Graduate Student Profile: Kevin Gibbons

Kevin Gibbons is an environmental archaeologist and a doctoral student in the Department. He’s interested in the dynamics between cultural adaptations and the management of changing landscapes. This drives his research as a zooarchaeologist: an archaeologist who studies animal remains to investigate both our reliance on these animals as well as their ability to be an archive of information on past environmental change. These data can provide insight into the powerful connection between cultural-biological communities and natural capital. Livestock animals such as sheep and cattle can themselves be viewed as ‘manufactured’ artifacts: their bodies a product of both natural processes and human management strategies.

Kevin’s dissertation research is focused on understanding patterns of livestock management strategies and landscape change across the North Atlantic with an emphasis on the connection between livestock grazing and land surface change in Iceland from its Viking Age settlement to the arrival of industrialization. You can learn more about his current research here, http://www.ksgibbons.net.

In addition to his dissertation research, Kevin’s ongoing projects (a) trace the emerging research potential of coupling aDNA with faunal biometrical data; (b) construct an integrated environmental history of the Potomac River Gorge region as a model for the US National Park Service; and (c) identify the areas in which Historical Ecology research can be applied towards facilitating a more sustainable and socially- and environmentally-just world.

Archaeology has taken Kevin across North America and Europe. During his time as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, he was trained in prehistoric archaeology and colonial-period zooarchaeology. He’s measured remains of game animals such as deer at medieval castle and manor sites in England to understand how elite individuals enacted and maintained high-status lifestyles while earning a master’s degree at the University of Sheffield in delightful South Yorkshire. Before beginning the doctoral program at the University of Maryland, Kevin’s previous work at the Georgia Museum of Natural History and a cultural resource management firm in Virginia allowed him to gain experience working in complex post-colonial contexts along the U.S. Gulf Coast and the Mid-Atlantic region.

When not engaged in research, Kevin can be spotted trekking around Washington, D.C. with his wife, young son, and two dogs. 

Published on Mon, 11/21/2016 - 16:07