Katelyn J. Bishop

Katelyn J. Bishop is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the Department of Anthropology, Program in Medieval Studies, and Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Her research explores human-animal relationships in the Americas, focusing on the sociopolitical and ceremonial roles of birds in the North American Southwest (800-1150 CE).

• B.A., University of Virginia (2011)
• M.A., University of California, Los Angeles (2014)
• Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (2019)

Using a zoontological perspective, her work investigates animal agency in past societies through museum collections, archival documents, and legacy data. Current projects include analyses of bird symbolism in Chaco Canyon, agricultural strategies, and the pan-Southwest significance of macaws. She supervises the Zooarchaeology Laboratory, supporting student research in these areas.

Her recent publications emphasize:

• Archaeological reinterpretation of historical excavation records
• Ecological constraints on human-animal interactions
• Comparative studies of Mesoamerican and Southwestern agricultural transitions

Grants from the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society fund her collections-based research, which bridges archaeological theory with material culture analysis.