Currently in her M.A. under the supervision of Dr. Tristan Carter, Lauren’s thesis will center around obsidian consumption practices found in the Amuq region of southern Turkey and its contribution to the development of socio-economic relations in the Near East. The study spans from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age and will incorporate lithic chemical analysis using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence through McMaster’s MAXLAb.

 Lauren completed her B.Sc. in Archaeology from University of Calgary. Her other interests lie in art history, paleoethnobotony, teaching, sustainability, socio-environmental relationships and museum studies.