​Chloé Monet Miller

Archaeological Field Work

Transylvania, Romania

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Another important aspect of my dedication to cultural sustainability is illustrated through my participation in a communal archaeology project during the summer of 2014 in Transylvania, Romania. This project involved collecting information about medieval churches and cemeteries once forgotten by the Székely, a long-existing Hungarian ethnic minority, due to historical and contemporary socioeconomic and political forces. My appreciation for this project inspired me to apply for a Fulbright Research Grant to support it through complementary research addressing cultural sustainability, continue to work on the project in the summer of 2015, and incorporate my experiences into my senior thesis that explores how Christianity affected the ways medieval populations treated their dead within the Carpathian Basin—a river basin located in central Europe that is enclosed by the Carpathian Mountains. The Székely exemplify cultural sustainability as they have been recollecting their lost culture and history from these churches and cemeteries to engage the younger generations through educational programs, cultural and historical reenactments, and museum exhibitions. The determination and mission of this community is why I will continue to return to the project for hopefully many years to mitigate cultural losses by reconstructing the lives of the people who were recovered.

Altiplano, Bolivia

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One of the most influential Dickinson experiences for me has been the Center for Sustainability Education-sponsored work I have done with Dr. Maria Bruno in Bolivia and the Dickinson Environmental Archaeology Lab in 2013-2014, analyzing agricultural practices of highland farmers through observations and interpreting burnt plant remains from ancient sites. Many of the archaeology courses that I have taken explore human-environment based relationships, yet nothing was more enlightening than observing these interactions firsthand. While in Bolivia, I saw how past human interactions with the environment have evolved into the agricultural practices of contemporary highland farmers. I also witnessed how Bolivian politics, social inequalities, and the high global demand for quinoa is negatively impacting these farming groups. Many of these highland-farming communities live in remote locations with limited access to external resources, yet they are required to participate in a global market, which has impacted the economic and physical well-being of these communities. My experiences working with Dr. Bruno heavily influenced my approach to sustainability as I observed human-environment interactions of today and several thousand years into the past.

Grave Creek Mound Complex, WV

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In June 2013, I served as a volunteer for a week at Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, WV. While there, I assisted the curators by helping clean, identify, label, and catalogue artifacts, which were mostly ceramic shards from prehistoric Native Americans. In addition, I processed archaeological reports, photos, and field notes into the facility’s database. I spent countless hours identifying Archaic through Late Woodland period pottery shards, which adavanced my skills of North American ceramic analysis. Overall, I provided approximately 72 hours of service.