Applied Anthropologist Profile: Sandra Paccione, Archaeologist Turned Jewelry Maker

 

Sandra Paccione (Source: Schneider, 2024)

The old adage goes something like this: “Pursue your passions because then it won’t feel like you are working a day in your life.”  Many people will scoff at this sentiment, but it really rings true for Sandra Paccione, an archaeologist turned jewelry maker.  Paccione always had an affinity toward art.  This was born out of her experiences visiting various art museums in her home city of Brooklyn, New York.  Despite this interest she earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from City of New York.  She entered into professional archaeological work, but she could not shake her desire to work in the art.  It was while she was inventorying, sorting, and cataloguing pottery sherds that she kept thinking to herself about how these pieces of broken pottery could be transformed into beautiful pieces of jewelry.  These thoughts continued as she took a job working at a vintage clothing store in New Orleans, where she would spend her free time taking apart and recreating vintage pieces.  

 

Figure 1: Archaeologically inspired jewelry creation by Sandra Paccione

 

 

In 2015 she decided to take the plunge and opened her jewelry line, History Time Traveler.  Her jewelry is inspired by her experiences in archaeology and history in that she repurposes vintage pieces into new works of wearable art.  She enjoys employing the notions of “other people’s garbage” (a phrase common in archaeological research) and giving it new light in her work.  The archaeological and historical influences in her work can be seen in various pieces (see Figure 1).  Her dedication to her craft has earned her recognition from Etsy.  In 2024 her work was awarded the Etsy Design Award for Jewelry.  Paccione's work is available for sale on her website and her Etsy store.

 

Bibliography

Paccione, S. (2024). Linked In Profile. Retrieved from Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-paccione-490a8824a

Paccione, Sandra. (2024). About. Retrieved from History Time Travel Jewelry: https://historytimetravel.com/pages/about

Parker, O. P. (2023). Glad Hands. Fashion Magazine, p. 30.

Schneider, J. (2024, October 31). Get Glam With Award-Winning Jewelry From History Time Traveler. Retrieved from Etsy: Electronic

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Pornnatcha “Jo” Sankhaprasit, Marine Archaeologist

 

Pornnatcha "Jo" Sankhaprasit (Source: Trowel Blazers)

 

Maritime archaeology is a necessary and worthwhile field of study, but it is one that comes with a great deal of risks.  These risks are inherent in the collection and preservation of the artifacts that are discovered and recovered from underwater contexts.  Maritime archaeologists have to take great care in not damaging or destroying the artifacts during the recovery process, as well as after the artifacts are taken to laboratories outside of their water logged contexts.  There are additional challenges and risks to the maritime archaeologists themselves, which are often overlooked.  Diving comes with risks, particularly due to pressure changes and equipment malfunctions.  This means that there are very few female maritime archaeologists around the world.  Pornnatcha “Jo” Sankhaprasit is one of those few, as well as the first maritime archaeologist of her home country of Thailand.

 

Sankhaprasit grew up in the highlands of Thailand, but when she visited the coasts as a young child she was enamored with the beauty of the ocean.  She aspired to explore it further, and despite not knowing how to swim she took her first dive at age 20.  She ultimately combined her loves of history, Lara Croft (a fictional character loosely related to archaeology), and diving when she pursued her undergraduate degree in archaeology from Silpakorn University in Bangkok.  She ultimately pursued her Masters degree at Flinders University in Australia and furthered her experiences in maritime archaeology.

 

Throughout her professional and educational experiences she has conducted several investigations throughout the Pacific Ocean in and around Southeast Asia and Australia.  One of her most notable investigations was conducted in 2018.  She investigated a ship that wrecked sometime between 1350 and 1450, during the Khmer Empire.  The ship was used to transport various goods, including food, pottery, lumber, and ivory.  Her and her teams work has brought about additional information about the trading and pirate networks that existed at that time.

 

Currently, Sankhaprasit is employed as an Archaeologist at the Underwater Archaeology division of the Thai government.  She hopes that she inspires other women, particularly Thai women, to enter into the field.  She recognizes that there are cultural and other barriers to entering the field, but hopefully her role and work will inspire the next generations of female maritime archaeologists.

 

References

Flinders University. "Meet Our Maritime Archaeology Alumni: Where Are They Now?" n.d. Flinders University. Electronic. 6 December 2024.

Rattanamansuang, Daosiri. "Pornnatcha “Jo” Sankhaprasit: Thailand’s first female underwater archaeologist." Trowel Blazers 21 September 2022. Electronic.

Women Offshore. "A BBC Conversation: ‘Diving into the Past’." 10 August 2017. Women Offshort. Electronic. 6 December 2024.

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Leah Zani, Public Anthropologist, Author, & Poet

Leah Zani (Picture by Rachel Zilberg)

 

It has been said by several (applied and research) anthropologists that one can do just about anything with an anthropology degree.  The work of public anthropologist, author, and poet Dr. Leah Zani (they/she) exemplifies that point.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to discussing the burgeoning career of this dynamic scholar and humanitarian.

 

Dr. Leah Zani earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology at Lewis and Clark College.  They followed this up by earning both her Master’s and Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of California-Irvine.  They focused her graduate research on Lao and Hmong populations who were ultimately displaced due to the traumatic events of the Vietnam War.  They investigated issues related to trauma both during and after the war, as well as battlefield reclamation, military waste, and intergenerational trauma.  Her research took her directly to Laos as well as throughout the United States where they worked with and communicated directly with her cultural informants.  Her work has been integral in helping individuals who (due to Trump administration policies) were being forcibly deported back to Loas and other Asian countries.  Individual who were deported risked being jailed or executed as traitors due agreements they had entered with the US military in exchange for their assistance during the Vietnam War.  There were additional issues wherein individuals who were born and raised in the United States were also being forcibly deported to countries they had little to no connection to.  Her research led her to testify to the US Congress in 2013.

 

Zani’s work has earned her various awards and accolades.  Between 2012 to 2015 they held a position with the University of California-Berkley’s Human Right Center in partnership with the Mines Advisory Group.  They also served as an Ambassador for the Scholar Rescue Fund, an organization that helps displaced scholars rebuild their lives in new locations throughout the US.  Between 2018 and 2022 they held the Human Rights Seat for the American Anthropological Association.  In this position they were responsible for helping to compose the Association’s 2020 Human Rights Statement, among various other related duties.  Zani was the Poetry Editor at Anthropology and Humanism from 2018 to 2021.  Their work has been widely published in various peer-reviewed journals, and several of their creative non-fiction and poetry pieces have been awarded prizes.  Their book, Strike Patterns, won the Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Prize for Creative Nonfiction in 2023, and their poem titled, “Bomb Children,” won the Ethnographic Poetry Prize from the Society of Humanistic Anthropology. 

 

Currently, Zani works as an independent consultant, writer, and poet.  They are a consultant for Communitology, a consulting firm that aids with refugee and immigration matters.  Zani also runs their own independent newsletter, The Powder Press, wherein they write about issues related to political and social issues.  They continue to be dedicated to their humanitarian work, particularly through creative endeavors such as writing and poetry.

 

Works Cited

Zani, Leah. "Contact: Leah Zani." 2024. Communitology. Electronic. 6 December 2024.

—. Leah Zani. 2023. Electronic. 6 December 2024.

—. The Powder Press. 2024. Electronic. 6 December 2024.