JAMES R. McGRATH-SEEGMILLER
Wapsi Valley Archaeology, Inc.
126 E. Main Street
Anamosa, Iowa 52205
319-462-4760
jmcseeg@wapsivalleyarch.com
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
I am a professional archaeologist with 12 years of experience in the discipline. The majority of this experience was comprised by teaching and training students in archaeology, as well as my own academic research. My research interests include the archaeology of prehistoric hunter-gatherers, human origins, prehistoric symbolic technologies, and spatial analyses of archaeological sites. I have more recently begun work in Cultural Resource Management, where I have successfully completed fieldwork and technical report writing for a variety of projects. My fieldwork experience includes survey and excavation in Iowa, Arizona, New Mexico, as well as in South Africa and Namibia. I am proficient with GPS, total station, and ESRI ArcGIS technologies and software.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 2020
Ph.D. Dissertation title: Human Signaling Ecology: A case study of Late Pleistocene mineral pigment assemblages from Southernmost Africa.
M.A. in Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 2016
B.A. in Anthropology, summa xum laude, minor in geography, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. 2013
A.A. in General Studies, Mesa Community College, Mesa AZ. 2011
CURRENT
POSITION
Archaeologist, Wapsi Valley Archaeology, Inc. Anamosa, Iowa July 2020 - Present
PREVIOUS
POSITIONS
Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa. May 2020 - August 2014
Adjunct Instructor, Department of Anthropology, Grinnell College. Spring 2019
Grading Assistant,Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa. Fall 2017
PUBLICATIONS
Technical Reports
2021 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R. Desktop Archaeological Resource Assessment for the Kalona Truck Stop in Kalona, Washington County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Archaeology Report #1180.
2021 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R. Cultural Resource Evaluation for the 4th Street Plaza Pocket Park, Tipton, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Archaeology Report #1175.
2021 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R. Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey for the Grandview Senior Lofts Project at 2103 Grandview Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Archaeology Report #1149.
2021 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R., and Moe, J.R. Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey for the Lake Red Rock Kennedy Street Borrow, Marion County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Report #1141.
2021 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R. Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey and Evaluation of the Eagle Point Park New Sections, City of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Archaeology Report #1135.
2020 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R., Finn, N.G., Finn, M.R., and Finn, D.M. Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey and Geomorphological Assessment for the Lake Red Rock North Overlook Bicycle Path Project, Marion County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Report #1133.
2020 McGrath-Seegmiller, J.R. and Finn, M.R. Steamboat Island HREP Geomorphological Assessment and Phase I Intensive Archaeological Survey, Upper Mississippi River Navigation Pool 14, Camanche Township, Clinton County, Iowa, and Princeton Township, Scott County, Iowa. Wapsi Valley Report #1050. With contributions by Kolb, M.F.
2016 Enloe, J. G. and McGrath, J.R. Excavations at Woodpecker Cave (13JH202): Report No. 4. University of Iowa Archaeological Field School 2015. U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. ARPA Permit No. DACW25-9-12-4098. 112 pp.
2015
Marean, C.W., McGrath, J.R., Cleghorn, N., Gennari, B., Nelson-Viljoen, C.,
Richardson, L.,Wilkins, J., Shelton, C. 2014. Final report on the excavations
at the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex (PPSMC), Western Cape Province,
South Africa. Mossel Bay, South Africa: Mossel Bay Archaeology Project,
Cultural Resources Management. 108 pp.
Peer Reviewed Articles
2017 McGrath, J.R., Beck, M., Hill Jr., M. E. Replicating Red: Analysis of ceramic slip color with CIELAB color data. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14, 432-438.
2017 Hegmon, M., McGrath, J.R., Munson, M. K. The Potential and Pitfalls of Large Multi-Source Collections: Insights from the Analysis of Mimbres Gender Imagery. Advances in Archaeological Practice 1-9. doi:10.1017/aap.2017.2.
2015 McGrath, J.R., Cleghorn, N., Gennari, B., Henderson S., Kyriacou, K., Nelson-Viljoen, C., Nilssen, P., Richardson, L., Shelton, C., Wilkins J., Marean, C.W. The Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex: A mid- to late Holocene record of Later Stone Age coastal foraging along the southern Cape coast of South Africa. The South African Archaeological Bulletin 70 (202), 209-219.
2015 Fisher, E.C., Akkaynak, D., Harris, J.,
Herries, A.I.R., Jacobs, Z., Karkanas, P., Marean, C.W., McGrath,
J.R. Technical considerations and methodology for creating
high-resolution, color- corrected, and
georectified photomosaics of stratigraphic sections at archaeological sites, Journal
of Archaeological Science 57,
380-394.
