About Me

My photo
Katherine Ambry Linhein Muller is a graduate student at Monmouth Univeristy in the Master's program for Anthropology. She is an experimental archaeologist exploring the evolution of metal technology. Experimental archaeology is a theoretical and methodological approach to understanding the past through recreating lifeways and material culture. Her current projects exploring the evolution of blacksmithing. Past research included exploring prehistoric and historic foodways and stonetool technology.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Once Upon a Fairy Tale

Along with the new pages on my blog, I decided to do one on folklore and fairy tales since they have always been an interest of mine. Fairy tales and folk traditions can inform us about cultural traditions in the past and can reveal changing cultural aspects. The first series on this page will be about blacksmiths.  Perhaps, I'll put do several posts about Little Red Riding Hood which was the subject of my undergraduate research. So read and enjoy.  The next time you hear a tale, it might cause you to reflect a little deeper on the meaning behind these stories.  

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

A Study in Living History

For about a year now I've taken a little break from looking for excuses to eat and call it research.  Instead I've taken to studying living history.  The reason for this change of study is two fold.  One reason is that I've been working at a living history museum, The Historic Village at Allaire, as a blacksmith.  The Historic Village is a 19th century industrial town located in what is now Farmingdale, New Jersey. The second reason revolves around the fact that my Master's degree research is on how history is presented to the public at living history.

To keep my blog a little bit organized, I've created two new pages for posts on separate topics.  One is on the research I am doing on living history, Smoke and Fire Forgery. The second page is dedicated to my fun topic of research-Food for Thought.  I hope anyone reading enjoys the new thoughts.