Elysia Petras joined the Kenyon anthropology department in July 2024. She is a historical archaeologist and her current research on Anguilla and the Cayman Islands examines the trade of locally made Afro-Caribbean ware pottery during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Petras uses a mixture of archival sources, archaeological field work and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to examine the inter-island social networks underlying the trade of pottery made by enslaved and free Black people during the pre-emancipation period. She is especially interested in the role that Black sailors, market women and wharfmen played in liberatory social networks.
Petras was an NSF funded graduate intern in the archaeometry lab at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, and her research has been published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, the Society for Historical Archaeology newsletter, and conference proceedings.
Today, people increasingly live in highly industrialized and urban civilizations. But how long have humans had "civilization?" What is "civilization" and how can it be recognized? This course addresses these questions through looking at the basic elements of archaeology and its place in anthropology. Topics covered include the history of archaeology, fundamental aspects of fieldwork and analysis, and the prehistoric record from the first humans to the origins of civilization. This foundation course is required for upper-level work in archaeology courses. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.
In a world of rapidly changing technologies, consumers and their commodities are now central to economic growth in most parts of the world. Consumer spending remains resilient, accounting for the bulk of economic activity in the world’s largest economies. Where do the resources come from to sustain such growth, and for whom? What are the conditions that facilitated this current social, political and economic climate? This course is an anthropological approach to the study of consumption and the processes that entangle people and objects together on a global scale. Throughout the course, we examine how consumption practices shape the modern world by emphasizing their impact on individual behaviors, the environment, the economy and public policy. This class addresses a wide variety of processes involved in the creation, exchange and consumption of commodities in a global historical context. Special attention is paid to labor practices and social identities that are intricately tied to the way humans consume and the material objects they acquire. This course counts as an upper-level elective for the anthropology major. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 or 113. Offered every fall.
This course is an archaeological exploration of the major concepts, themes and research questions that are at the foundation of African diaspora studies. In this class, students engage with the very concept of "African diaspora" in conversation with the geopolitical and socioeconomic processes that shaped, and continue to influence the field. Through an engagement with archaeological and ethnographic case studies, we examine the everyday practices of peoples of African descent across numerous geographies, focusing on similarities and differences that emerge from our comparative approach. Students are introduced to a number of methodological and theoretical perspectives and examine topics such as slavery, emancipation, cultural production, gender, ethnicity, class and spirituality. This course appeals to students interested in archaeology, anthropology, history, African American studies and Caribbean studies. This counts toward the upper-level archaeology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 and permission of the instructor. Offered every spring.
In 1824, Bishop Philander Chase founded Kenyon College and, in 1826, constructed several buildings to house himself, the new students, and a physician named Dr. Sparrow. These early structures and the daily experiences of the people who built them were largely forgotten by successive generations as Kenyon and its built environment grew and changed. In this upper-level seminar, we use Kenyon's history as a case study for learning about different archaeological data-collection methods and laboratory analysis of material culture dating to the early years of the College. Archaeological methods include archival research, survey and mapping, vertical and horizontal excavation, scientific drawing and photography, and other precise data recording techniques. In addition to weekly reading responses, students learn how to make preliminary interpretations of artifacts, write a detailed archaeological site report, and convey their findings to multiple audiences. This course counts towards the upper-level archaeology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ANTH 112. Offered occasionally.