Manuscripts in Review
In
Review McGrath, J.R., MacDonald, B.L., Stalla, D. Middle Stone Age
Mineral Pigment Procurement at Pinnacle Point 5-6, Western Cape Province, South
Africa. In Review. 30 pp.
Book Chapters
2018 Hegmon, M., McGrath, J. R., O’Hara, F.M.,
Russell, W.G. Mimbres Pottery Designs in Their Social Context. In: New Perspectives on Mimbres Archaeology:
Three Millennia of Human Occupation in the North American Southwest. Ed.
B.J. Roth, P.A. Gilman, and R. Anyon. University of Arizona Press. Print.
Published Abstracts
2019 McGrath, J.R., A Comparison of Two Late Pleistocene Ochre Records from South Africa. Paleoanthropology Society Meeting Abstracts, Albuquerque, NM, 9-10 April 2019. PaleoAnthropology 2019: A1-A39.
2017 McGrath, J.R., Bernatchez, J. The Symbolic
Response: Middle Stone Age Ochre Use in Its Social and Environmental Context at
Pinnacle Point 5-6, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Paleoanthropology
Society Meeting Abstracts, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 28-29 March 2017. PaleoAnthropology 2017: A1-A41.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Field Research
2020 – Present Archaeologist, Wapsi Valley Archaeology.
2018, 2015 Assistant Director, Woodpecker Cave Field School, Johnson County, Iowa. Directed by James G. Enloe, University of Iowa.
2017 Surveyor, Mineral pigment survey near Knysna, South Africa, Directed by Naomi Cleghorn, University of Texas at Arlington.
2017 Field Assistant, South African Coast Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment, Paleoecology, Paleoanthropology Project (SACP4) excavations at Vleesbaai B, Mossel Bay, South Africa. Directed by Simon Oestmo, Arizona State University.
2012 – 2016 Field Assistant, South African Coast Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment, Paleoecology, Paleoanthropology Project (SACP4) excavations at Pinnacle Point 5-6, Mossel Bay, South Africa. Directed by Curtis Marean, Arizona State University.
2011 Surveyor, Petroglyph survey in Petrified Forest Nation Park. Directed by Nicole Cerveny, Mesa Community College.
2011 Field Assistant, Exploratory excavations of Mimbres Classic period pueblo, Grant County, NM. Directed by Robert Stokes and Aaron Woods, Mesa Community College.
2009 Field School Student, Mesa Grande Hohokam Platform Mound. Directed by Jerry Howard, Mesa Community College.
Laboratory
Research
2020 – Present Archaeologist, Wapsi Valley Archaeology.
2018 GIS Analyst, Spatial data from excavation of Dixon site, Woodbury County, Iowa, Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist.
2018 Independent Researcher, Mineral pigment assemblage, Iziko National Museum, Cape Town, South Africa.
2015 Independent Researcher, Mineral pigment assemblage, National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
2013 – 2018 Lab Assistant, Mineral pigment assemblage, Mossel Bay Archaeology Project, South Africa.
2013 Lab Assistant, Database management and analysis of Mimbres Pottery Image Digital Database (MimPIDD), Arizona State University.
2011 Lab Assistant, Documentation of artifacts in
preparation for repatriation to Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Mesa
Community College.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Conference Symposium Organized
2016 Zipkin, A.M., Nivens, J., McGrath, J.R., Towards a Global Understanding of Ochre Use: Methods, Definitions, and Applications. Sponsored by The Society for Archaeological Sciences. Symposium held at the 81st annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, FL.
2015
McGrath, J.R., Recent Investigations of Woodpecker Cave:
University of Iowa Archaeology Field School. Poster session held at the 73rd
annual Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, IA.
Conference Presentations
2020 McGrath, J.R., MacDonald, B.L., Stalla, D. The Sourcing of Archaeological Mineral Pigments from PP5-6, Western Cape Province, South Africa via NAA, XRD, and SEM-EDS. Poster accepted for presentation at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin, TX. Conference cancelled.
2019 McGrath, J. R., A comparison of two Late Pleistocene ochre records from South Africa. Poster presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society, Albuquerque, NM.
2019 McGrath, J. R., The colorimetric analysis of ochres from PP5-6, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Poster presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM.
2018 Cleghorn, N.E., Keller, H.M., McGrath, J.R., Shelton, C.M., Watson, S., Schoville, B.J., Peart, D., Bickerton, N., Esteban, I. Assessing the development of societal complexity at the Middle to Later Stone Age transition in the context of the Economic Defensibility Model: Evidence from Knysna, coastal South Africa. Poster presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society, Austin, TX.
2017 McGrath, J. R., and Bernatchez, J. The Symbolic Response: Middle Stone Age ochre use in its social and environmental context at Pinnacle Point 5-6, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Paper presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society, Vancouver, BC.
