PhD Student Archaeological Anthropology
Research Interests
Circumpolar Archaeology, Paleoethnobotany, Coastal Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, Russian Colonial Archaeology, Indigenous Foodways, Environmental Archaeology.
About
Isabel Beach’s research interests center around her home of coastal Southcentral Alaska and the numerous ways the botanical landscape has been shaped by its human inhabitants and, in return, how this landscape has shaped these peoples. Her inquiries regard anthropogenic plant introductions, from the Dena’ina Athabascan migration from interior landscapes to the coast, and from the Russian Colonial period. For her doctoral research, she plans on using a community-based archaeological approach, while employing landscape archaeology and paleoethnobotanical methods to investigate questions relating to gardening outside Dena’ina seasonal dwellings and the impacts of Russian Colonization on the gathering practices of Dena’ina women. She is interested in new species introductions and how the seasonal availability of various plants influenced decisions about population mobility.