Emily Kracht
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emikracht.bsky.social
Emily Kracht
@emikracht.bsky.social
160 followers 380 following 23 posts
Archaeologist studying the Caribbean+pottery+materials
Former collections assistant at FLMNH, current Gaucho at UCSB and NSF GRFP Fellow🏺🌊
https://sites.google.com/view/emily-kracht/biography
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emikracht.bsky.social
Happy Friday! Just wanted to share some beautiful color changes already happening with our clay samples, unfired and fired to 400 and 500°C.
Picture of clay briquettes sitting on a black plastic tray with identifying labels etched into the clay surface.
October 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Sharing my newest open-access article, where I compared some new neutron activation analysis (NAA) data of Puerto Rican ceramics to previously studied ceramics in Puerto Rico, eastern Dominican Republic, and St. Croix!

Also attached another pie chart figure!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Map of Puerto Rico with four sites highlighted, including pie charts at the location of each site. The pie charts break down identified imports versus local ceramics identified within each assemblage. Arrows were also added as an indicator of exchange along general directions, ie south, with line thickness related to intensity of movement.
October 20, 2025 at 8:28 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
New year and new undergraduate interns!! This year, I'll be mentoring with a focus on clay curation and experimental testing of ceramics!

We started with making some test bars this week, including some clays from California and North Carolina, the latter obviously the beautiful bright red one 😍
Image of legs sitting on the ground outside, which is a yellow gravel. Next to her are a swt of keys, printed article, corded headphones, and bags of clay. Image of hands pressing clay into a rectangular mold form on a tray on yellow gravel. Other clay test bars are visible in different colors. Bags of clay, pottery tools, a sieve, and a printed journal article are also visible. Image of four clay test bars, ranging from dark brown to bright red. Writing on each section of the test bar denotes sample name and firing temperature.
September 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
I just finished making up some free printable zines on Caribbean archaeology! Featured are nine (for now) zines on different topics, including foodways, mythology, ballgames, language, edu resources, and more!

Link here but also available on my website!

drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Image of a printable zine titled, "Women in the Early Caribbean". Each page features a few short sentences and hand drawn images.
August 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Results indicate intense levels of trade and interaction not previously detected, much of it concentrated along the northern coast of PR!

Also highlighted is the importance of utilizing understudied collections materials and nondestructive testing.
Figure of a map of Puerto Rico with archaeological sites depicted as pie charts, representing local and nonlocal ceramics.
July 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Wanted to celebrate a little good news. Last Friday some other graduate students and I held an inaugural Anthropology Department Research Symposium for students! It was really successful, and we were able to get 100% of the costs covered for poster printing, awards, and plenty of food!
Photo of a large group of people outside smiling for the camera. A picture of food on a table, including sandwhiches, meats, cheeses, crackers, veggies, and desserts. A picture of a chalkboard with the words "Inaugural Anthropologh Research Symposium" written out decoratively. A picture of a room and food covering the central table, including soda waters, pastries, chips, oranges, and plates.
June 3, 2025 at 5:03 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences is getting hit with a 67.6% cut, worse than other programs within NSF. Funding for archaeologists comes from the division for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, which is facing a 77.3% cut.

It appears every post doc program has been 100% cut.
Screenshot of NSF budget cuts to various programs
May 30, 2025 at 9:44 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Did a pottery firing demo for my department here at UC-Santa Barbara. Couldn't figure out where to legally build a fire, so we improvised a bit!

Overall, it was pretty successful! Commercial clay always fires pretty poorly, but most of the ceramics survived or can easily crossmend.
Collage of fired pottery showcasing all the ceramics, the visible color difference between fired and unfired pottery, the comparison of successfully fired pots and those left in shards as a result of rapid heating, and finally a crossmended Venus figurine. A collage of all of the unfired pottery sitting on a table, the pottery sitting on a picnic table where the firing took place, a picture of the pottery sitting on a metal grate warming up, and a picture of the pottery in the fire itself on a stand-up fire pit.
May 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Back to back conferences from the SAAs in Denver to UCLA but getting some great exploring done! Can it be summer yet?
Picture of a woman's hand holding a plate of tacos with a decorative mural and shop sign that reads "Tacos 1986" Picture of a building with the name "Luskin Conference Center" out front. Picture of a city skyline of Denver with mountains in the background Mirror selfie of a woman
May 1, 2025 at 2:53 AM
emikracht.bsky.social
SAAs Denver was a success! Had a great time catching up with colleagues and friends. Thanks to those who dropped by my poster! #saa2025
Woman stands next to a poster Woman stands next to a poster
April 28, 2025 at 3:40 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Quick plug for my SAA poster, I will be presenting some new radiocarbon dates at 2 ballcourt sites in Puerto Rico! My poster is Saturday morning from 10-12. Pending supplies, I will also have some Caribbean archaeology themed stickers and pins to give out. 😎🫡
Picture of stickers of Caribbean ceramics and motifs in various sizes and colors. Picture of a hand holding a ceramic plate filled with brightly colored pins with archaeology and Caribbean motifs.
April 22, 2025 at 9:05 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
(2/2)
Red image with decorative border and handwritten black font that says, "after the capture of her husband, Anacoana continued to live with her brother and interact with the newly arrived Europeans. She would later become a cacique/cacica herself after the death of her brother. There have been reports of other women chiefs as well. Anacoana by the time of her death had around 300 caciques subordinate to her, and was one of the most powerful people on Hispaniola." A drawn image on the bottom includes the island of Hispaniola, with its native names of Ayiti, Quisqueya, and Bohio. Red image with decorative border and black font that reads, "Even before Anacoana's rise to chiefdom, she and other women controlled and produced high-status goods such as duhos, or wooden ceremonial seats. Even offering gifts to Columbus herself. Women produced high quality goods, could become caciques, and participate in batey, an important ball game, with their own rules, and more. They were the center of Taino community." Drawings of images below include a wooden duho, decorated pottery, shell beads, a cemi idol, and carved figurines. Red image with decorative border that includes a list of references by Keegan, Oliver, Goldstein et al., and Hendon.
February 11, 2025 at 10:12 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Happy International Women and Girls in Science Day! Celebrating by sharing this Caribbean archaeology infographic I made a while back, centered on women! 💖 (1/2)
Red image with decorative border that reads "Women in the early Caribbean" in handwritten black font. Red image with decorative border that reads in handwritten black text "The history of archaeology has not often been kind to women, both those being studied within history and to the archaeologists who happen to be women. Today women only make up 35% of academic positions in archaeology in the US. More recently, scholars are upending the notion that women played passive roles in history, instead evaluating their power and active shaping of societies." Also features a drawing of a woman sitting on an overturned bucket, sieving materials over another bucket in front of her. Surrounding her are text blurbs with offensive phrases, including "the weaker sex", "terrible theories", "incapable of leadership", "indecent", and "too emotional". Red image with decorative border that reads in handwritten black font, "There's been little research specifically focused on women in the early Caribbean, but here's what we know: the economy was "engendered", for instance, women would make the nets for men to fish. The lifestyles of the Taino require participation from everyone. The Tainos were also matrilineal, meaning that descent was passed through the mother's line, and the mother's brother typically held the most authority. Husbands would also move to their wives' village." Images at the bottom include drawn images of a woven net with weights, an angelfish, palometa, butterfly fish, and parrotfish. Red image with decorative border and black handwritten font that says, "That's not to say that women had limited power or authority...one notable woman in the early Caribbean at the time of contact was named Anacoana. Her name meaning "golden flower". She was married to the "stranger king", cacique, or chief, Caonabo. She was also sister to another power cacique of Hispaniola." At the bottom of the page is hand drawn images of flowers, including guava flowers, firebrush, scarlet cordia, sweet potato, lumeria, and cuban buttercup.
February 11, 2025 at 10:12 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Hope everyone is enjoying some nice meals with loved ones and community today. Ever wonder what early Caribbean peoples ate? Find out below.

