Staff profile

C. Wesley Mattox, B.A.

Archaeologist

What do you do at Southern Research?

My job as an archaeologist at Southern Research is that of a researcher and organizer. All field data, including information about artifacts, cultural features, landforms, and previous work at an individual site and other sites nearby, must be brought together in an understandable and manageable format. From work on excavation in the field to work in the lab on data entry and research, I follow the process of site report creation to the very end.

How did you become interested in Archaeology?

I was a relative late-comer to this field, so I don't have a story about finding arrowheads as a child or wanting to be an archaeologist when I was young. Instead, I was particularly interested in history until I went to college. It was there that I stumbled into Anthropology classes and decided I wanted to make a life out of this work.

And what's the neatest thing you've ever found?

During excavation in the highlands of Bolivia, I found a stone sculpture of a face, carved out of basalt. It featured a large protruding nose and bug eyes and feline teeth. Along its cheeks were incised portraits of two pumas. It originally came off of a large stone vessel that must have weighed hundreds of pounds.

What do you do when you are not doing archaeology?

When I'm not in the field, I enjoy walks on the beach, thunderstorms, kittens, and chocolate fondue. I'm a Gemini. My favorite color is Blue. (If you don't buy that, then I also like reading, watching movies, playing games and performing on Bass guitar and saxophone)