Lee Ann Newsom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lee Ann Newsom | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anthropologist |
| Institutions | Pennsylvania State University |
Lee Ann Newsom is an accomplished archaeologist, paleoethnobotanist, and wood anatomist who has retired after serving many years as an associate professor of anthropology at the Pennsylvania State University at University Park, and also as a professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. She has written numerous books and articles. She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002.[1]
Newsom received all of her degrees in anthropology, all from the University of Florida.[2]
Career
Newsom's investigations into ancient plant remains, have uncovered new methods for identifying and cataloguing early plant and wood species, as well as an important database of information for future research. Her work expands the range of prehistoric Caribbean archaeology; it is valuable to environmentalists, historians, and others outside the field of archaeology.[3] In 2002,[4] in honor of her groundbreaking research, in ancient plant remains, Newsom received a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship, which provides a $500,000 stipend.[5] She stated in Archaeology "I'd like to use part of the money for comparative DNA analysis of botanical remains in the U.S. and Mexico."[5] While in the Daily Collegian it was stated that "Newsom said she will invest some of the money into laboratories and new microscopes for her students. She also said the money will help her to start new projects that she could not previously get funding for."[6] In 2018[better source needed], Newsom's work had identified the earliest corn yet found in the Caribbean (dating to between AD1200- and AD 1300).[7] Newsom has also made many contributions to maritime archaeology, primarily through the analysis and identification of the wood species of timbers from a wide variety of historic shipwrecks, lending insight into historical timber sourcing, milling, and ship construction.[8]