As always, more resources and info on my website!
Hand drawn image with decorative border and text that reads "What's for Dinner: Taino Foodways". Hand drawn image with decorative border and text that reads "The first people to enter the Caribbean about 4000 to 6000 years ago brought with them a knowledge of cultivation, farming, and food processing. Archaic age and later Ceramic Age people ate a diverse range of foods including maize, manioc, sapodilla, avocado, guava, pineapple, and more!". Image also includes drawings of sapodilla and tropical avocado fruit. Hand drawn image with decorative border and text that reads "Archaeologists today look at the early Caribbean's subsistence strategies from a 'farming is gathering' approach'." The image also includes drawings of a parrotfish, grunt, spotted eagle ray, and woman underwater reaching for shells on a coral bed. Hand drawn image with decorative border and text that reads "To grow their foods, communities on some islands relied on practices like constructing terraces and agricultural mounds. As for the food itself; barbeques, stews, and cassava bread made up parts of common meals" The image also includes drawings of a fire at the beach with parrotfish roasting over it, and a ceramic bowl steaming with stew inside.
November 28, 2024 at 11:45 PM
emikracht.bsky.social
Figured I would reshare my educational resources I've been making the last few years here! These were the first ones I ever made; it started with wanting to teach myself Caribbean ceramics, and then wanting to share with others.

More infographics and text friendly version in link in my bio!
Handwritten image that reads "A handy guide to Caribbean ceramic identification: Chicoid" at the top. Includes hand drawn images of ceramics with descriptions of the pottery series/subseries. Descriptions written out below: The latest pottery series in Rouse's (1992) series. Quickly overtook other pottery series by AD 1350. People making Chicoid pottery intermarried with other communities and appropriation came soon after. The latest series to be imported into the Lucayan islands. Common to see incising and adornos. Adornos can be animalistic or humanoid. Incised lines very clean and even. Effigy vessels are common. Handwritten image that reads "A handy guide to Caribbean ceramic identification: Meillacoid" at the top. Includes hand drawn images of ceramics with descriptions of the pottery series/subseries. Descriptions written out below: Began about AD 850 in Central Hispaniola. Doesn't use red-painting like Ostionoid pottery. Has thin walls with incising, punctation, applique, and adornos are common. These adornos are often animalistic. The best way to distinguish between Chicoid pottery is to see if the incising (drawn lines) are thin or "messy". Punctation, folded rims, and cross-hatched incising are commonly Meillacoid series too. Handwritten image that reads "A handy guide to Caribbean ceramic identification: Ostionoid" at the top. Includes hand drawn images of ceramics with descriptions of the pottery series. Descriptions written out below: Typically more simple, but you can still find painting. Also called "redware". Probably started in Puerto Rico or Hispaniola. Earliest pottery to be imported to the Lucayan Islands. Decoration is also much less common, but not completely absent. Spread throughout the Caribbean, unlike Saladoid series. Handwritten image that reads "A handy guide to Caribbean ceramic identification: Saladoid" at the top. Includes hand drawn images of ceramics with descriptions of the pottery series. Descriptions written out below: Fancy af. One of the first series in the Caribbean. Beginning of the "Ceramic Age"*. Polychrome painting, with a glossy finish. Est. 800-200 BC, in Venezuela. Spread into Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. People making Saladoid pots were most similar to their mainland neighbors. Relied on a more terrestrial diet. *Though archaic age groups may have had pottery too.
November 22, 2024 at 6:34 PM