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Anthropology & Ethnic Studies

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      Summer 2007
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Denise Ruzicka       Denise Ruzicka


My primary interest is archaeoastronomy, specifically the architectural alignments to particular celestial phenomena evidenced in archaeological sites. These alignments can be realized in the overall plan of the site, or in the placement and orientation of particular structures on a site. Such research must also take into account the landscape of the surrounding area. I am currently focusing on alignments in the Mimbres Valley of New Mexico, but I am
also studying other cultures of the Southwest as well as the Great Basin, including the Anasazi and the Fremont. I have a wide array of other interests, including bioarchaeology and lithics, on which I do side projects.