Amy Oechsner
Urgeschichte und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie
Arbeitsgruppe Archäobotanik
Office: Room 706, Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie, Rümelinstraße 23.
Mail: amy.oechsner @gmail.com
Research Interests
- Archaeobotany
- African Middle Stone Age
- Carpology
Research Project Goals
I aim to use carpology to augment our understanding of the evolution of cultural modernity in South Africa as well as augment the infrastructure necessary for improved implementation of carpological analysis of material from the South African Middle Stone Age.
Specifically I am interested in determining if the composition of the carpological assemblage changed with time, if this change correlates with the cultural taxonomic units defined by the stone artifacts, what the plant remains can tell us about plant use at the site, and the composition of the paleoenvironment.
Education
Oct. 2015 – Oct. 2017
Masters of Science
Specialization: Archaeobotany
Thesis: An Archaeobotanical Study of the Lower Paleolithic Site of Schöningen 13II
Institute for Archaeological Sciences
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen
Advisors: PD Dr. Simone Riehl and Prof. Dr. Nicholas J. Conard
Examination Date: 20 October 2017
Nov. 2012 – Jan. 2013
Certificate of Completion
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Course
GIS Master’s Program
Louisiana Tech University Division of Continuing Education
Aug. 2006 – May 2010
Bachelor of Arts
Major: Archaeology
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA
Oct. 2008 – June 2009
Study Abroad
Department of Archaeology
Durham University, Durham, UK
June – July 2009
Archaeological Field School
Dickinson Excavation Project und Archaeological Survey of Mycenae, Greece
Awards and Research Assistantships
- First Runner-Up Poster Award (2013)
Awarded by the Archaeological Institute of America at the 114th Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and American Philological Association, Seattle, Washington - Dana Research Assistantship (Jan. – May 2010)
Department of Archaeology, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Publications
- Krämer, Frank, Daniel Langhauser, and Amy Oechsner, 2018. Weitere Kleinfunde in Festung Landau—Lunette 38, edited by Bettina Hünerfauth and Andrea Zeeb-Lanz. Archäologische Denkmäler in der Pfalz 4. Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz Direktion Landesarchäologie, Außenstelle Speyer.
Papers, Posters and Forums
- Oechsner, Amy, 2017. Let it Dry? Wet- vs. Dry-Processed Remains from Schöningen 13II-2 c3. Poster present at the Treffen der Arbeitsgruppe Archäobotanik der RTG, Gaienhofen-Hemmenhofen.
- Oechsner, Amy, 2013. Challenges and Strategies: Managing the Old Spanish National Historic Trail in California. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Oechsner, Amy, 2013. An Exploration of Remote Sensing as a Tool for the Detection and Intensive Analysis of Historical Trail Features as Applied to the Old Spanish Trail in the Silurian Valley, California. Poster presented at the 114th Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and American Philological Association, Seattle, Washington.
- Oechsner, Amy, 2012. Satellites and Trail Traces: Using Satellite Imagery to Locate and Identify the Old Spanish Trail in California. Paper presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for California Archaeology, San Diego, California.
- Brierty, Anne; Brierty, Steven; Cruz, Aaron; Hunter, Charlotte; Jow, Stephanie; Madrigal, Anthony; Madrigal, William; McGinnis, Patrick; Oechsner, Amy; Schneider, Joan S.; Shearer, Jim, 2012. Native American Monitor Training Forum conducted at the Society for California Archaeology. 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for California Archaeology, San Diego, California.