2017 Enloe, J. G., Meehleder, A., McGrath, J. R. The Tale of a Rock: Backdirt, Backfill, and Intrusive Historic Occupations of Woodpecker Cave. Paper presented at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, BC.
2017 Foubert, J., and McGrath, J. R. Of Ostrich and Ochre: The Application of pXRF to Detect Experimentally Pigmented Ostrich Eggshell. Poster presented at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, BC.
2017 Schroll, A., McCall, G., Marks, T., McGrath, J. R. Behavioral Change in Hunter-Gatherers of the Namib: A Reanalysis of the Terminal Pleistocene Lithic Technology at the Mirabib Hill Rockshelter, Western Namibia. Poster presented at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, BC.
2017 McGrath, J.R., Truhan, R., Skibbe, A. M., Storey, G., Enloe, J.G. The Sky if Falling!: Site formation processes at Woodpecker Cave, Johnson County, Iowa. Poster presented at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, BC.
2016 Enloe, J. G., Meehleder, A., McGrath, J. R. The Hawkeye Horizon: Post-Woodland Occupations of Woodpecker Cave (13JH202). Paper presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference, Iowa City, IA.
2016 Enloe, J.G., and McGrath, J.R. A GIS approach to stratigraphy in visually homogeneous rockshelter deposits: results from Woodpecker Cave. Paper presented at the 81st annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, FL.
2016 McGrath, J.R. Ochre in the desert: Preliminary sourcing and colorimetric results from two Stone Age sites in the central Namib Desert. Poster presented at the 81st annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, FL.
2015 McGrath, J. R., Cleghorn, N., Gennari, B., Henderson, S., Kyriacou, K., Nelson-Viljoen, C., Nilssen, P., Richardson, L., Shelton, C., Wilkins J., Marean, C.W. Late Holocene occupations at the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex. Paper presented at the 80th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Bernatchez, J., and McGrath, J.R. The ochre of Pinnacle Point 5-6. Paper presented at the 80th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, CA.
2015 McGrath, J.R., Truhan, R., Enloe, J.G. The Hidden Stratigraphy of Woodpecker Cave: A GIS derived, model-based approach to establishing stratigraphy in visually homogeneous archaeological deposits. Poster presented at the 73rd annual Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, IA.
2015 Skibbe, A.M., and McGrath, J.R. An application of LiDAR scanning technology rock shelter archaeology: a case study from Woodpecker Cave. Poster presented at the 73rd annual Plains Anthropological Conference, Iowa City, IA.
2015 McGrath, J.R., Dewale, C., Skibbe, A., Wilkins, A., and Enloe, J.G. Archaeology in 3-D: A GIS based approach to understanding the prehistory of Woodpecker Cave. Poster presented at the 17th annual James F. Jakobsen Graduate Conference, Iowa City, IA.
2014
Hegmon, M., Russell W.G., McGrath, J.R., O’Hara, M. Mimbres
Pottery Designs in Social Context. Paper
presented at the 79th annual meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Austin, TX.
Workshops
Led:
2018 McGrath,
J. R., Identifying and analyzing archaeological ochres. Human Evolution
Research Institute. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town. August
22, 2018.
Other
Presentations
2018 McGrath, J. R., Human Signaling Ecology: A new model for understanding MSA ochre use. Human Evolution Research Institute Seminar Series. Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town. 8/6/2018.
2016 McGrath, J. R., A novel sourcing technique applied to Namibian Stone Age ochre. Presented at the UI Graduate Student Anthropology Association Brownbag Series. Spring 2016.
2016 McGrath J. R., Stroth, L., and Enloe, J.G., Lasers, X-rays, Fire, Rocks and Mud: An Update on Archaeological Analyses from the Woodpecker Cave Field School. Presented at the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist Brown Bag Series. Spring 2016.
2015 McGrath, J. R., GIS applications at the University of Iowa field school site, Woodpecker Cave. UI Explorer Series GIS Day Celebration.
2015 McGrath, J. R., Later Stone Age coastal foraging along the southern Cape coast of South Africa: A case study from the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex. Presented at the UI Graduate Student Anthropology Association Brownbag Series. Spring 2015.
2014
McGrath, J. R., Testing the effects of possible forgeries on
interpretations of the archaeological record: A case study from the Mimbres.
Presented at the UI Graduate Student Anthropology Association Brownbag Series.
Fall 2014.
Organizational Membership
2014 – 2019 Society for American Archaeology
2015 – 2019 Paleoanthropology Society
2016 Midwest Archaeology Conference
2015 Plains Anthropological Society
2013 – 2014 Archaeological Institute of Am