I'm Liz Davoli, a HISTARCH lurker.  A few folks may remember me for the patent medicine research I used to present at SHA.

My BA degrees are in History and Anthropology (Mississippi State) and my MA is in Anthropology (LSU).  Back in high school, a friend and I volunteered to screen artifacts for Charles Orser's field school at Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge.  That one day experience piqued my interest in archaeology.

I've worked both the contractor and the governmental sides of the CRM fence.  The majority of my government employment was with Louisiana's Department of Transportation where I was surrounded by engineers.  Nice people but they love to create straight lines between Points A and B when possible.  It was there I learned to balance preserving archaeological sites and historic structures to the extent possible while delivering transportation projects (roads and bridges) to the taxpayers.    

Three years ago, I joined a new organization--the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (now we're known as the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority).  There's a whole new set of challenges here due to the Mississippi River delta and daily erosion processes.   The majority of my work here is environmental compliance (National Environmental Policy Act).  We recently completed the 5-year update for the Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, which includes preserving and protecting Louisiana's cultural heritage.

Finally, I'm the President of the South Central Historical Archaeology Conference (SCHAC).  We're a small organization with probably 30 core members.  We don't have firm boundaries but core members are from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.  Depending on where we meet, we sometimes draw attendees from Texas or Georgia.  It's a great organization for finding out what's going on in our little corner of the historical archaeology world.

Liz Davoli
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