A native of Arkansas, Jennifer Thompson holds a B.A. in History from Lyon College and an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas. While at UA, she focused on the application of Human Behavioral Ecology to the archaeological record. She received an M.A. in 2000 after completing her thesis on the ethno-archaeology of hunter-gatherers in Australia. While at UA, she also served as a computer graphics artist generating three dimensional re-creations of mound sites in Arkansas for educational software developed through the Arkansas Archeological Survey and NEH. After receiving her M.A., Ms. Thompson worked at the University of Alabama where she served as project archaeologist and architectural historian until joining CAR in 2004. At CAR, her primary role is a Project Archeologist, though she also serves occasionally as a Principal Investigator and a Technical Editor. Her interests still lie with hunter-gatherers, and she is currently involved in research on Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric period hunter-gatherers in Central and South Texas.

EDUCATION

MA Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, August 2000
Thesis: “Shellfish Gathering Strategies and Explanations of Shell Midden Variability in the Meriam Islands, Australia.”

BA History, Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas, May 1996

University of Arkansas/Yarmouk University, Yaseilah, Jordan
           Bio-Archaeological Field School, May-July 1998

 Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Cahokia Mounds, Illinois
           Archaeological Field School, May-July 1995

 University of Arkansas, Parkin Archaeological State Park, Arkansas
           Archaeological Field School, June-July 1994

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

Research Scientist Associate IV, Center for Archaeological Research, San Antonio, TX.
August 2004-present

Cultural Resources Specialist, Office of Archaeological Research, Moundville, AL.
December 2001-July 2004

Adjunct Professor, Shelton State Community College, Tuscaloosa, AL
September 2002-December 2002

Cultural Resources Analyst, Office of Archaeological Research, Moundville, AL.
October 2000-December 2001

Field Archaeologist, University of Alabama.
June 2000

Computer Graphics Specialist, Arkansas Archeological Survey, Fayetteville, AR.
August 1998-May 2000

Marine Shell Analyst, Meriam Islands Archaeological Project, Townsville, Australia.
May 1999-May 2000

Field Archaeologist, Lone Mountain Archaeological Service, Inc., Albuquerque, NM.
August-October 1996

PUBLICATIONS

Thompson, Jennifer L
2004   Review of Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands. Southeastern Archaeology. 23(2):232-233

Bird, D., R. Bliege Bird, and J. Richardson
2003    Meriam ethnoarchaeology: shellfishing and shellmiddens. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Cultural Heritage Series 3(1): 183-197. Brisbane.

Bird, D., J. Richardson, P. Veth and A. Barham
2002   Explaining Shellfishing in Middens on the Meriam Islands, Torres Strait, Australia. Journal of Archaeological Science 29(5):457-469.

Lankford, G., J. Richardson, and S. Hembrey
1999   From Maryland to Arkansas- the Hynson Brothers. Independence County Chronicle 39(1-2).

PRESENTATIONS

R. Mauldin, J. Thompson, C. Munoz and L. Kemp
2009   Hunter-Gatherer Resource Intensification and Changing Patterns of Fire-Cracked Rock Features in Central and South-Central Texas. Poster presented at the 74th Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.

R. Mauldin, Cynthia Munoz, and Jennifer Thompson
           Assessing Hearth Reuse Frequency through patterning in Burned Rock Size. Paper presented at the 79th Texas Archeological Society Annual Meeting, Lubbock Texas (October 24-26, 2008).

J. Thompson and R. Mauldin
2008   Resource Intensification and Changing Patterns of Thermal Feature Use throughout the Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric Periods in Central and South Texas. Paper presented at the 79th Texas Archeological Society Annual Meeting, Lubbock Texas (October 24-26, 2008).

R. Mauldin, J. Thompson, and L. Kemp
2006   Bison, Bowls, and Bunnies. Paper presented at the 71st Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.

Jennifer L. Richardson
2002   Archaeological Investigations of the Lost Creek Site (1Wa 186).Paper presented atSoutheastern Archaeological Conference, Biloxi, MS.

D. Bird and J. Richardson
2000   Explaining Shellfishing in the Archaeology of the Meriam Islands. Paper presented at the 65th  Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.