Samantha Nadel

Matriculated September 2019

Research Interests

Mesoamerica; science, technology, and industry; dye production; cash crop economics; colonial Latin America; organic residue analysis; biomarker identification

Socials

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-nadel-223513184/

About

Samantha Nadel’s research focuses on cochineal, a vibrant red dye produced by a semi-domesticated insect raised by numerous Indigenous cultures of the Americas for centuries to millennia. Her research examines the antiquity of this industry and its social context against the backdrop of the tumultuous transition to Spanish colonial rule. To address these questions, she will employ organic residue analysis on ceramic and ground stone artifacts to identify and analyze contexts in which people specialized in cochineal production.

Before coming to Boston University, Samantha completed her BA at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA, where she double majored in Chemistry and Archaeology.

Awards & Grants

• National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (NSF DDRIG). (July 2023).
• GRS Summer Fellowship. (Summer 2023).
• Short-term Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF). (Spring 2023).
• Boston University Latin American Studies Scott Palmer Travel Grant. (Spring 2023).
• Mark Mobius Student Research and Travel Endowment Fund. (Spring 2023).
• Short-term Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF). (Spring 2022).
• Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award for the Archaeology Program. (2022).
• Department of Anthropology Summer Research Grant, Boston University. (Summer 2020).
• Boston University Dean’s Fellowship. (Fall 2019, Spring 2020). 

Publications

• forthcoming