Julie Cormack



Julie Cormack


Office:   B349F 
Phone: 403.440.7012
E-mail: jcormack@mtroyal.ca

 

Education:

I completed my undergraduate degree (First Class Honours BSc in Anthropology with a minor in Biology) from Trent University. My graduate degrees were from the University of Alberta, with my MA thesis on Miocene (fossil) primate jaw structure; and the University of Liverpool, with my PhD dissertation on Early Stone Age stone artefacts from east Africa. My passion has always been with the study of human origins and my interest has always included both archaeological remains (prehistoric stones) and biological evidence (human bones).


Research Interests:

Prehistoric Archaeology; Biological Anthropology; History of Anthropological Science; Palaeoanthropology (human evolution); lithics (stone artefacts); human osteology; osteological measurement; racial studies; China; Jordan; sub-Saharan Africa

  1. Davidson Black biography and Chinese archaeology

I have completed the writing of the authorized biography of Canadian anthropologist, Dr. Davidson Black, who was involved in the early excavations of Zhoukoudian (the Peking Man site) in China.  It was his analysis of our direct human ancestor Sinanthropus pekinensis (who dates to 730,000 years ago) that was Dr. Black's legacy.  This biography is based on historical documents from private, national, and international archives, and will be submitted to a Canadian publisher in summer 2011.  I regularly present papers at anthropological conferences in China and have been invited to participate in an inaugural conference in Yunnan Province in November 2012.  I have started collaborative research with Chinese and South African scholars on a comparative analysis of prehistoric stone artefacts from China and sub-Saharan Africa.

  1. Madaba Plains Project (MPP), Jordan

This internationally recognized archaeological programme involves the excavation and analysis of materials from the Bronze and Iron Age site at Tell al-'Umayri.  Every two years (summer 2002-), students and volunteers participate in field excavations at this site located outside of Amman, Jordan.  Mount Royal students can get course credit (Anth 2290 (3 weeks) or ANTH 2291 (6 weeks)) for participating in this dig.  The next field season is July/August 2012; with security forms to be completed by March 1, 2012.  Research assistants and volunteers actively work in the Anthropology Lab research space, sorting, cataloguing and analyzing Jordanian lithics.  If you are interested in helping out in the Lab, please contact me at jcormack@mtroyal.ca or 403.440.7012.  My role in MPP is as lithics and human osteology expert, educational co-coordinator, square supervisor, and director for Calgary participants.  For more details on the field project, see http://www.madabaplains.org/umayri/

  1. Open Air Designs – Osteometric board design

Under my direction, Mount Royal Engineering students designed and built a functional osteometric board for use in Biological Anthropology laboratories.  This board has been sold to academic institutions and government agencies.