Emily Thurman

Emily Thurman is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology with a concentration in Complex Adaptive Systems Science at Arizona State University. Her research interests encompass past-present connections in marine shell acquisition and craft production in the U.S. Southwest and Mexican Northwest as well as the social implications of these long-distance trade connections. With a background in archaeology, Thurman incorporates a deep-time perspective while studying human-environment interactions over the longue durée. Utilizing computational methods and working within a complexity science framework, Thurman focuses on the impacts of long-term harvesting on Spondylus populations and the outcomes of resource management strategies. Her work touches on themes of subsistence, adornment, interregional exchange, human ecology, sustainability, communal resource management, and identity.