Autumn BeyerHello! My name is Autumn Beyer and I am very excited to be back at Michigan State. I received my B.S. from MSU in Anthropology with a Specialization in Museum Studies in 2013. Then I moved south and attended Illinois State University in Normal, IL for my M.S. in Archaeology. At ISU I focused on zooarchaeology, a subfield of archaeology studying animal remains. My thesis was on the Kuhne site, a Middle Woodland habitation in Central Illinois located along the Illinois River. I defended my thesis this past March, and then spent my summer working as the graduate teaching assistant on a Research Experience for Undergraduates program hosted by the Center for American Archeology in Kampsville, IL.

Now that I am back at MSU for my Ph.D. I will be continuing to study zooarchaeology. My plan is to work on the faunal remains recovered from the Morton Village site excavations run through MSU and the Dickson Mounds Museum.

As a CHI fellow, I am looking forward to integrating digital platforms into my research. I would like to use this opportunity to increase the visibility of current archaeological and zooarchaeological research, as well make it more attainable for the public.