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Curriculum Vitae

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Scott J. Demel, Ph.D. Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae

Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology & Anthropology Northern Michigan University
Office: JXJ 2410, (906) 227-2843; sdemel@nmu.edu, Archaeology Lab: JXJ 2313
https://nmu.edu/sociologyandanthropology/faculty-and-staff#accordion_collapse_270

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EDUCATION:

2000 Ph.D., University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Dissertation title: “Understanding Remnant Archaic Settlement along the Western Coast of Lake Michigan.”

1991 MA in Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago
1991 Archaeology Field School, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
1984 B.S. in Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

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ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
2009 – present: Professor of Anthropology & Director of NMU Archaeology Lab at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan.    Department of Sociology & Anthropology. Anthropology and Archaeology courses: AN101 Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, AN265 Archaeology of the Ancient Americas; AN295 Special Topics: Ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations, AN295 Special Topics: Cultural Resource Management, AN315 - Myth, Mystery, and Fraud in Anthropology; AN355 Seminar in Archaeological Field Methods; AN375 - Archaeology Lab Methods; AN 390 - Museum Studies; AN420 - Experimental Archaeology, AN430 - Historical Archaeology; AN440 - History of Anthropology;  AN450 - Forensic Anthropology; AN495 - Special Topics: Prehistoric Archaeology (varied others); AN498 Directed Studies: McNair Scholar Research, Senior Capstone Projects, Lithic Analysis, Artifact Illustration, Pottery Analysis (varied others).

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Academic and Community Service: Academic Senate (Fall 2004 – 2020), Department Executive Committee (Fall 2009-Winter 2013, 2014-2021), Chair (Fall 2010-2012, 2017, 2020, 2021); Center for Native American Studies Faculty Advisory Committee (CNAS-FAC) (Winter 2011-Winter 2015); Devos Art Museum Advisory Committee (May 2011-Winter 2015); Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage Center Exhibit Advisory Board (Fall 2010-present); Advisor - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Project (2010); Michigan Backcountry Search & Rescue Advisory Group Member (2009-present); Consultant -- Marquette Police Department/Negaunee Police Department/FBI-Marquette and Detroit offices/Michigan State Police/Detroit FBI (2009-present).

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2010 – present: Director of NMU Summer Archaeology Field School & Principal Investigator. Beaver Island (AN355 – Seminar in Archaeological Field Methods): 2010 – Cable Bay fishing village, Burke/Egbert farmstead, Greene’s Bluff survey; 2011 – Cable Bay Site; 2012 – French Bay survey; 2014 – Mormon Print Shop/Isle de Castor Site; 2016 – Cable Bay fishing village; French Bay Site, MPS – Isle du Castor Site; 2018 – MPS-Isle du Castor Site, Theodore Protar Homestead; 2018 - MPS-Isle du Castor Site; 2019 - Salvage Archaeology for the Beaver Island Historical Society Museum Expansion Project; 2020 - Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve Phase I survey and Phase II testing.

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2017 – 2020: Deputy Director of FROST (Forensic Research Outdoor Station) at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan. Department of Sociology & Anthropology. Assists the Director of FROST when necessary in the field to place donors; duties include helping to maintain human osteological collection. Member of the FROST Advisory Committee.

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RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS & WORKS IN PROGRESS:
2020 Robert Legg, J.a, Joyce Neilsonc, and Scott J. Demelb. Novel use of Cathodoluminescence to Identify Differences in Source Rocks for Late PalaeoIndian Quartzite Tools in Archaeometry.

2019 Robert Legg and Scott Demel. Ground Penetrating Radar in the Northwestern Great Lakes: a Trial Survey of a Protohistoric Occupation in Marquette County, Michigan.

2018 Scott Demel et al. “Quartzite rock samples and their potential for stone tool making in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.” (with Robert Legg et al.). Poster session presented at the Society for American Geographers annual meeting, April 2018, New Orleans, Louisiana.

