Susan Blair

Dr. Susan Blair began her involvement in Anthropology at UNB as a Master of Arts student, later becoming a stipend instructor, then post-doctoral fellow. In July 2006, she became an Assistant Professor.

Dr. Blair began working in archaeology in New Brunswick in the late 1980s. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1991. During her degree she began a working relationship with the New Brunswick Provincial Archaeological Services Unit. She conducted research on the pre-contact archaeology of the Grand Manan Archipelago, completing her Masters degree at UNB in 1997.

Following this project, she undertook the direction of the Jemseg Crossing archaeology project, the largest archaeological mitigation project ever conducted in eastern Canada. This project contributed significantly to her doctoral research at the University of Toronto, which examined fine-grained changes in settlement and technology in ancestral Wolastoqiyik sites of the Lower Saint John River. She has co-authored a volume on the archaeology of the Atlantic region, and published several volumes on the precontact archaeology of New Brunswick.

With the completion of her doctorate in 2004, Dr. Blair began a long-term collaboration with Metepenagiag Heritage Park to explore the archaeological heritage of Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation. She is currently engaged in a range of research projects that focus on pre-contact technology, including copper working, and stone tool, pottery and textile manufacturing. She is also engaged in exploring the processes involved in community-driven research and indigenous archaeology.

Courses taught

• Anth 2303
• Anth 1303