Wonder Woman of the Week: Mary-Ann Ochota
- Sep 14, 2022
- 2 min read
There aren't many famous anthropologists in history- largely because our work is to shine a spotlight literally anywhere else. We're like the photographers of the social sciences, taking snapshots of world cultures and history and putting our subjects at the center of the story, leaving our own narrative out of the picture. Every once in a while, there comes an archaeologist or anthropologist that deserves to have their story told- especially in a field dominated by male researchers. This week's Wonder Woman is an anthropologist who has made a name for herself for her stage presence on camera, her dedication to her research, and her focus on telling the stories of humanity's most fringe topics in a way that we call all empathize with.
Mary-Ann Ochota was born in 1981 in the UK and went on to study archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge- focusing on social anthropology. About a decade after completing her degree, Ochota began working in broadcast journalism by covering foreign affairs on a show called Unreported World as well as being a contributing personality on Britain's Secret Treasures for two seasons and the archaeological show Time Team for one season. There are not many fact based archaeology adventure shows on television- which might have something to do with aliens (don't @ me), but most of them that exist have male hosts. That's why it's so important that these shows have hosts that can inspire more young women and girls to study archaeology and anthropology.
That "adventure" tag on Mary-Ann Ochota's job title is pretty accurate too. Ochota not only engages in historical field research, she also travels the world in often dangerous ways. In 2012 for example, Ochota was a contributing deck hand onboard a clipper ship during a round-the-world sailing race; participating in her team's section sailing from China to the United States, blogging about the experience along the way. Ochota is even an active wilderness backpacker and orienteer, having published multiple books on her wilderness adventures and archaeological work in remote parts of Britain. Ochota's work is far from over, but her work thus far as already inspired countless young women and girls to take an interest in becoming anthropologists in Britain and beyond.
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