Jayur Madhusudan Mehta
Personal
Tulane University
Doctoral Candidate
522 Labarre Rd
Jefferson, LA 70121
704 941 4198 (cell)
jmehta@tulane.edu
http://jayur.wordpress.com
Current Position
Doctoral Candidate
Lower Mississippi Valley Archaeological Project (LMVAP) research assistant.
Education
2007 The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
Master of Arts in Anthropology (Archaeology)
2004 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology
Minor in Archaeology
2000 The North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics
Academic Specialization:
Geoarchaeology, historical ecology, ethnohistory, monumentality, human/environmental
dynamics, sweat lodges, structural linguistics, diasporas (East Indian and African), metals
conservation, public education and outreach, Lower Mississippi Valley, Gulf South, Western
Louisiana, and Northwest Mississippi.
Thesis
“A Study of Sweat Lodges in the Southeastern United States”, University of Alabama
Committee: Dr. Ian Brown (chair, University of Alabama)
Dr. Keith Jacobi (University of Alabama)
Dr. William Dressler (University of Alabama)
Dr. RP Steven Davis (University of North Carolina)
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Publications
Peer-reviewed Articles
2013 Revisiting the Lac St. Agnes Site, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. Louisiana Archaeology
36:69-92. Chris Rodning, (1st author), Mehta (2nd Author), Bryan Haley (3rd Author).
2013 Spanish Conquistadors, French Explorers, and Natchez Great Suns in
Southwestern Mississippi, 1542-1729. Native South 6.
2012 Moving Earth and Building Monuments at the Carson Mounds Site,
Coahoma County, Mississippi. Journal of Anthropology 2012:1-21.
Book Chapters
in press Resilience and Persistent Places in the Mississippi River Delta of Southeastern
Louisiana. In Archaeological Perspectives on Resilience, Revitalization and
Reorganization in Complex Societies, edited by Ronald K. Faulseit, Southern Illinois
University Press, Carbondale. Chris Rodning (1st author), Mehta (2nd Author).
2010 Initial Observations and Patterns of Expedient Flake Use in a Wilton
Industry Assemblage from Northeastern Namibia, in Pushing the Envelope: Experimental
Directions in the Archaeology of Stone Tools, edited by Grant McCall, Nova Science
Publishers. Mehta (1st author), David Chatelain
2010 Bibliography, The Peabody Man: Jeffrey P. Brain, edited by Ian W.
Brown and Vincas Steponaitis, Borgo Press.
Book Reviews
2011 Times River: Archaeological Syntheses of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
Southeastern Archaeology 30(1).
2009 Crossroads and Cosmologies: Diasporas and Ethnogenesis in the New
World. Southeastern Archaeology, 27(2): (294-295).
2006 Native American Place Names in Mississippi, Mississippi Archaeology 41(1).
Magazine and Newsletter entries
Archaic Period. In The Mississippi Encyclopedia,
University Press of Mississippi, Oxford.
2008 Inside the Archives. Mississippi Archaeological Association Newsletter
43(2): 9, 14
2007 Dispatches from the Southern Trace: On the Importance of Living. Saathee Magazine,
October – March, Charlotte, NC.
in press The Mississippi
Presentations at Research Conferences
2014 Jayur M. Mehta and Scott Johnson
(Mehta, symposium organizer, “Salt in the Maya World)
A Preliminary Analysis of Surface Soil Mapping at Emal, Yucatan, Mexico. Paper
presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin,
Texas.
2013 Jayur M. Mehta
Modeling the Mounded Landscape at Carson. Poster presented at the 70th Annual
meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Tampa Bay, Florida.
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2013 Jayur M. Mehta and Maxime Lamoureux St-Hillaire
Missionaries, French Explorers, and Natchez Great Suns in Southwestern Mississippi,
1542-1729. Paper presented at the 59th Annual American Society for Ethnohistory
Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana.
2013 Rodning, Christopher B., and Jayur M. Mehta
Native American Earthworks in the Mississippi River Delta of Southeastern Louisiana.
Paper presented at the 59th Annual American Society for Ethnohistory Meeting, New
Orleans, Louisiana.
2013 Rodning, Christopher B., Jayur M. Mehta, and Bryan Haley
Resilience, Persistence of Place, and the Native American Settlement at the Sims Site, St.
Charles Parish, Louisiana. Invited Paper presented at Beyond Collapse: Archaeological
Perspectives on Resilience, Revitalization, and Reorganization in Complex Societies,
Visiting Scholars Conference, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.
