Dr. Carolyn Freiwald is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Mississippi. She is a bioarchaeologist who specializes in reconstructing ancient migration and diet in Mesoamerica. Isotope geochemistry, osteology, and excavation data are puzzle pieces that we try to put together to understand life in the past.
Research Interests
Dr. Freiwald's research interests include bioarchaeology, isotope geochemistry, and zooarchaeology. Biogeochemistry provides a unique way to reconstruct ancient migration patterns and understand the lives of ancient migrants. Strontium and oxygen isotopes values in the tooth enamel of people who lived in Belize 1300 years ago show that population movement was common, and that migrants included men, women, and children living in urban and rural communities.
The UM archaeology lab collaborates with the Forensic Chemistry program to study migration and diet from Central Mexico to Honduras. Dr. Freiwald's specialty is to create detailed maps of isotope values region by region, and site by site, so that we can better understand migration networks among the ancient Maya and neighboring populations. She also looks at more specific questions: Did the Maya practice of notching, filing, and placing precious stones like jade in their teeth relate to migration? Did migrants receive different burial treatment than people born in the community? Dr. Freiwald works with teams of researchers to examine funerary practices in ancestor shrines in and around houses in the Belize Valley, as well as interments in caves and rock shelters in the region, to better understand burial treatment and how it related to origin and an individual’s identity.
Student Projects
Dr. Freiwald advises students seeking Master’s and undergraduate degrees, including human osteology, zooarchaeology, and archaeological chemistry. She has projects in the US, Guatemala, and Belize and am happy to talk with prospective students about their ideas and interests. Current student research topics include isotopic migration to Ambergis Caye, Belize, bone tool production at Ucanal, Guatemala, ‘dirt’ eating in Zambia and the US South, and diet and mobility at Chicoloapan, Central Mexico.
Biography
Dr. Carolyn Freiwald earned her Ph.D. and M.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Anthropology, entering graduate school after studying History and International Relations in the great Badger State.
Historic architecture – old buildings and ruins – have always fascinated her, so the allure of 19th century buildings eventually turned her curiosity about the past into a job where she gets to solve mysteries about ancient people every day. Dr. Freiwald studies ancient Latin American civilizations and has ongoing research projects in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, as well as working on archaeology projects in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Romania, Denmark, and the Upper Midwest and Mississippi.
Courses Taught
- Anth 101 Intro to Anthropology
- Anth 304 Biological Anthropology
- Anth 320 Archaeozoology: Animal Use in History
- Anth 326 Archaeology of Maya Civilization
- Anth 344 Archaeological Science: Stones to Drones
- Anth 351 Human Mobility: Studies in Migration
- Anth 405 Bone Detectives I: Human Osteology
- Anth 604 Professional Development I
- Anth 605 Professional Development II
- Anth 607 Seminar in Biocultural AAnthropology
- Anth 630 Advanced Human Osteology
- Chem 351 Chemistry Individual Research
Education
B.A. History, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989)
M.S. Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004)
Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011)
Recognitions
- Excellence in History Award - Behind the Big House, Mississippi Historical Society, 2014, 2015, 2024
- Mike L. Edmonds New Scholar Award, UM College of Liberal Arts, 2019
- Preserver of Mississippi Culture Award, Behind the Big House, Mississippi Humanities Council, 2015
- Award of Merit Behind the Big House, Behind the Big House, Mississippi Historical Society, 2015
- Heritage Award for Preservation Education, Behind the Big House, Mississippi Heritage Trust, 2014
- Teaching Fellow, UW-Madison College of Letters and Sciences, 2009-2010
- Miller Prize in Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
- Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships, US Department of Education - Foreign Language and Area Studies Program , 2003-2005