Professor Emerita
E-mail: jcormack@mtroyal.ca

As MRU Professor Emerita, I:

• Mentor Anthropology students through the Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship programme
• Submitted the authorized biography of Davidson Black to Canadian publisher
• Invited MRU Sociology and Anthropology students and faculty to Zoom sessions with Servas Canada members to discuss the recent United Nations 65^th Commission on the Status of Women (65CSW) virtual conference that I participated in; dialogue continues

Degrees: PhD; MA; 1^st Class Honours BSc (Anthropology (and Biology))

Academic interests: prehistoric archaeology; palaeoanthropology; racial studies; Old World

Non-academic interests: women’s rights; peace building; intercultural communication; sustainable living

Current Research:

Authorized Biography on Davidson Black
Dr. Davidson Black, Canadian anthropologist, was part of an international multidisciplinary scientific team who in the 1920s and 30s conducted the first excavations at Zhoukoudian (Peking Man site) in China. It was Black’s descriptive analysis of our direct human ancestor Sinanthropus pekinensis that was his legacy.

2021    Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Black, Davidson
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/black_davidson_william_16E.html

2014    Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Black, Davidson / Weidenreich, Franz

Madaba Plains Project (MPP), Jordan            http://www.madabaplains.org/umayri/

This international archaeological programme involved excavation and analysis of biological and cultural materials from the 5000-year-old Bronze and Iron Age site of Tell al-’Umayri. Along with Research Assistants and volunteers working in the MRU/MPP research lab (sorting, washing, cataloguing and analyzing ancient Jordanian stone tools), I supervised close to 200 participants from 2004 to 2017.

In press 1. Descriptive Analysis of Isolated Human Skeletal Fragments Found at Tell al-’Umayri, Jordan AND 2. Excavation and Field Analysis of a Modern Human Skeleton Found at Tell al-’Umayri, Jordan in July 2008. In: Madaba Plains Project 11: The 2008 Season at Tall al-’Umayri and Subsequent Studies, edited by DR Clark, LG Herr, and LT Geraty. Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press

2019    Field H: The Southwest Acropolis. In Madaba Plains Project 8: The 2002 Season at Tall al-’Umayri and Subsequent Studies, edited by LG Herr, DR Clark, LT Geraty and MD Vincent. Riverside, CA: La Sierra University/Center for Near Eastern Archaeology and Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, pp. 69-92

Past Research:

Reading Relics (http://www.readingrelics.com and Twitter @ReadingRelics) - a moderated online forum for topics in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology.

Animal Bones Experiment: Boiling and Cutmark Analysis

Open Air Designs - Osteometric Board Design

Under my direction, Mount Royal Engineering students designed and built a functional measuring board for use in Biological Anthropology laboratories that was sold to academic institutions and government agencies.