Workshop Organization and Attendance
- Organizer (Oct. 2011)
Cultural Resources Monitor Training Program
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Barstow Field Office, Barstow, California - Attendee (Feb. 2013)
Resource Advisor Course, Palm Springs Field Office, California Desert District, United States Bureau of Land Management - Attendee (March 2012, March 2013)
United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California State Cultural Resources Program Annual Training
Employment and Fieldwork
- Jan.–April 2018
Archaeobotanist and Archaeological Illustrator
Excavation of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen - Jan. 2018
Archaeological Illustrator and Field Technician
Rustaq-Batinah Archaeological Survey, Rustaq, Oman
Sultan Qaboos University, Durham University, and the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture - June – Sept. 2017
Archaeological Illustrator
Mumba Cave, Tanzania
Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen - Feb. – March 2017
Archaeological Illustrator
Excavation of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen - Jan. – Oct. 2017
Scientific Analysis and Report Editor
Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen - Sept. 2016
Manuscript Reviewer
Germania. Anzeiger der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Römisch-Germanische Kommission, Frankfurt - Aug. – Sept. 2016
Student Excavator
Schöningen
Research excavation and field school of the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen - Feb. – March 2016
Archaeological Illustrator
Landau Waffenstraße/Ecke Nussbaumgasse
Excavation of medieval/early modern city center
Südwest Archäologie and Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz - June – Aug. 2014
Archaeologist
Festung Landau, Lunette 38
Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz - June – July 2013
Archaeological Illustrator and Teaching Assistant
University at Buffalo – SUNY field school, Hassloch and Katzenbach, Rheinland-Pfalz - May 2012 – May 2013
Archaeological Technician
Barstow Field Office, California Desert District, United States Bureau of Land Management - May 2011 – May 2012
American Conservation Experience Old Spanish National Historic Trail Archaeologist Intern
Barstow Field Office, California Desert District, United States Bureau of Land Management - Oct. 2010 – May 2011
Volunteer Lab Technician and Research Assistant
Department of Anthropology, Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin - Sept. 2009 – Feb. 2010
Lab Technician
Keck Archaeology Lab
Department of Archaeology, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania - Aug. 2009
Volunteer Archaeological Illustrator
Expedition to Sa el Hagar, Sa el-Hagar (Sais), Egypt
Egypt Exploration Society/Durham University - June 2009
Volunteer Lab Technician
Environmental Archaeology Lab
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham
Professional Memberships
- 2013 – present
Festungsbauverein – Les amis de Vauban e.V., Landau - 2012 – present
Society for American Archaeology - 2010 – present
Mid-America Geographic Foundation - 2008 – present
Archaeological Institute of America - 2011 – 2013
Society for California Archaeology
Interest Groups
- 2012 – 2013
Women in Archaeology Interest Group
Archaeological Institute of America
Leadership
- Project Lead (March 2013)
United States Bureau of Land Management
Salt Creek Hills Area of Critical Environmental Concern Trail Maintenance Project
Student Conservation Association WildCorps Hitch Nine
Salt Creek Hills ACEC, San Bernardino County, California - General Leader (2011)
Sonrisa 4-H Club, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin - Archaeology Merit Badge Counselor (2010 – 2011)
Boy Scouts of America, Ledge to Lakes District, Rosendale, Wisconsin
Archaeological Outreach
- Dec. 2017
Gave a presentation titled, “Ask an Archeologist” to the Mid-America Geographic Foundation in Ripon, Wisconsin. - Dec. 2012 – May 2013
Served as Cultural Resource Advisor at monthly chapter meetings of the Old Spanish Trail Association Mojave River Chapter in Barstow, California. - March 2013
Created and led a children’s trash can dig at the Back Country Horsemen of California Rendezvous in Paso Robles, California. - Oct. 2012
Made and presented interpretive material on the Old Spanish Trail at the Old Spanish Trail Days in Tecopa, California. - Oct. 2011 and Nov. 2013
Developed and delivered a presentation titled, “Mojave Desert Archaeology and the Bureau of Land Management”, designed and directed a Mojave River Valley Museum artifact scavenger hunt, and led an educational archaeological context game for students of the Barstow Unified School District at the Mojave River Valley Museum in Barstow, California. - May 2011
Designed, constructed, and administered a full-scale dig simulator excavated by 33 Boy Scouts at the Boy Scouts of America Ledge to Lakes Spring Camporee at Maywood Wilderness Camp, Wisconsin. - 2011
Gave lecture titled, “Introduction to Archaeology” at the Ledge to Lakes District Boy Scout Roundtable in Rosendale, Wisconsin.
Skills
Languages
- English: native language
- German: fluent
- Modern Greek: basic
- Ancient Greek: basic
- French: basic
Archaeological Illustration
Adeptly illustrate copper alloy, iron, wood, glass, faience, chipped-stone, ground-stone, leather, and ceramic artifacts. Experienced in illustrating unit profiles, archaeological features, human remains, and artifacts in situ.
Technical Skills
- TerraSync Software
- Trimble GPS equipment
- ArcGIS Software, with ArcMap and ArcCatalog
- Total Station
- MacOS, Windows
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Access
- JMP
- Past
- Light microscope:
- Zeiss Axio Lab.A1
- Zeiss SteREO Discovery.V8
- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy:
- 610 FTIR Microscope
- Cary 660 Bench with Pike Gladi-ATR Vision