Curriculum Vitae
Linda Perry
Contact Information:
linda.at.the.farm (at) gmail.com
Education:
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois. May 2001.
Ph.D. in Anthropology.
Dissertation Title: Prehispanic subsistence in the Middle Orinoco basin: Starch analyses yield new evidence.
Major Advisors: Izumi Shimada, Jonathan D. Hill.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. April 1994.
M.S. in Botany.
Thesis title: The response of Sabal palmetto seedlings to salinity and inundation.
Major Advisor: Kimberlyn Williams.
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. December 1990.
B.S. in Biology.
Research Interests
General approach: Use of archaeobotanical data to gain anthropological insight into the behavior, organization, and development of past societies. Specific research foci: pre-contact migration and trade of plant products within the Neotropics, the relationship between social complexity, artificial earthen constructions and plant food production, the origins of root crop agriculture in lowland South America, environmental reconstruction of conditions connected with root crop domestication, starch residue analyses of lithic and ceramic artifacts, general macro- and microfossil recovery and analysis, wood identification and analysis.
Grants and Awards:
2010. With Sheryl Luzzader Beach. Grant. National Science Foundation. EAGER: Linking archaeological starch residues with ancient behaviors. $82,348. Subaward to Linda Perry at the FARM, $70,800.
2008. Fulbright Senior Specialist Award, The Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Brazil. Plant microfossil analysis as applicable to Brazilian archaeological sites. Stipend and trip expenses.
2006. Postdoctoral Fellowship. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Archaeobiology Laboratory, Washington, D.C. Stipend and $2000 for supplies.
2006. With Luis E. Molina. Grant. National Geographic Society. Prehispanic chiefdoms and intensive agriculture in northwest Venezuela. $18,925.
1997, 1999. Doctoral Fellowship. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Stipend and tuition waiver.
1998. Grant. National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. Prehispanic Subsistence in the Middle Orinoco Valley. $11,900.
1992. Grant. Katharine Ordway Stewardship Endowment, The Nature Conservancy. $2300.
Publications:
I/P. Perry, L. Archaeobotany of early agriculture: Microbotanical Analysis. In Encyclopedia of
Global Archaeology, C. Smith (ed.), Springer Science+Business Media, New York. Chapter 2165.
Perry, L. Capsicums/Chiles, Origins and Development of. In Encyclopedia of
Global Archaeology, C. Smith (ed.), Springer Science+Business Media, New York. Chapter 2172.
2012. Perry, L. Ethnobotany. In Peppers: Botany, Production, and Uses, V. Russo, ed., pp. 1-
13. CABI, Cambridge.
Yang, X., Z. Wan, L. Perry, H. Lu, Q. Wang, C. Zhao, J. Li, F. Xie, J. Yu, T. Cui, T.
Wang, M. Li, and Q. Ge. Early millet use in northern China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109: 3726-3730.
Yang, X., J. Zhang, L. Perry, Z. Ma, Z. Wan, M. Li, X. Diao, and H. Lu. From the modern to the archaeological: starch grains from millets and their wild relatives in China. Journal of Archaeological Science 39: 247-254.
2011. Perry, L. and J. M. Quigg. Starch Remains and Stone Boiling in the Texas Panhandle Part 1: The Pipeline Site. Plains Anthropologist 56: 95-107.
Perry, L. and J. M. Quigg. Starch Remains and Stone Boiling in the Texas Panhandle Part II: Identifying Wildrye (Elymus spp.). Plains Anthropologist 56: 109-119.
Cervantes, G., Wagner, U. and L. Perry.Variabilidad de las vasijas en miniatura de Huaca Loro: Un estudio multidisciplinario. In II Congreso Latinoamericano de Arqueometría. L. Vetter, R. Vega-Centeno, G. Olivera and S. Petrick eds., pp. 237-251. Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima.
2009. Vinton S.D., Perry L., Reinhard K.J., Santoro C.M., and Teixeira-Santos I. Impact of Empire Expansion on Household Diet: The Inka in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert. PLoS ONE 4(11): e8069. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008069.
2007. Perry, L. R. Dickau, S. Zarrillo, I. Holst, D. Pearsall, D. Piperno, M. Berman, R. Cooke, K. Rademaker, A. Ranere, J. Raymond, D. Sandweiss, F. Scaramelli, K. Tarble, and J. Zeidler. Starch fossils and the domestication and dispersal of chili peppers (Capsicum spp. L.) in the Americas. Science 315: 986-988. With accompanying Perspective, Knapp, S. Some Like it Hot. Science 315: 946-947.
Perry, L. and K. Flannery. Precolumbian Use of Chili Peppers in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (29): 11905-11909.
Perry, L. Starch grains, preservation biases, and plant histories. In Rethinking Agriculture: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives. T. Denham , L. Vrydaghs and J. Iriarté (Eds.). One World Archaeology, Left Coast Press.
