Danielle M. Benden

M.S., The University of Colorado-Boulder, Museum and Field Studies
(Archaeology), 2005
Academic Curator
UW-Madison since 2007

Archaeology, Biological, Cultural

Research

I am particularly intrigued by the cultural transition from hunter-gatherer (Woodland) to agricultural societies in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, especially in southwestern Wisconsin.  My research addresses the presence of American Bottom peoples in the northern hinterlands, which suggests that Mississippians inhabited the Upper Mississippi Valley prior to or coeval with the “Big Bang” at Cahokia.

Curation Interests

I recognize and am dedicated to addressing the Curation Crisis in American Archaeology, and appreciate the importance of federal regulations with respect to collections management.  Specifically, I am interested in the rehabilitation of anthropological collections to increase accessibility and use of collections for research, teaching, and exhibitions, and to encourage the utilization of museum collections for professional and public audiences.

Teaching

Anthro 696: Museum Methods of Anthropological Collections

Select Publications

• Stoltman, James B., Danielle M. Benden, and Robert F. Boszhardt (in press)
  New Evidence in the Upper Mississippi Valley for Pre-Mississippian Cultural Interaction with the American Bottom.  American Antiquity.
  Benden, Danielle (2004)
• The Fisher Mounds Site Complex: Early Middle Mississippian Exploration in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Minnesota Archaeologist 63:7-24.

Curriculum Vitae

Danielle M. Benden CV

Contact

Office: 5457 Sewell Social Science Hall
Office Phone: (608) 890-1823
benden@wisc.edu