MSU archaeology expert named 2024 William Winter Scholar
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣or his outstanding commitment to research and teaching in the humanities, Mississippi 大象APP鈥檚 Shawn P. Lambert, an assistant professor of archaeology, is representing the university as the 2024 William Winter Scholar at the 35th Annual Natchez Trace Literary and Cinema Conference this week [Feb. 22-24] in Natchez.
Selected by MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, Lambert is among scholars who are exploring life and death experiences in a series of presentations鈥攊ncluding religious traditions, burial rituals, cemetery history, mourning practices and historic holidays鈥攖hrough this year鈥檚 theme, 鈥淩ites, Rituals, and Religion in the Deep South.鈥
More information about the NLCC is available at .
鈥淚 want to thank everyone who nominated me for this wonderful honor. This award showcases the greatest appreciation for the humanities and a testament to the importance of community-engaged work, as we all work together to better understand our past and present for our future,鈥 said Lambert, who is a fellow with MSU鈥檚 Cobb Institute of Archaeology. 鈥淥ur community-engaged research and fieldwork at the Brush Arbor Cemetery would not have been successful without the dedication of our community partners, students and faculty research team, which has included Drs. Jesse Goliath, Anna Osterholtz, and Jordan Lynton-Cox. We are absolutely grateful for this award and so excited for the next phase of our research.鈥
Lambert received his Ph.D. in 2017 and master鈥檚 degree in 2013, both in anthropology, from the University of Oklahoma. He earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Alabama in 2011.
His primary research focuses on the early Mississippian period (ca. A.D. 800鈥1200). Lambert specializes in remote sensing and the analysis of ceramics, including design style, trace elemental analysis, and iconography to seek detailed histories of development, transformation, ritual integration, and movement of communities and interaction networks.
He has participated in recent projects in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana that focus on the role of ceramics in building and sustaining interregional community interactions. He was the recipient of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in 2020 in support of research aimed at preventing sexual harassment during undergraduate field-based courses.
For more details about MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, visit or .
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