2013 Rodning, Christopher B., Jayur M. Mehta, and Bryan Haley
Reconsidering the Sims Site, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Paper presented at the 39th
Annual Conference of the Louisiana Archaeological Society, Lafayette, Louisiana.
2013 Rodning, Christopher B., Jayur M. Mehta, Bryan Haley, David Chatelain, and Erlend
Johnson.
Revisiting the Lac St. Agnes Site, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. Paper presented at the 39th
Annual Conference of the Louisiana Archaeological Society, Lafayette, Louisiana.
2012 Mehta, Jayur M.
A Report on the 2012 Excavations at the Mound D Complex, the Carson Mounds
(22CO505), Coahoma County, Mississippi. Paper presented at the 69th Annual
Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Baton Rouge, LA.
2012 Rodning, Christopher B., Jayur M. Mehta, Bryan Haley, David Chatelain, and Erlend
Johnson.
Revisiting the Lac St. Agnes site, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. Paper Presented at the
Archaeological Sciences Symposium, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
2012 Mehta, Jayur M. (symposium co-organizer)
Nothing beside (earth) remains: Power and monumentality at the Carson Mounds site
(22CO505/518), Coahoma County, Mississippi. Paper presented at the 78th Annual
Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, Tennessee.
2012 Mehta, Jayur M.
A Report on the 2011 Excavations at the Carson Mounds site (22CO505), Coahoma
County, Mississippi. Paper presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Mississippi
Archaeological Association, Biloxi, MS.
2011 Mehta, Jayur
A Comparative Perspective on Chiefdoms in Amazonia and the Yazoo Basin. Paper
presented at the 68th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Jacksonville, Fl.
2010 Mehta, Jayur, Kelsey Lowe, and Rachel Stout-Evans
Geomorphological Investigations at the Carson Mounds Site (22CO505), Coahoma
County, Mississippi. Paper presented at the 67th Annual Southeastern Archaeological
Conference, Lexington, Ky.
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2010 Mehta, Jayur, Kelsey Lowe, Rachel Stout-Evans, Jay K. Johnson, and John Connaway
An Epic Flood and the Genesis of a Monumental Mound Center: Geomorphological
Investigations at the Carson Mounds Site (22CO505), Coahoma County, Mississippi.
Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, St.
Louis, Missouri.
2009 Mehta, Jayur (Symposium Co-organizer – Tales from the Public Side)
Tips for Successfully Coordinating Statewide Archaeology Programs. Paper presented at
the 66th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Mobile, Al.
2009 Mehta, Jayur, David. W. Morgan, and Kevin C. MacDonald
Poteaux sur solle and Poteaux en terre: Studying the archeology of two structures in the
Cane River region of Louisiana. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Louisiana
and Mississippi Archaeological Societies, Natchez, Mississippi.
2008 Mehta, Jayur
Structuralist and Semiotic Archaeological Perspectives on Meaning. Paper presented at
the 65th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Charlotte, NC.
2008 Mehta, Jayur
Creating Models of Architectural Form: Sweat Lodges, Structural Linguistics, and Signs.
Paper presented at the Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference, Columbia, NY.
2007 Mehta, Jayur
Presenting a Type-Variety System for the Classification of Sweat Lodges in the
Southeastern United States. M.A. Thesis Paper presented at the 64th Annual Southeastern
Archaeological Conference, Knoxville, TN.
2004 Mehta, Jayur
How Traditional and Non-traditional Indian Songs Serve to Maintain and Change
Cultural Forms Throughout the Generational Process. Thesis Paper presented at the
University of North Carolina Undergraduate Research Symposium
Grants, Awards, and Recognition
2012
2008
2014
2014
2013
2012
2012
2011
2010
2010
2010
2009
2006
External Funding
Lower Mississippi Valley Archaeological Project (Mississippi Department of Archives
and History, $10,000.00)
Mississippi Humanities Council Humanities Grant ($3197.00)
Internal Funding
Summer Merit Fellowship, School of Liberal Arts (Tulane University, $3000.00)
Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching (Tulane University, $500.00)
Office of Graduate Services (Tulane University, $400.00).
Anthropology Department Fieldwork Grant (Tulane University, $650.00)
Tulane Office of the Provost Grant (Tulane University, $400.00)
Graduate Student Association Travel Grant (Tulane University, $250.00)
Anthropology Department Fieldwork Grant (Tulane University, $976.60)
Tulane Office of the Provost Grant (Tulane University, $380.00)
Graduate Student Association Travel Grant (Tulane University, $250.00)
Graduate Student Association Travel Grant (Tulane University, $482.00)
Graduate Research and Travel Fellowship (University of Alabama, $400.00)
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Fellowships and Awards
2005-07 Academic Common Market Grant, (University of Alabama/UNC, $16,000.00)
2002 Francis L. Phillips World Experience Scholarship (UNC-Chapel Hill) ($6000.00)
1998 Awarded placement at the North Carolina School for Science and Math (NCSSM) North
Carolina’s most prestigious public boarding school.
