Nick Merkelson

Collections manager Nick Merkelson is currently working on a project to identify, catalog, photograph, and provide condition assessments for all heritage assets at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. Prior to joining History Associates, he cataloged ethnographic artifacts in the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and analyzed archaeological specimens in the Archaeology Division of the National Museums of Kenya. Mr. Merkelson is a veteran of archaeological excavations in East Africa and Europe, where he discovered a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal skull at Sima de las Palomas, Murcia, Spain. He completed a nine-month curatorial fellowship at Coe Hall Historic House Museum, where he conducted exhibit research and installation, performed collections management, and managed the museum's social media accounts.

Mr. Merkelson received his master's degree with distinction honors in cultural heritage studies from the Institute of Archaeology, University College, London, and his bachelor's degree in religion/archaeology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.