Applied Anthropologist Profile: Holly Martelle, Founder and Principal Archaeologist of Timmins-Martelle Heritage Consultants, Inc.

 

Holly Martelle (Image Source: Martelle)

Today’s blog post will feature another applied anthropologist, Dr. Holly Martelle, one of the founders and current Principal Archaeologist of Timmins-Martelle Heritage Consultants, Inc. (TMHC), a cultural resource management firm in Ontario, Canada.  Martelle’s journey to founding TMHC was the culmination of years of educational, research, and professional experience.  These experiences provided her the background to found TMHC, as well as establish her as one of the leading archaeologists in the region.  This blog post will provide you with additional information into her educational and professional pursuits, along with her advice for aspiring professional archaeologists.

Holly Martelle pursued her undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.  When she began her anthropological studies it was predicted that there would be a need for professional archaeologists throughout the province as employed archaeologists aged out and retired.  Those who would fill these open positions would need significant amounts of experience, training, and certifications, which meant graduate work.  Although this prediction did not turn out quite as predicted Martelle committed herself to her studies, absorbing all she could from her professors at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  This persistence paid off as she was eventually employed in various archaeological capacities, including as a Heritage Planner for the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (a position similar to what Karyn de Dufour does in Nevada). 

During her educational pursuits, particularly while conducting her doctoral research at the University of Toronto, Marcelle dedicated herself to providing a voice to those who were never prominently featured (if at all) in historical spheres.  This included groups such as women, immigrants, African-Canadians, the working class, and Indigenous populations.  She felt compelled not only to study these groups in the past but work with their descendant and Indigenous populations to help her better understand what she was discovering and researching through her archaeological work.  Her approach was ahead of its time as today it is rapidly becoming more common to work with these groups in archaeological research.  Martelle notes that by incorporating multiple voices and perspectives into archaeological interpretation a richer and more accurate result is produced.

It was a combination of her professional experiences and research interests that led to her cofounding TMHC in 2003, with partner Dr. Peter Timmins.  TMHC has and continues to work closely with Indigenous populations whenever their archaeological work intersects with their history and identity.  This is just one of many reasons why the firm received the Ontario Archaeological Society’s award for Excellence in Cultural Resource Management the same year it was founded.

Martelle encourages those interested in pursuing careers in archaeology to always be open to learning-be it in a classroom or during fieldwork.  The field of archaeology is always changing and growing, so keeping up with the latest methods and theoretical approaches is key to staying employable.  She also urges novice archaeologists to listen to established archaeologists.  Their knowledge and experience is a great source of information and optimal educational opportunity, not just about how to pursue fieldwork but how the field has changed and continues to evolve over time.

 

Bibliography

Museum of Ontario Archaeology. (2019, March 7). For International Women’s Day, MOA is celebrating women in archaeology! . Retrieved from Museum of Ontario Archaeology: https://archaeologymuseum.ca/for-international-womens-day-moa-is-celebrating-women-in-archaeology/

No Author. (2021). Holly Martelle, PhD - Principal Archaeologist - Heritage Planner. Retrieved from Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants: https://tmhc.ca/people/principals/martelle#main_begins