1998 Charlotte’s Young Playwright Award (Youth Theatre of Charlotte)
Publicity
2014 Woodlands Trail Public Land Day classroom involvement
http://www.nola.com/society/index.ssf/2014/09/woodlands_trail_gets_on_track.html
2014 Tulane School of Liberal Arts, Student Spotlight, September.
2014 Clarksdale Press Register, Local News Story, June 3rd.
2008 Notable Jacksonian, Jackson Free Press (Feb. 14-20, 2008), Jackson, MS.
Research and Teaching Experience (FT = Full-time, PT = Part-time)
2014 Principal Investigator, Carson Mounds Archaeological Project (CMAP),
Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Directed Tulane University field school at the Carson site. Field and lab
methods were taught to 12 students for 6 credit hours total. Students also
engaged in service learning with local school groups. The PI organized
and administered this field school from seed to fruit.
2014 Adjunct Instructor, Introduction to Environmental Studies (3 hours) and Louisiana
Archaeology (3 hours)
2013 Consulting Soil Scientist, Emal Archaeological Project (EAP), Yucatan, Mexico
Evaluated local and regional soils for EAP, National Geographic
sponsored project on the northern coast of the Yucatan. Facilitated salinity
determinations and geochemical methodologies.
2012+ Research Assistant, Lower Mississippi Valley Archaeological Project (LMVAP)
2010 Field Director (PT), Lac St. Agnes Mapping Survey, Marksville, LA.
2010 Field Assistant (FT), Feltus Mounds Archaeological Project, Natchez, MS, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
2010 Crew Chief (FT), Central Yucatan Archaeological Cave Project, Brandeis Univ.
2009+ Graduate Student (FT), Department of Anthropology, Tulane University.
2009+ Field Director (FT), Carson Mounds Archaeological Project, Clarksdale, MS.
2007-09 Archaeologist (FT), Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History: Jackson, Mississippi.
Reviewed reports for Section 106, curated/conserved archaeological
materials, and acted as Statewide Coordinator for Archaeology Month.
2006-07 Graduate Teaching Assistant (PT), Moundville Arch. Project, Anthropology 101
Trained students in field methods and introductory anthropology
2006-07 Assistant Field Supervisor (FT), Cane River African Diaspora Project, NCPTT
Supervised and trained students in archaeological field methods and conducted
spatial analysis of artifacts using a GIS.
2005-07 Graduate Student (FT), Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama
2004 Legacy Research Associates (FT), Field archaeologist and laboratory technician.
Conducted field surveys and subsequent laboratory analysis
2004 Excavated one field season at Love House (PT), Chapel Hill.
2004-05 Excavated two field seasons at New Town (PT), Catawba Site, South Carolina
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2002 Excavated one field season at Occaneechee Village (student), Hillsborough, NC
2001-04 Laboratory assistant at the Research Labs of Archaeology (PT), Chapel Hill, NC
Conserved degraded prints from old excavations and processed artifacts.
1998 Excavated one field season at Neoheroka Fort (student), Green County, NC
Committees
2014-17
Society for American Archaeology Excellence in Public Education Award
Committee, Committee member
2011-12
Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Student Affairs Committee, Chair
2010-11
Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Student Affairs Committee, Chair-elect
2010-14
Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Public Archaeology Grant Committee
Grants Reviewer
2010-11
Graduate Council, Office of the Provost, Tulane University
2010-11
Tulane Anthropology Student Association, Treasurer
Languages
Spanish (reading, writing, speaking) – Tulane Language Competency
Gujarati (speaking)
Professional Affiliations
Quaternary Research Group, Tulane University (Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Mississippi Archaeological Association
Louisiana Archaeological Society
Southeastern Archaeological Conference
Society for American Archaeology
Theoretical Archaeology Group
Register of Professional Archaeologists
References
DR. CHRIS RODNING
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
418 DINWIDDIE HALL
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118
CRODNING@TULANE.EDU
504-862-3051
DR. MARCELLO CANUTO
DIRECTOR, MIDDLE AMERICAN
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
310 DINWIDDIE HALL
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118
MCANUTO@TULANE.EDU
504-862-3104
DR. KATHARINE JACK
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
416 DINWIDDIE HALL
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118
KJACK@TULANE.EDU
504-862-8905
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