Lab Members
Dr. John Blong
I am an environmental archeologist. My research examines the interaction between hunter-gatherers and the environment in precontact North America, with a focus on the settlement of the Americas and human use of marginal ecosystems. My broad research goal is to investigate initial human adaptation to the varied ecological landscapes across North America, and human response to subsequent environmental change. I am committed to engagement with descendant communities with ties to the landscapes I study and building collaborative research with benefits to both academic and descendant communities. Research in the Environmental Archaeology Research Laboratory covers many regions in the Western Hemisphere, but most of our research is focused in the Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, and subarctic Alaska regions of North America. I welcome undergraduate and graduate students with shared interests to join the Environmental Archaeology Research Laboratory!
Haden Kingrey
PhD Student
I am a PhD student working with Dr. John Blong. Before attending WSU, I received my bachelor’s degree in anthropology and history from the University of Oregon in 2019, and I received my master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2022. For my dissertation, I will be expanding on my thesis research which utilized protein residue and starch grain analyses of ground stone tools to recognize Paleolithic diets and foraging behaviors in the Great Basin. My CRM experience has included working for the Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Oregon and for SWCA Environmental Consultants in Nevada.
Sonya Sobel
MA Student
I am a Master’s student in archaeology working with Dr. John Blong. I am interested in using microbotanical methods to study diet, communal food preparation activities, social structure, social transmission of food preference, and how changing environments impact diet, meal specification, and belief systems, specifically looking at the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene in the Northwest and Northern Great Basin. I am also more broadly interested in the intersection between microbotanical methods and geoarchaeology to look at site formation processes.
Jordan Thompson
PhD Student
I am a PhD student working with Dr. Rachel Horowitz and Dr. John Blong. I received a Bachelor of Science in anthropology with a minor in geology at Portland State University in 2016 and a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Idaho in 2022. My archaeological experience includes working with the National Park Service, The US Forest Service, several CRM firms throughout the western US, and the Nez Perce Tribe. I am a National Science Foundation Research Trainee in the Rivers, Watersheds, and Communities program, which is a collaborative interdisciplinary team of students and community partners committed to developing community led solutions to the growing water crisis in the Columbia River Basin. My dissertation research will use geoarchaeological approaches, lithic analysis, and geochemical sourcing of raw stone material to explore changing landscape and resource use by the Nez Perce (Nimíipuu) in the context of social and ecodynamics over time in the liminal territory of the Bitterroot Mountains, between the Southern Columbia Plateau and the Plains region.
Sam Neunzig
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student working with Dr. John Blong. My interests in archaeology are in combining botanical, lithic, and osteological analyses to study projectile technologies. Within the EARL lab I have had the opportunity to focus on charcoal analysis, 3-D coprolite image generation, analysis, and sampling to continue developing skills for future archeological work. I have also had the opportunity to excavate at the Kelly Forks Work Center through the EARL lab to develop my excavation skills. Following the completion of my undergraduate degree I am hoping to continue my studies in the WSU Anthropology graduate school
Elaine Henson
Undergraduate Student
My name is Elaine Henson, I’m an undergraduate student at Washington State University majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Biology. I am interested in a career in Paleoethnobotany and have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful people in the lab here at WSU. I have been looking at starch grains, specifically Corylus cornuta, (hazlenut) starch, and categorizing them based on the characteristics they exhibit. Making microscope slides and collecting data about various plant starches has been a lot of fun so far, and I am excited to see where our research takes us!