2018 Scott J. Demel. Summer 2018 Report of Archaeological Investigations – MPS-Isle du Castor Site, Theodore Protar Homestead Site (in progress). Northern Michigan University Archaeology Research Laboratory Reports of Field School Investigations No. 105.

2017 Scott J. Demel. Acculturation processes on “Island Time” – The Late Woodland to Protohistoric Transition and Early Historical Period on Beaver Island. Chapter submitted for publication in Illinois Archaeology (pending).

2016 Scott J. Demel and Rochelle Lurie. The Analysis of Structures at the New Lenox Site (11- Wi-213). Chapter submitted for publication in Illinois Archaeology (pending).

2016 Scott J. Demel. Summer 2016 Report of Archaeological Investigations – MPS Site, Cable Bay Site, and French Bay Site (in progress). Northern Michigan University Archaeology Research Laboratory Reports of Field School Investigations No. 104.

2015 Scott J. Demel. The Analysis of Cultural Features at the New Lenox Site (11-Wi-213).Chapter submitted for publication in Illinois Archaeology (pending); edited by Dr. Rochelle Lurie.

2014 Scott J. Demel. Summer 2014 Report of Archaeological Investigations – MPS Site (in progress). NMU Archaeology Research Laboratory Reports No. 103.

2013 Scott J. Demel. Cahokia Borrow Pit 5-1A in Illinois Archaeology, vol. 25: pp. 75-105. 2013 Scott J. Demel. Summer 2012 Report of Archaeological Investigations on Beaver Island

(in progress). NMU Archaeology Research Laboratory Reports No. 103.
2012 Scott J. Demel. Scattered to the Winds, the Vanishing Community of Cable’s Bay, Beaver

Island – Peer-reviewed exhibition at the NMU Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage

Center; MHC grant [$13,659]; AN495 - Museum Studies.
2009 Lurie, Rochelle, Doug Kullen, and Scott J. Demel. Defining the Archaic in Northern

Illinois – In Archaic Societies – Diversity and Complexity Across the Mid-continent; edited by Thomas E. Emerson, Dale L. McElrath, and Andrew C. Fortier (Albany: State University of New York Press).

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RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Principal Investigator/Archaeologist/Faculty Research Grant Administrator - Analysis of Cultural Food Procurement Strategies at a Late Woodland Coastal Encampment on BeaverIsland, Lake Michigan - the MPS-Isle du Castor Site: 20CX59 ($7,000 Faculty Grant award, Winter 2018). Consulting Archaeologist/Faculty Research Grant Administrator - Goose Lake Outlet #3 Site Investigations (John Anderton faculty research grant #5-54896). Participation in the analysis of archaeological materials; worked with Marla Buckmaster, Jim Paquette, Terry Martin, and Katie Parker to assess excavation results and artifact assemblage (2015-present).
Invited Professional Speaker – Using Archaeology to Peer into Beaver Island’s Past, Beaver Island Historical Society, Museum Week Festival (July 2017).
Symposium Participant: Midwest Archaeological Conference (MAC) Iowa City, IA, October 2016. MAC Sponsored Symposium: Encounters, Exchange, Entanglement – Current Perspectives on 17th- and 18th-Century Intercultural Interactions throughout the Western Great Lakes: Processes of Acculturation on “Island Time” – Improving Dating Accuracy during the Late Woodland to Protohistoric Transition on Remote Beaver Island.

Symposium Chair: Midwest Archaeological Conference (MAC), Milwaukee, WI, November 2015. Session: Late Prehistoric Period Research - The Goose Lake Outlet #3 Site (20MQ140), a Protohistoric Site in the Western Great Lakes Region.
Symposium Participant: Society for American Archaeology (SAA), San Francisco, CA, April 2015. Session: Historic Great Lakes Archaeology: Current Research and Perspectives - The Goose Lake Outlet#3 Site (20MQ140), a Protohistoric Site in the Western Great Lakes Region.

Presenter: Conference on Michigan Archaeology (COMA), Lansing, MI, April 2014. MPS – Isle du Castor Site – A Multi-Component Site on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan.

