ACA Lecture Series

About the speaker

Steve Black

Dr. Steve Black is the lead Editor of www.TexasBeyondHistory.net. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard ('90)and has spend most of the last three decades working as a professional archeologist in Texas, Mesoamerica, and the Southwest. Steve grew up in Austin (McCallum '71), graduated from UT-Austin ('76), and lived and worked in San Antonio and parts south for many years while working and going to school UT-San Antonio (M.A. '83). He is also a writer and author of many technical studies, popular articles on a variety of subjects including archeology, and a book (with Kevin Jolly) of Archaeology By Design (Altamira Press, 2003), a practical guide to the process of planning and carrying out successful archeological research projects. Steve balances life with swimming in Barton Springs, traveling, fishing, gardening, cooking, drinking, and otherwise enjoying the company of friends and family.

Leslie Bush

Although more American archeologists are employed in the private sector than anywhere else, few people outside the discipline know who they are, what they do, and why they do it. She'll illuminate some of the less-glamorous but worthy and sometimes fascinating archeological career paths that run outside the limelight of National Geographic and the History Channel.

Dr. Leslie Bush is currently the sole proprietor of Macrobotanical Analysis, a small archeological consulting business in Manchaca, Texas that specializes in plant remains from archeological sites. She obtained a B.A. in English and Women's Studies from Carleton College and worked as a swim instructor, security guard, loan collector, ghost writer, and agricultural fieldhand before discovering her passion really lies in archaeology. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Indiana University. Her dissertation research concerned 14th century Indians in central Indiana, how the plants they grew and gathered relate both to local landscapes and ethnic identities. She is the author of Boundary Conditions: Macrobotanical Remains and the Oliver Phase (University of Alabama Press), occasional journal articles and many technical reports. Texas landscapes are having an increasing hold over her personal and professional imagination, and she looks forward to many productive years on the Balcones Escarpment.

May Schmidt

An Austinite by birth, May Schmidt attended Pease Elementary, O.Henry Jr. High and Austin High Schools. She double-majored in history and economics at the University of Texas at Austin and earned masters degrees in Latin American Studies and Library Science. May has been active in VISTA and served with the Peace Corps in El Salvador. Married for more than forty years, she has two children and one grandchild. She has been active in Texas Archeology for more than four decades, primarily through her involvement with the Texas Archeological Society and the Travis County Archeological Society. She and her husband serve as Stewards for the Texas Archeological Stewardhip Network of the Texas Historical Commission and as Directors for Region 9 of the Texas Archeological Society. May is retired from the Austin Public Library and currently serves as Librarian for the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at U.T. Austin