Ph.D. student, Anthropology, Univ. of Florida
M.A., Anthropology, Univ. of West Florida, 2018
B.A., Anthropology, Univ. of Central Florida, 2010
Matt began his Ph.D. study at the University of Florida during the Fall of 2017, when he joined the staff of the Laboratory of Southeastern Archaeology. He earned a Master’s degree from the University of West Florida, where his research focused on the hydrogeomorphology of Blackwater Bay, Santa Rosa County, Florida. His primary interests traverse the topics of sedimentology, Southeastern archaeology, underwater archaeology, maritime survey methods, lithic analysis, and GIS. Matt earned his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida in 2010, where he studied geophysical search methods, bioarchaeology, and Native American ethnology. He attended his very first archaeological field school with the LSA in 2010. Matt is also an Associate Scholar with the Aucilla Research Institute.
Current Research
Matt’s current research is focused on constructing probability models of the locations of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites in the Southeast, affording him the opportunity to combine his anthropological interests with interdisciplinary studies of geophysics, geomorphometry, and hydrology. A lifelong Floridian, Matt feels a strong connection to the state’s unique environment, and participating in archaeological research has allowed him to pursue questions he first pondered as a youngster traversing many of the state’s waterways: When did humans first arrive? What were their lives like? How have the environment and biota changed over time?
Recent Publications
- Newton, Matthew A., James S. Dunbar, and Madeleine Carr. 2016. Wakulla Springs Phase I Project 2015. FMSF No 23307. Report on file Bureau of Archaeological Research, Tallhassee.
- Bratten, John R., Gregory Cook, and John Worth. With contributions from Elizabeth Benchley, Kelsey McGuire Bibo, Meghan Mumford, Stewart Hood, Andrew Van Slyke, Justin Milewski, Arlice Marionneaux, Andrew Willard, Charles Bendig, Caitlyn Bronston-Flynn, Austin Burkhardt, and Matthew A. Newton. 2016. Exploring Luna’s 1559 Fleet: Final Report for Florida Division of Historic Resources, Grant SC 503. University of West Florida, Pensacola.
- Gougeon, Ramie, Cole Smith, Hillary Jolly, George Kinison, Cortney Boren, and Matthew A. Newton. 2015. Summary of 2015 Archaeological Field School Excavations. University of West Florida, Archaeology Institute Report of Investigations.
Recent Conference Presentations
- Newton, Matthew A. 2019 Radon Testing for Paleoenvironmental Studies. Poster presented at Annual Meeting of The Florida Anthropological Society, Crystal River, FL.
- Newton, Matthew A. 2018. Paleoenvironmental Data from Blackwater Bay, Santa Rosa County, Florida. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical and Underwater Archaeology, New Orleans, LA.
- Newton, Matthew A. 2016 A Good Place to Be: Phase I Report from Wakulla Springs State Park, Florida. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, FL.
- Newton, Matthew A. 2015 Interpreting Site Formation Processes in Archaeology Using Spatial Modeling and Soil Particle Size Distribution Analysis. Poster Presented at Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Nashville, TN.