John (Mac) Marston
C.Phil. Archaeology 2007 University of California, Los Angeles;
M.A. Archaeology 2006 University of California, Los Angeles;
A.B. Archaeology, Classics, Biology 2001 Washington University, St. Louis
Fax: 310-206-4723
E-mail:
marston@ucla.edu
Subfield
Archaeology
Research Interests
paleoethnobotany, behavioral ecology, plant ecology, archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean, environmental and paleoenvironmental studies, conservation biology
Notes
My research focuses on understanding how people interact with landscapes, past and present, and how they make decisions about land use in the context of specific biological and social environments. I analyze archaeological remains in the context of historical and ethnographic records, ecological data, and behavioral theory to better understand the role of environment in human decision-making processes.
My dissertation uses the case study of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygian state of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), to understand the changing relationships between people and their botanic environment from roughly 800 BCE to the Medieval Period. I study both modern vegetation and archaeological wood and seeds recovered from excavations at Gordion between 1993 and 2002. The Gordion Project is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology where I work closely with Naomi Miller, Research Project Manager in the Near East Section of the Museum.
I work with the UCLA/RUG Fayum Project in Egypt, where my research aims to reconstruct woodland structure and wood use in the Neolithic and Roman Fayum. Through comparison of specific archaeological contexts at the Roman city of Karanis, I attempt to identify economic and ecological explanations for differences in wood use between areas of the Roman settlement.
I am also involved in the ongoing analysis and publication of botanical and faunal remains from UCLA/Albanian Institute of Archaeology excavations at the Iron Age tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania, as well as study of the ancient environment and diet of the individuals buried there.
Publications
Marston, John M.
2010 Reconstructing the Functional Use of Wood at Phrygian Gordion through Charcoal Analysis. In The Archaeology of Phrygian Gordion, edited by C. Brian Rose. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
2009 Modeling Wood Acquisition Strategies from Archaeological Charcoal Remains. Journal of Archaeological Science 36:2192-2200. [link]
2007 Language of Ritual Cursing in the Binding of Prometheus. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 47:121-133. [link]
2001 The Grass is Always Greener in the Boma. Expedition 43(3):5-6. [link]
Damiata, Brian, John K. Papadopoulos, Maria Grazia Amore, Sarah P. Morris, Lorenc Bejko, and John M. Marston.
2009 The Absolute Chronology of Albanian Archaeology: Radiocarbon Dates from Apollonia and Lofkënd. Iliria (in press).
Grants and Awards
UCLA Graduate Division Dissertation Year Fellowship 2009-2010
National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant 2008
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2003-2008
UCLA Graduate Division Portable Supplement Fellowship 2007-2008
UCLA Graduate Division Research Grants 2007, 2008
UCLA Graduate Division Conference Travel Grant 2007
Cotsen Institute Research Grants 2007
UCLA Friends of Archaeology Travel Fellowships 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Steinmetz Family Foundation Travel Fellowships 2004, 2007
Advisors
John K. Papadopoulos (Chair, Classics)
Jeff Brantingham (Anthropology)
Elizabeth Carter (Near Eastern Languages and Cultures)
Naomi F. Miller (University of Pennsylvania)
Conference Presentations
Marston, John M.
2007 Reconstructing the Functions of Wood in Domestic and Industrial Space through Charcoal Analysis. Paper presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin.
2007 An Ethnoarchaeological Model for the Acquisition of Wood Resources at Gordion, Turkey. Paper presented at the 30th Annual Conference of the Society of Ethnobiology, Berkeley.
2007 The Human Behavioral Ecology of Wood Acquisition and Deposition at Gordion. Paper presented at the Archaeology of Phrygian Gordion Symposium, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia.
Edit This Page