Biography
Rachel Lee Johnson is an archaeology PhD student and a 2016 recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSFGRFP). Prior to coming to Tulane, Johnson earned a B.A. in anthropology and a B.S. in geology from the University of Pittsburgh, graduating Suma Cum Laude. Her current research examines the economic and social relationships between the Andean highlands and the Upper Amazon during the Initial Period (1700-800 BCE) and Early Horizon (800-300 BCE) through the application of archaeometric techniques, like ceramic petrography and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). At a broader level, she is interested in questions surrounding the development of social complexity, social and economic processes relating to craft production, distribution, and consumption, and in developing frameworks to better discuss trade and exchange in the ancient past.