Ashley Lemke is an assistant professor in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her primary research interests include the anthropology of hunting and archaeology of hunter-gatherers, specifically prehistoric subsistence and diversity of foraging strategies. These research questions have led her to work in North America and Europe on both terrestrial and underwater archaeological projects from the Lower Paleolithic to 19th-century Nunamiut archaeological sites in the high arctic.

As a prehistoric underwater archaeologist, Lemke’s current research seeks to understand the social and economic organization of caribou hunters 9,000 years ago through the systematic survey and excavation of ancient hunting sites submerged beneath the Great Lakes.

Lemke is also active in archaeological research in Texas.

Lemke serves on the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (ACUA) Board of Directors. Covering nearly 3/4 of the Earth’s surface, water is the source of all life on our planet. Beneath the surface of our oceans, lakes, rivers, and wetlands lies a physical record of humankind preserved in prehistoric and historic shorelines, shipwrecks, inundated cities, harbors, and other traces of our past. The ACUA serves as an international advisory body on issues relating to underwater archaeology, conservation, and submerged cultural resources management. It is working to educate scholars, governments, sport divers, and the general public about underwater archaeology and the preservation of underwater resources.


  • 2016 - Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Michigan
  • 2010 - M.A. in Anthropology, University of Michigan
  • 2008 - B.A. in Anthropology (Classical Civilization), University of Texas
Link to Research Profile
ashley.lemke@uta.edu

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