Virginia L. Butler earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Georgia, and an M.A. in Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Washington. She joined the Department of Anthropology at Portland State University in 1995 and retired in 2020. Her primary research focuses on the long-term relationships between people and animals, especially fishes, which she has addressed mainly through zooarchaeology. Her regional focus is the Pacific Northwest, but she has also carried out work in Oceania and the Great Basin of western North America. Since 2012, Butler has been the lead organizer of the Archaeology Roadshow, an annual large-scale public outreach event that takes place on PSU campus and sister communities in Oregon.
Selected Works:
- Butler, V.L., L. Merrifield, V. Parks, S.L. Anderson (2021). Ten years on: Engaging the public through the Archaeology Roadshow. Journal of Northwest Anthropology, Special Publication 4, Edited by D.C. Stapp and J.G. Longenecker, pp. 6-25.
- Butler, V.L., S.K. Campbell, K.M. Bovy, M.A. Etnier. (2019). Exploring ecodynamics of coastal foragers using integrated faunal records from Čḯxwicən village (Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, U.S.A), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 23:1143-1167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.049
- Fitzhugh, B., V.L. Butler, K.M. Bovy, and M.A. Etnier (2019). Human ecodynamics: a perspective for the study of long-term change in socioecological systems. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 23:1077-1094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.03.016
- Deur, D. and V.L. Butler. (2016). Incorporating archaeology into local government historic preservation and planning: a review of current practice. Journal of the American Planning Association Special issue on Historic Preservation and Planning 82(2): 189-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2015.1137222
- Campbell, S.K. and V.L. Butler (2010). Archaeological evidence for resilience of Pacific Northwest salmon populations and the socioecological system over the last ~7500 years. Ecology and Society 15(1):17.
- Butler, V.L. and S.K. Campbell (2004). Resource intensification and resource depression in the Pacific Northwest of North America: a zooarchaeological review. Journal of World Prehistory 18(4): 327-404.