Jewell Ruth-Ella Humphrey identifies herself as a “Black woman, traveller and student” who is now pursuing her passion for archaeology and African Diaspora studies. She was born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, USA and is currently residing in Washington DC, USA. She graduated with an undergraduate degree from the Center of African Studies at Howard University. Her pursuit of archaeology and anthropology began from a guest lecture during her undergraduate by Dr Justin Dunnavant, who illustrated that it was an accessible choice for her. Following this, she began to gain experience in archaeology by spending the summers of 2018 and 2019 working at the Estate Little Princess project alongside Justin and archaeologists such as Dr Ayana Flewellen, Dr Alicia Odewale and others. She described her experience at the Estate Little Princess Field School to be one of the most unique experiences.
Jewell on site.
The connections made with the aforementioned archaeologists made this field feel more and more of a viable choice for her. On working with these inspirational archaeologists and being on site, she says,
“I felt like I was with superstars, like celebrities”
Furthermore, she states that it was a very emotional experience, working on site with the locals who had a history of enslaved members in their families and to still receiving so much support from them. She has also done some work in Tanzania, Africa, where she did an anthropological study of the linguistics of the Kihehe/Hehe language.
In the fall of 2020, she is going to begin her PhD in the department of anthropology department at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with prime focus on linguistics and archaeology. As she further continues her studies, she is looking to gain more experience. She is doing a certification in Scuba Diving in order to open the world of underwater archaeology to her. She is a proud member of the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) and is community driven member who promotes self-love. Alongside this, she runs a blog to honour her namesakes — her grandmothers — and to make her life experiences accessible to communities that do not get the same opportunities that she has been given.
Last but not the least, she wants to emphasize that:
“African Diaspora archaeology goes beyond enslavement”
and wants to share that with the readers. We look forward to seeing what more she does within this field and beyond!
https://jewellhumphrey.com/home
All the information taken from Jewell Humphrey herself during an interview. Part of a series profiling the TrowelBlazers of the Estate Little Princess excavation.
Written by Sakshi Surana as part of the TrowelBlazers Digital Fieldwork Project at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL
