Courtney Lakevold

Courtney Lakevold is a Permit Archaeologist at Ember Archaeology and has been with the company since 2019. She has been doing archaeology in Alberta for 15+ years and has experience in cultural resource management, government and public outreach. Courtney has worked on survey and excavation projects in the Plains, Boreal, Parkland, Oilsands, and Eastern Slopes regions of Alberta for a variety of industries including forestry, oil and gas, coal mines, subdivisions, transmission lines, and aggregates. In addition to working for Ember, Courtney is also the Programs Manager and Archaeologist for Bodo Archaeology, a non-profit archaeological outreach program based in East Central Alberta.

Courtney has a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology and Geography (with a concentration in Geographic Information Systems) from the University of Lethbridge and a Master’s degree from the University of Alberta. She completed archaeological field schools in Bodo, AB at a large bison hunting site, and in Israel at a Bronze-Iron Age city called Tel Beth Shemesh. Courtney’s master’s research took her to the Great Basin, Utah where she studied the use of space and social structure at a site called Promontory Cave where preservation was so good the crew found ~750 year old moccasins! Part of this research is featured in a University of Utah publication titled Holes in Our Moccasins, Holes in Our Stories. Courtney has also worked on research projects in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories and done ice patch archaeology in Jasper National Park and Willmore Wilderness Park. Prior to joining Ember, Courtney worked for the Historic Resources Management Branch of the Government of Alberta, which is the regulatory body for historic resources. Courtney specializes in public engagement and community outreach and is passionate about making archaeology accessible to everyone.

Courtney’s favourite part of archaeology is spending time outdoors and working on large excavations. She also enjoys travelling and exploring new places, spending time with friends and family, reading, watching baseball and basketball both on TV and in person, tobogganing and playing sports.