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Dela Kuma obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University. Dr. Kuma specializes in African archaeology, the archaeology of ‘legitimate’ trade, and the archaeology of the Atlantic world. Her current research, titled “Nkudzedze: Africanizing Tastes and Consumer Power during ‘Legitimate’ Trade at Amedeka, Ghana (AD 1807-1900), examines broad transformations in local tastes and everyday life during the nineteenth-century global trade.

 

She specializes in using archaeometry and archaeobotanical tools to answer archaeological questions concerning foodways, trade, and global exchange networks. Dela has also worked on archaeological projects in Nigeria, Portugal, Italy, Israel, and Russia. She was the 2018 co-coordinator of the Northwestern University African Graduate Student Seminar. Generous fellowships from Northwestern University, the Social Science Research Council’s Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center Pre-Doctoral Award have supported her research.

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Before pursuing a Ph.D. at Northwestern University, Dela graduated from Sapienza Universita di Roma, Italy, Universidad di Evora, Portugal, with an MSc. in Archaeological Materials Science and a B.A. in Archaeology and Heritage Studies with honors from the University of Ghana.

CV: About

Education

CV: Education

2022

​

Ph.D.

Anthropology
Northwestern University

 USA

2019

 

M.A.

Anthropology
Northwestern University

 USA

2016

 

M.Sc.

Archaeological Material Sciences

Sapienza Universita di Roma & Universidad di Evora

Italy & Portugal
 

2015

 

Certificate of Advanced Training in the History of Ceramics

Kazan Federal University 

Russia

2013

 

B.A.
Archaeology & Heritage Studies

University of Ghana

Ghana

Fieldwork Experience

CV: Fieldwork

2019

Project Archaeobotanist

Ife-Sungbo Archaeology Project

 Nigeria

2009

Field Supervisor

Krobo Mountains Archaeology Project

Ghana

Co-Principal Investigator

Amedeka Archaeology Project

Ghana

Unit Supervisor

Manot Cave Archaeology Project

Israel

2015 - Present

2015

2014

Field Crew

Nkwantanso Ethnographic Project

Ghana

2013 - 2016

Field Supervisor

Ethnoarchaeology of Ironworking and Economic Practices

Ghana

CV: Laboratory

Laboratory Experience

2021-2022

Senior Research Specialist

Archaeometry Laboratory

University of Missouri

Research Reactor

2019

Macrobotanical Analyst

  Paleoethnobotany Laboratory

Northwestern University

2016

Ceramic Analyst

Museo delle Origini Laboratory 

Sapienza University of Rome

2015

Ceramic Analyst

Herculus Archaeometry Laboratory

 Evora-Portugal

2015

Advanced Student Trainee

History of Ceramics

Bolgar Archaeological Summer Fieldwork and School

Teaching Experience

CV: Teaching
CV: Contact

2019

 

Guest Lecture

The Archaeology of Trade in Africa

2019

 

Guest Lecture

Introduction to African Civilization

2019

 

Research Assistant

Paleoethnobotany Laboratory

with Dr. Amanda Logan

 

2019

 

Teaching Assistant

Human Origins

with Dr. Erin Waxenbaum

2018

 

Teaching Assistant

The Study of Culture through Language

with Dr. Nell Haynes

2018

 

Teaching Assistant

Archaeology: Unearthing History

with Dr. Matthew Johnson & Dr. Melissa Rosenzweig

2017

 

Teaching Assistant

Contemporary African Worlds

with Dr. Adia Benton

2013-14

 

Teaching & Field Assistant

University of Ghana

 

Dela Kuma

The University of Pittsburgh, Department of Anthropology
WWPH, 3302 S Bouquet St, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

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