Kacie Allen wins Time Sifters Student Grant Competition
New College anthropology student and graduating senior Kacie Allen recently received an award for from The Time Sifters Archaeology Society for her paper, “Erected in their Memory: Insights from Tucker Hill Cemetery, Hernando County, Florida.” The award carries with it a $200 prize.
Allen wrote the paper for a tutorial on cemetery archaeology she took with New College Associate Professor of Anthropology Uzi Baram two years ago. She presented the paper at the 2008 Florida Anthropological Society meeting in Ybor City and later submitted it to The Time Sifters Student Archaeology Grant Competition.
Allen will present her research at the Selby Public Library’s Gelbart Auditorium on May 20 at 6:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.
“The Time Sifters’ award provides recognition for a student who enthusiastically explored the public aspects of archaeology,” noted Professor Baram. “Kacie’s presentation at Wednesday’s regular meeting of Time Sifters is a wonderful showcase for the potential of New College’s public archaeology program. ”
Allen’s award-winning paper examined a cemetery at Tucker Hill, located within the Withlacoochee State Forest, near her hometown of Brooksville. At least 21 individuals were buried there between 1877 and 1933, and many of whom were children. “The poor state of preservation of the cemetery and the minimal historic documentation of the area raised two important questions for me,” said Allen. “‘How can one small cemetery remind us of the importance of the preservation of cultural resources? And,how can the study of it contribute to the current understanding of the area’s past?’”
A Florida native, Allen expected to pursue journalism or English in college but became captivated by anthropology. She is enthusiastic about archaeology and spent last summer excavating a slave quarter at the Joseph Lloyd Manor site outside Huntington, New York. Allen will graduate this month with a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology/religion. Immediately following graduation, she will spend three months as an archaeology intern at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, Arizona. After that, she plans to pursue graduate work in archaeology with an emphasis on cultural resource management.
A chapter of the Florida Anthropological Society, Time Sifters Archaeological Society represents Sarasota and Manatee counties and supports local preservation and research efforts. The grant competition was open to junior and senior undergraduate students and pre-doctoral graduate students who are currently enrolled at a college or university in the Sarasota/St. Petersberg/Tampa area. Allen’s paper was one of two to be selected and beat out a number of graduate student entries. Second prize went to Elicia Kimble of the University of South Florida.
For more information, please contact Greg Hite, in the New College Office of Public Affairs, at (941) 487-4155 or email [email protected]