Annya Jacobs
Collections Assistant of Cultural History

Annya attended the University of Arizona where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Graduate Certificate in Egyptian Archaeology. During her academic career at Arizona, she attended her first archaeological field school in Israel where she excavated and researched a Roman-period bathhouse. Following her interest in Middle East North African Archaeology, she joined another field school in Luxor, Egypt, where she began her research into the relationship between trade relations and the natural environment. She returned to Egypt the following year for an investigative season, where she traveled across the country obtaining additional research for her Graduate Certificate.

After graduating, Annya accepted a position as the museum/curatorial specialist at University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research. Annya worked at the LTRR for almost two years, during which she managed a large-scale rehousing project of archaeological and scientific specimens from across the world. In the winter of 2018, Annya returned to Northern Africa to work at the UNESCO heritage site of Nuri in Sudan as an archaeological crew member and museum/curatorial specialist.

The following year, Annya relocated to the UK to pursue a higher education in Archaeology and Heritage at University College London. At UCL she earned a Merit for her master’s thesis, where she researched intercultural trade relations across Northern Africa through obsidian sourcing.

After graduating with her Master of Arts, she returned home to the States, where she began her career with the National Park Service. Annya accepted the position of Museum Technician at Crater Lake in Oregon, where she processed the historical and scientific collections from Crater Lake National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Tule Lake National Monument, and Oregon Caves National Monuments. The following season, she moved down to Zion National Park in Utah, where she worked as an Archeological Technician for a fire survey project.

From Utah, Annya went on to work with the State Historical Society of North Dakota as the Archaeological Collections Assistant. At the SHSND, she processed US Forest Service archaeological collections from across the Northern Plains. She was also involved in the development of a publicly accessible online database for archaeological materials by 3D scanning select artifacts.

Annya joined the MOR team in November 2022 and is excited to be a part of the Cultural History Department. She is currently working on processing art works from Montana Modernist Helen McAuslan under a grant gifted by the Montana Arts Council.

Contact Anya via email or 406.994.4608.