Dr. Tommy Hailey
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Director, Cultural Resources Office
Archaeological Conservator and Underwater Archaeologist
Ph.D., Anthropology, Texas A&M University
B.A., Archaeological Studies, University of Texas-Austin
Fields of Interest:
Archaeological Conservation; Underwater Archaeology; Historical Archaeology of the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean; Archaeological Chemistry.
During the course of his studies, Dr. Hailey received training in a wide array of archaeological topics, including geoarchaeology, paleoethnobotany, and human osteology, with more intensive training in the areas of archaeological conservation, nautical archaeology, historical archaeology, and archaeological chemistry. His field experience has included participation in excavations of prehistoric and historical sites in Texas, and archaeological surveys in Texas and New Mexico. In addition to these experiences, he has taken part in underwater excavations on the 17th-century sunken English city of Port Royal, Jamaica, and the wreck of an early 19th-century, horse-powered ferryboat, which sank in Lake Champlain near Burlington, Vermont.
Since coming to NSU, Dr. Hailey has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Eastport project, conserving artifacts recovered during the partial excavation of a civil war ironclad which was sunk in the Red River during the retreat of troops from the Battle of Mansfield, and with the Louisiana Army National Guard in the development of an Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan, which is designed to provide the Guard with information and guidelines for preserving and protecting significant sites on national Guard properties throughout the state of Louisiana.
Dr. Hailey's papers and publications include "An Unlikely Endeavor: The Construction of Seagoing Vessels on the Western Rivers, 1792-1817," presented at the 27th Annual Society for Historical Archaeology Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology in Vancouver, British Columbia; "Lead Poisoning in the English New World Colonies of the 17th and 18th Centuries: An Analysis of Lead-Glazed Ceramics from Port Royal, Jamaica," presented at the 25th Annual Society for Historical Archaeology Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology in Kingston, Jamaica; The A.S. Ruthven: A Preliminary Report, unpublished manuscript on file with the Texas Historical Commission, Austin, Texas; and numerous archaeological reports from projects in Texas and Louisiana.
Besides serving as the Archaeological Conservator for the School of Social Sciences, Dr. Hailey is director of the Cultural Resource Office and is currently involved in a multiple-year project with the Louisiana Army National Guard, the Integrated Cultural Resources Management Project, which is designed to provide the Guard with information and guidelines for preserving and protecting significant sites on National Guard properties throughout the state of Louisiana.