Symposium Participant: Midwest Archaeological Conference (MAC) Columbus, OH, October 2013. Session: Late Prehistoric Period Studies – Ohio Valley and Michigan: MPS – Isle du Castor Site – A Seasonal Late Woodland Camp on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan.
Symposium Participant: Society for American Archaeology (SAA), Memphis, TN, April 2012. Session: Historic Archaeology of Eastern North America - Fishermen and Farmers: An Archaeological Look at Life on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan during the mid-19th century.

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RELEVANT AWARDS, PERMITS, & GRANTS

  • 2018 NMU Distinguished Team Award – FROST/Forensic Anthropology

  • 2017 NMU Faculty Research Grant ($7,000)

  • 2015 NMU Technology Award – Site Discovery and Drone Use on Beaver Island

  • 2009-2014 COPS research and equipment grants ($5,000)

  • 2012-present Michigan DNR – Scientific Collectors Permit

  • 2010-present State of Michigan, Office of the State Archaeologist/Department of

    Natural Resources & Environment (MSHDA). Archaeological exploration permits on State land, Beaver Island, MI. Permits (summer 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016)

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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: Society for American Archaeology (SAA) 1991-present, Conference on Michigan Archaeology (CMA) 2009-present, Midwest Archaeological Conference (MAC) 2001-present.

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RELEVANT MUSEUM POSITIONS:
Research Associate: The Field Museum Department of Anthropology, Fall 2009-2015.

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Head of Collections Management, Department of Anthropology, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois; October 2006-August 2009. Supervisor of twenty-five staff members and up to twenty interns and ten volunteers engaged in all aspects of collections management, conservation, and registration. Responsible for developing and administering collections-based grants, and consulting on exhibition development and content (e.g. Ancient Americas). Also responsible for developing Internet-based programs to increase educational and scholarly use of the Museum’s collection of over 1.5 million anthropological and archaeological objects. Responsible for coordinating scholarly research visits, access to collections, exhibition requests, donor and loan activity. Also involved in community outreach, including co-directing an archaeological field school for college students and K6-12 students (Pembroke Budding Archaeologist Field School), co-Curator of the Chinatown History and Archaeology: Faces of Change Exhibition at the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, and Curator of the Historical Archaeology exhibition:Trash to Treasure at The Field Museum; content specialist for Real Pirates exhibition (February 2009).

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Osteology Project Co-Director: Culturally Unidentifiable Remains - Human Osteology Project. As part of the Museum’s Osteology Project Team, I helped The Field Museum comply with the United States Department of the Interior’s NAGPRA law that requires all culturally unidentifiable remains (CUI) to be inventoried, minimum number of individuals (MNI) determined, and associated funerary objects compiled. The team was assisted by osteology professors and students from Loyola University, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Team also sorted through faunal remains from 55 archaeological sites that were excavated in the Southwest U.S. in the 1940's to recover human skeletal remains.

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Adjunct Curator-North American and Historical Archaeology & Collection Project Coordinator, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois; Academic Affairs & the Department of Anthropology. Spring 2001-2006. Project Manager and Supervisor for the preparation and move of collections from the Departments of Anthropology, Geology, and Zoology to the Collections Resource Center, a new underground storage and research facility. Responsible for securing funding and hiring prep and move team positions, overseeing daily activities of prep and move teams, responsible for storage space design and allocation, routing, mobile storage systems and cabinetry, collections security and climate control upgrades, move plan and budget of $7 million, prep and move schedules, staff liaison for numerous committees and boards, coordinator and consultant for various museum projects. Other activities include serving as the Principal Investigator for the salvage archaeology Museum construction projects (2001-present), salvage archaeology exhibit development, consultant on the Americas Exhibition Project; co-author of numerous grant proposals (NSF, IMLS, NEH), assisting in managing Illinois archaeological collections, staff liaison for visiting researchers interested in Midwest artifacts, serving as local expert on Chicago and Illinois prehistory and early history, involved in public interaction and teaching adult education classes, adjunct faculty at DePaul University in Chicago.

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