2009 Team Members
Heather Lapham
Associate Scientist, Curator, Adjunct Associate Professor
Center for Archaeological Investigations & Southern Illinois University
Dr. Heather Lapham has been analyzing animal remains from archaeological sites for almost two decades. She joined the El Pamillo team in 2007 as the project’s zooarchaeologist and now continues her work with the Mitla Fortress team. Her research focuses on ancient animal economies and animal use in southern Mexico and the American Southeast. Participating in the Field Museum’s Zapotec Expedition presents an exciting new research opportunity. To learn more about Dr. Lapham, visit her SIUC web page.
Lindsey Cadwell Baker
Project Bioarchaeologist
Southern Illinois University of Carbondale
Lindsey Cadwell Baker received her Master's degree in physical anthropology, with a focus on human osteology and forensic anthropology, in 2008 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at SIUC with a concentration in skeletal biology and bioarchaeology. Her dissertation research focuses on Mesoamerican bioarchaeology, specifically Classic Period Zapotec identity and health. Lindsey joined the Mitla Fortress team in 2009 as the project bioarchaeologist.
Jill Seagard
Scientific Illustrator, Department of Anthropology
The Field Museum
Jill Seagard is a graduate of Iowa State University where she obtained her B.A. in Biological & Pre-Medical Illustration (BPMI). She has illustrated objects from 65,000-year-old Palestinian stone tools to digitizing Classic period (A.D. 200-800) maps of Oaxacan houses. Jill is an accomplished scientific illustrator and creates many of the computer and pen-and-ink illustrations utilized by Field Museum curators in their research presentations and publications.
Lacey Carpenter
Project Field & Laboratory Assistant
University of Michigan
Lacey Carpenter is a first-year graduate student in the department of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Her interests include Oaxacan archaeology, household production, and economic anthropology. She was a member of the Mitla Fortress team during the 2009 season and rejoins this year as a field and laboratory assistant.
Tasha Obrin
Project Field Assistant & Illustrator
Iowa State University
Tasha Obrin is a junior at Iowa State University, where she is majoring in Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration. Through her studies, she has grown to love rendering the world around her on paper—or Bristol, or vellum, or illustration board, etc. When not illustrating she enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and working as a Barista at a local café. She will supervise the daily operations of the field lab and illustrate artifacts the archaeological team uncovers.