- Director, Ancient Civilizations Program
- Director, Anthropology Museum
Contact Information
Research & Teaching Interests
Archaeology; cultural anthropology; museums; Southeast Asian archaeology; cultures of Southeast & East Asia; ceramics; ethnoarchaeology; women in prehistory; prehistoric ecology; ancient civilizations; teaching honors courses; teaching on the web.
Current Research
Dr. Judy Voelker (associate professor) is an archaeologist at Northern Kentucky University where she also serves as the Director of the Museum of Anthropology. Although she has worked on archaeological projects in several regions of the United States including the Great Basin, western New York and the Southwest, she specializes in the prehistoric ceramics of Southeast Asia. Her research interests include ceramic production and technology as well as prehistoric trade and exchange. She is a co-principal investigator on the Thailand Archaeometallurgy Project (TAP). Funding for her research has come from many sources including a Fulbright fellowship to conduct an ethnoarchaeological study in northeast Thailand with women potters who use wooden paddles and ceramic anvils rather than the wheel to make earthenware vessels, as well as the American Council of Learned Societies and the Henry Luce Foundation. She has also received external grants (ASIANetwork) and internal grants from NKU for undergraduate student participation on her research projects both in Thailand and Highland Heights. She actively promotes undergraduate research and has encouraged student presentations at conferences within the discipline as well as venues such as Posters-at-the-Capitol. Voelker is also active in civic engagement and service learning projects. She served on the governing board of the Kentucky Academy of Science as a representative for Social & Behavioral Sciences from 2009-2015.
Academic Degrees
- Ph.D. State University of New York at Buffalo
- M.B.A. Columbia University
- B.A. Barnard College
Courses
- ANT 110 Unearthing the Past: World Archaeology
- ANT 114 Great Archaeological Sites
- ANT201 World Cultures
- ANT210 Archaeological Method & Theory
- ANT 307 Museum Methods
- ANT 311 Museums in Contemporary Society
- ANT 318 Prehistoric Ecology
- ANT 322 Health and Disease in Past Societies
- ANT 328 Contemporary Issues in Anthropology
- ANT 331 Women in Prehistory
- ANT 380 Origins of Civilization
- ANT 382 Visual Anthropology
- ANT 385 Peoples of East and Southeast Asia
- ANT 396 Museum Internship
- ANT480 Senior Capstone
- HNR 301 The Pre-Columbians
Accolades
- 2020 NKU Outstanding Advisor Award
- 2018 University Award – Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring
- 2013 University Award – Sustained Excellence in International Education (shared)
- School of Advanced Research (SAR) Research Seminar Grant (sponsored by NSF)
- 2011 University Award - Sustained Excellence in Outreach and Public Engagement
Selected Publications & Exhibits
- September/October 2013: “Excavating the Past, Reflections on the Present in Southeast Asia: People, Pottery and Community” Behringer Crawford Museum, Covington, KY - Photographs by J. Voelker.
- 2006 Judy C. Voelker (co-author) "A Program for the Analysis of Organic Remains from Prehistoric Copper-producing Settlements in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley, Central Thailand: A Progress Report", in Uncovering Southeast Asia's Past: Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists, (Elisabeth Bacus, Ian Glover, and Vincent Pigott, volume editors), pages 154-167, NUS Press, Singapore.
- 2003 Nigel Chang and Judy Voelker. "Wash and Wear, Disposable and Cheap, Ceramic Bangles as Everyday Personal Ornaments NOT for Symbolic Use" Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, Vol. 23, pages 19-26.