2006. Perry, L., D. Sandweiss, D. Piperno, K. Rademaker, M. Malpass, A. Umire, and P. de la Vera. Early Maize Agriculture and Interzonal Interaction in Southern Peru. Nature 440: 76-79. Featured author, “Making the Paper.”
2005. Perry, L. Reassessing the Traditional Interpretation of “Manioc” Artifacts in the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela. Latin American Antiquity 16(4): 409-426.
Perry, L. Review: Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana, Volume 8, Poaceae - Rubiaceae. Steyermark, J., P. Berry, K. Yatskievych, B. Holst (eds.). Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. 2004. Economic Botany 59(4): 406-407.
2004. Perry, L. Starch analyses reveal the relationship between tool type and function: an example from the Orinoco valley of Venezuela. Journal of Archaeological Science 31(8): 1069-1081.
2002. Perry, L. Starch Granule Size and the Domestication of Manioc (Manihot esculenta) and Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas). Economic Botany 56(4): 335-349.
Perry, L. Starch analyses indicate multiple functions of quartz "manioc" grater flakes from the Orinoco basin, Venezuela. Interciencia 27(11): 635-639.
1996. Perry, L. and K. Williams. Effects of salinity and flooding on seedlings of cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto). Oecologia 105: 428-434.
Teaching Positions held:
February 2008. Instructor, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Brazil. Workshop, “Starch Grain Analysis of Archaeological Tools.”
Fall 2007. Assistant Professorial Lecturer in Anthropology, George Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Anthropology 119.80 and 219.80, Laboratory Research Methods, “Paleoethnobotany.”
Fall 2007. Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland University College, School of Undergraduate Studies, Natural Sciences 362, “Environmental Change and Sustainability.”
2004-2007. Instructor in microfossil extractions and analyses for visiting students and scholars in the Archaeobiology Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Spring 2004. Instructor, Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Anthropology 205, “Physical Anthropology.”
Summer 2003, 2004. Project Archaeobotanist and Instructor, Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, Corpus Christi, Texas. Anthropological Field School, San Patricio, Texas.
Fall 1999. Volunteer Graduate Teaching Assistant for K. Renzaglia, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, Department of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 404, “Plant Anatomy.”
June 1999. Instructor, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela, Escuela de Antropología. Taller de Análisis Macrobotánico en Arqueología.
Spring 1999. Instructor of Record, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, Department of Anthropology. Anthropology 104, “The Human Experience.”
Fall 1996 - Spring 1997, Fall 1998. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, Department of Anthropology. Anthropology 104, "The Human Experience.”
Spring 1996 - Spring 1997, Fall 2000. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, Department of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 117, "Plants and Society.”
Fall 1992 - Fall 1993. Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Biological Sciences. Biological Sciences 2000, "Integrated Principles of Biology: Part One.”
Spring 1992. Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Department of Botany. Botany 5655C, "Physiological Plant Ecology.”
Teaching Certifications:
Web Tycho online teaching certified, University of Maryland University College, August 2007.
Using multimedia to enhance web-based teaching, certificate awarded, University of Maryland University College, December 2007.
Research Positions Held:
June 2010 – Present. Executive Director and Chairman of the Board, The Foundation for Archaeobotanical Research in Microfossils. Fairfax, VA.
December 2010 – Present. Affiliate Faculty, Geography and Geoinformation Science / Center for Observing and Space Research, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
May 2010 – May 2011. Researcher, Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program (STIA), Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
June 2007 – May 2010. Research Collaborator, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Archaeobiology Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
June 2006 – May 2007. Postdoctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Archaeobiology Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
November 2004 – May 2006. Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Archaeobiology Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
Fall 1994 - Fall 1995. Research Assistant to Lee Newsom, Curator, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Summer 1992. Research Assistant to Kimberlyn Williams, Assistant Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Public Outreach:
2007. Sponsor scientist, Future Female Scientists project for high school girls, Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC.
2004. Anthropological Field School, San Patricio, Texas. Public forum. “Archaeobotanical evidence for plant use at site MD-1.”
2004. Archaeologist, “Ask the Expert” interactive internet program, Mr. Midden’s science class, Unity Point School, Carbondale, Illinois.
2003. Anthropological Field School, San Patricio Texas. Public forum. “Plant use by the
Karankawa in the Coastal Bend of Texas.”
2003. Workshop leader, preparation of an interpretive nature walk, Unity Point School, Carbondale, Illinois. Sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
1997 – 1999. Workshop leader, Expanding Your Horizons Science Symposium for 7th - 9th Grade Girls, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
1998. Workshop leader, Gateways to Science Workshop for High School Girls. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
1995 – 1998. Judge, Regional Science Fair, Illinois Junior Academy of Science, Carbondale, Illinois.
Fieldwork, Collections, and Curation Experience:
June 2005 – May 2006. Archaeobiology Laboratory Coordinator, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Inventory, cataloging, database management, and repackaging of archaeobotanical collections.
Summer 2003, 2004. Anthropological Field School, San Patricio Texas, Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Participation as project archaeobotanist and instructor of students in methods of site survey, mapping, excavation, collection, identification, inventory, cataloging, database management, processing, and curation of modern botanical specimens, archaeobotanical macroremains, archaeological ceramic, lithic and bone remains, interpretation of data sets and report preparation.
1995 – 2001. Dissertation studies, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Collection, identification, inventory, cataloging, database creation and management, processing, and curation of herbarium specimens, botanical microremains, botanical macroremains, ceramic and lithic collections. Development of methods for the successful curation of archaeological starch residues.
Summer 1995. Archaeological Field School, Dillow’s Ridge Site, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
Site survey, mapping, excavation and collection, identification, inventory, cataloging, database management, processing, and curation of archaeological ceramic and lithic remains.
Other Professional Activities:
Member, Scientific Committee, Revista de Estudios Orinoquenses.
Outside reader, Ph.D. Dissertation, Michael Haslam. An Archaeology of the Instant. Department of Archaeology, University of Queensland, Australia.
Outside reader, Ph.D. Dissertation, Ruth Dickau. 2005. Resource Use, Crop Dispersals, and the Transition to Agriculture in Prehistoric Panama: Evidence from Starch Grains and Macroremains. Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia.
Invited Papers Presented:
2011. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. “New directions in archaeobotany.”
2008. Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Brazil and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil. “Microfossil analysis and Amazonian archaeology.”
2008. Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Brazil and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil. “Manioc agriculture in lowland South America: reassessing the paradigm.”
2008. Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. “Integrating microfossil analysis into Egyptian archaeology. An example from Hierakonpolis.”
2008. The Pre Columbian Society of Washington D.C. “Chili peppers in the archaeological record: the impact of microfossils on our understanding.”
2007. Columbus Day banquet of the Modern Italian Network, Baltimore, MD. “New World plants in Italian cuisine.”
2007. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Fryxell Symposium, Austin, TX. “Manioc agriculture in lowland South America: reassessing the paradigm.”
2007. Colloque international, Histoire des fruits, pratiques des savoirs et saviors en pratiques, Toulouse, France. “The origins, domestications, and dispersals of native American fruits.”
2006. The Sixth International Solanaceae Conference, Madison, WI. “Capsicum in the Americas: exploitation, domestication, and dispersal.”
2006. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Fryxell Symposium, San Juan, PR. “Early maize agriculture and interzonal interaction in southern Peru.”
2005. Chacmool 2005: Tools of the Trade, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “The Extraction of Soil-borne Starch Residues from Highly Organic Soils: An Example from Peru.”
2000. Meetings of the Ancient Starch Research Group, Sydney, Australia. "Starch Residue Analysis and Stone Tool Function: an Example From the Orinoco Basin."
Papers Presented and Sessions Chaired:
2009. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Atlanta. Gabriela Cervantes, Ursel Wagner and Linda Perry. “Variability and Significance of Miniature Vessels from Huaca Loro: A Multi-Disciplinary Examination.”
2009. The Sixth International Workshop of African Archaeobotany (IWAA6), University of Helwan, Helwan, Egypt. Ahmed G. Fahmy, Linda Perry and Renee Friedman. “Archaeobotany of food production at Predynastic Hierakonpolis. “
2008. The Third International Colloquium on Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, “Egypt at its Origins”, London. Ahmed G. Fahmy, Linda Perry and Renee Friedman. “Archaeobotany of food production at Predynastic Hierakonpolis.”
2008. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, Canada. “Plant remains from Quebrada Jaguay.”
2004. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Montreal, Canada. Discussant,
Forum: Perspectives on the origins of agriculture through starch grain analysis.
2003. Meetings of the Texas Archeological Society, Ft. Worth. “Assessing plant food
consumption in a hunting camp: An example from site MD-1, San Patricio, TX.”
2003. Meetings of the World Archaeological Congress, Washington, D.C. “Re-examining
Subsistence in Lowland South America.”
2002. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Denver, Colorado. “Manioc Flour
and Trade. A View from the Middle Orinoco.”
2001. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. Chair,
Forum, Great Gains from Starch Grains: The Analysis and Interpretation of Ancient Starch
Granules.
2001. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. "Manioc in
the Andes and Amazonia, Past and Present."
2000. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Subsistence in the Middle Orinoco: Considering Multiple Lines of Evidence".
1999. Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela. "Evidencia Microbotánica para
la Utilización de Plantas en el Orinoco Medio".
1999. Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Chicago, Illinois. "Uncovering
Prehistoric Subsistence Patterns in the Middle Orinoco Basin".