Job: Anthropology Professor and Associate Chair at the University of Texas at Austin

When and how did you first become interested in archeology?

I spent my childhood in Germany, where my family took long road trips to historic sites like castles and old churches. That’s what got me interested in history. Growing up, I read books on different people and places in the past, from all over the world. By the time I was in college and wondering what I should do, I decided that I wanted to do something that I loved. Choosing to be an archaeologist was easy. I thought it would be fun to spend my days outside at a site, digging in the dirt and finding artifacts, and puzzling through what happened there, and who the people were who once lived there. My very first excavation was on a Creek Indian site called Fusihatchee in Alabama, where Native Americans had lived for thousands of years.

What do you love about what you do as an archeologist?

These days I do archaeology in Texas, and study the African Americans who were enslaved until the end of the Civil War. I want to know about their family and community life, and how they survived as farmers during a time when racism and inequality were common for African Americans. I also teach archaeology at the University of Texas, and I enjoy involving my students in my research. I think it’s important for young Americans to know their history, and to give them the chance to learn how we can discover the past through the artifacts that people once used.

To learn about a project that Dr. Franklin, her former students, and her colleagues worked on, check out the TBH exhibit on the Ransom and Sarah Williams Farmstead. Be sure to check out the TBH Kids' games that are based on this project!

Play the video below to hear Dr. Franklin discuss what it meant to have students from her University of Texas archeology and black history classes working on the Ransom and Sarah Williams Farmstead site.