ASOR FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
ALLISON MICKEL
Photo by Scott Haddow.
What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?
My most memorable moment was probably my first day of excavation, kneeling on Neolithic plaster that I had only read about, struggling to identify the outline of something called a ‘ladder scar.’ Even though I’d been on archaeological projects before, I was being handed tools that I had never heard of and being asked to look for minute differences in color unlike anything I’d ever needed to do previously. It was the feeling of a challenge even within my comfort zone, of being around experts, and of the uncertainty and hope that I’d become one of them.
What advice would you give a fellow recipient?
Keep a journal! Not only does it give you an outlet for when times are hard and a means of working out your complex thoughts, but if you plan to go on in archaeology, it will always remind you where you started from.
Are you still affiliated with ASOR as a member?
The annual meeting overlaps with that of the American Anthropological Association, which has been more important for me to attend recently.
What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?
I am currently a PhD candidate in the anthropology department at Stanford University, conducting dissertation research at Catalhoyuk and at Petra. My research aims to recover the oral histories of archaeological excavation retained by the past workers and their families at these two sites.
How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?
The Platt Fellowship provided me with resources that would have been impossible for me to get any other way, since I had graduated from undergraduate but had not yet entered my doctoral program. I had no institutional support, and the Platt Fellowship allowed me to meet my graduate advisor, acquire an understanding of the site where I would later conduct my dissertation research, learn how to recognize Neolithic mudbrick, and build friendships that would lead to collaborations.
