Glenna Nielsen-Grimm, Ph.D.
Anthropology Collections Manager
Areas of Expertise
• Collections Management of over a million Objects
• Artifact Conservation and Care
• Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Region, Northern Mexico
• Southwest Archaeology
• Bronze Age Middle East - Development of States and Trade
Background
AS NHMU’s Anthropology Collections Manager, Glenna Nielsen-Grimm, P.h.D., is responsible for the care of over one million objects that date as early as 10,300 BP and represent North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Pacific Islands, Middle East, Great Basin and Northern Colorado Plateau. She manages all aspects of care of ethnographic and archaeology objects from donated, state and federal collections housed at the museum. This includes cataloging, assessing the condition of objects, implements conservation procedures, handles research requests, and writes grants.
Her research interests are both regional and global having spent over 30 years doing archaeology field research in Utah, American Southwest, Guatemala, Mexico, and the Middle East. Her current research includes research at the site of El Mirador, FARES Mirador Basin Project, Peten, Guatemala, and continuing work in Jordan as the Assistant Director of the BYU Ad Deir Plateau Project, Petra Jordan.
Her interest continues on prehistoric Southwest trade, including trade with Mesoamerica and Western Mexico. This interest culminated in residue analysis for cacao on prehistoric pottery from Montezuma Canyon archaeological sites. She continues her interest in pottery, Kachina ideology and figurines of the Southwest, West and Northern Mexico. She also continues to explore evidence of influence and interaction between the U.S. Southwest and Mesoamerica. Nielsen-Grimm has three publications pending on her current research, has edited three recent publications, and has published over 35 articles.
Nielsen-Grimm received her Ph.D. in 1990 from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Utah. She received an M.A. in Prehistoric Archaeology, minoring in Secondary Education, and a B.S./B.A with a double major in Social Anthropology and Archaeology from Brigham Young University.
