: MRI: Acquisition of a Wavelength-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence System at Idaho State University (Pending Request—$259,125; Co-PI with M. McCurry, D. Peterson, J. Pak, B. Finney)

(2009) NSF Archaeometry Grant: Technique Development for Integrated LA-ICP-MS Investigations of Ancient Metal Industries and Their Biological Effects on Producers (Not Funded—Resubmission of unfunded 2008 proposal—$179,983; Co-PI with D. L. Peterson)

(2009) NSF-REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates), Physics: Supervisory role for undergraduate advisee for research and training in inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and x-ray fluorescence technology for bio-archaeological science ($4500.00; with M. Tromp, advisee)

(2009) Bureau of Land Management/National Landscape Conservation System Grant: Chemical Characterization of Obsidian Outcrops in Southern Idaho (Not Funded—$17,151; Co-PI with R. Holmer)

(2009) NSF- State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Grant (Stimulus Proposal): Acquisition of Mission Critical Capital Instrumentation to Support Research and Teaching Laser Ablation Elemental Analysis in the ILEIA Facility, ISU (Not Funded—$108,432.58)

(2009) NSF MRI Grant: Acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR at Idaho State University (Not Funded—$872,800; Senior Scientist)

(2008) Faculty Research Council Grant: Archaeogenetic Analysis of Prehistoric Easter Islanders: Replication Study in Advance of Publication ($4,979.29)

(2008) NSF MRI Grant: Proposal to Purchase a ESEM with CL, STEM, and EDX, at Idaho State University ($372,230; Co-PI with H. Maschner, J. J. Pak, M. McCurry, R. G. Rodriguez)

(2008) NSF Archaeometry Grant: Archaeometallurgy on the Asian Steppes (Not Funded—$179,983; Co-PI with David Peterson)

(2007) NSF MRI Grant: Acquisition of Mass Spectrometers and Related Equipment to Create the ISU Interdisciplinary Lab for Elemental and Isotopic Analysis (ILEIA) ($587,410; Senior Scientist)

(2007) NSF MRI Grant: Instrumentation Development to create equipment and analysis protocols for the first US Photon Activation Laboratory for Archaeological and Ecological Analysis (PALE) (Not Funded; Senior Scientist)

(2006) NSF Archaeometry Grant: Solid-Sample Inorganic Analysis Facilities for Archaeological Research at IIRMES, CSULB ($154,256; Co-PI with H. Neff, C. P. Lipo)

(1998-2001) Research Corporation, University of Hawai‘i (RCUH) Dissertation Fellowship ($68,000)

Student Opportunities

Currently, I have volunteer opportunities for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students, both in my archaeological chemistry lab at CAMAS and in my bioarchaeology lab in Graveley Hall. My current project load includes:

Generally speaking, my philosophy is to offer several students each semester opportunities to work in my lab, on an unpaid, internship basis, to determine both the student's aptitude and possible fit for future research opportunities on my projects. I will generally try to find ways to fund the top students who work in my lab(s) in subsequent semesters. This funding may be in the form of ISU-based research grants and fellowships, NSF or other national funding agencies, and paid research assistantships. I currently mentor three graduate and four undergraduate students on various projects that I feel will lead to successful Masters and undergraduate Honors Theses.

Since I value the time and work of the successful student researcher in my lab, students will be offered the opportunity for coauthorship on the research product that we create, contingent on your performance and contribution to the project. Please come and see me for details of my current projects and how you can become a part of the research effort!

 

Department of Anthropology • College of Arts and Letters • Idaho State University
921 S. 8th Avenue, Stop 8005, Pocatello, ID  83209-8005
Tel: (208) 282-2629 • Fax: (208) 282-4944 • Email: clovrebe@isu.edu

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