Megan Rhodes Victor

Megan Rhodes Victor is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Queens College, CUNY. She holds a Ph.D. from The College of William and Mary (2018) and previously served as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University’s Archaeology Center. Her research focuses on historical archaeology (1500–1900 AD), emphasizing commensality, archaeology of alcohol in taverns/saloons, and frontier spaces. She directs projects such as the Molly House Project (examining LGBTQ+ history in colonial taverns) and the Highland City Project (19th-century Montana mining town analysis). She also explores archaeogaming, studying video games like The Elder Scrolls series.

Education: B.A. in Anthropology (University of Michigan, 2010), M.A. and Ph.D. (William & Mary, 2012/2018). Her fieldwork spans Maine, Virginia, Montana, California, and the Gulf of Mexico. Notable projects include excavations at Smuttynose Island (Maine), Colonial Williamsburg’s Raleigh Tavern, and Stanford’s Arboretum Chinese Labor Quarters.

Research interests include:

• Commensality and social negotiation through food/drink
• Material culture of drinking spaces
• Frontier communities and socio-economic dynamics
• Representation of archaeology in video games

Labs/Initiatives: Digital and Public Archaeology Lab. Grants and awards not explicitly listed, but her work has been featured in conferences like the Society for Historical Archaeology and Archaeogaming Conferences.