Erik Porth
I am interested in the ways in which power and authority are institutionalized and maintained in the prehistoric societies of the Southeast. I am also interested in: the cycling and reorganization of complex societies in relation to environmental changes, conflict and contact with other cultures; planned places; architecture; and ceramic production. I am in the first year of the Ph.D. program at UA working with Dr. John Blitz.
I graduated from Middle Tennessee State Univeristy in the May of 2009 with my BS, where I worked at Castalian Springs, conducted primary analysis on a female scalping victim, and learned how to macerate animals to build a zooarchaeological comparative collection. This invaluable experience provided me with a solid base to move forward with a career in archaeology. In August of 2011, I earned my MA from the University of Alabama. My thesis focused on the limited, but continued occupation of Moundville past depopulation as evidenced by continued mound construction on Mound P. I have worked in middle Tennessee, southern Mississippi and west-central Alabama.
During the spring of 2012, Dr. Blitz and I are analyzing a sample of dart and arrow points to quantitatively determine the time of adoption for bow and arrow technology in the South. This enormous collection came from former cotton broker Col. Leigh Morgan Pearsall in the first quarter of the 20th Century.
Outside of my academic pursuits, I try to find time to watch Predators and Penguins hockey, observe birds and nature, throw darts, catch up on aviation history and technology, and discover new, creative outlets through painting, drawing, photography and wood working.
Contact Mr. Porth at: esporth@crimson.ua.edu