McKnight offers analytical and research services to archaeologists, historians, and environmental consultants.  With over twenty years experience performing paleoethnobotanical analysis, natural setting surveys and historic landscape assessments, McKnight is capable of handling a wide range of research issues in a wide variety of reporting formats. She has conducted research in a variety of geographical and temporal contexts throughout Eastern North America, Northern Mexico, the Central and Lower Mississippi river valley, and Puerto Rico. 

McKnight has worked for an array of private and public clients including the National Park Service, State governments, county and municipal agencies, private Foundations, Universities, and public/interpretive archaeology projects. She has delivered archeobotanical reports to various clients in accordance with the guidelines of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Defense and State Highway Administrations. Reporting is complete, concise, and adaptable to compliance with any established scientific protocols and/or agency standards.

McKnight structures efficient archeobotanical research and analysis programs suited to Phase I Archaeological and Historical surveys, Phase II testing of sites to determine National Register of Historic Places eligibility, and Phase III Data Recovery. She is also available to assist in project planning to determine the archeobotanical and/or historic landscape assessment potential for proposed projects.  

McKnight’s business is woman-owned-and-operated. She strives to maximize clients’ resources by structuring cost-efficient research.  She is dedicated to providing clients with optimum professional performance and timely compliance with project deadlines.

All aspects of archeobotanical research are undertaken with the highest research ethic in pursuit of excellence.  Processing procedures and laboratory protocols follow established standard practice (Pearsall 2000), and every attempt is made to standardize processing of archeobotanical remains to facilitate intra and ultra site data comparison.  McKnight attends local, regional, national, and international meetings and conferences in order to keep abreast of issues and developments in archeobotanical research.  To cover a diverse range of natural and cultural settings, McKnight maintains and continues to build a vast modern reference collection of plant species representative of the wild and horticultural flora of the Eastern Woodlands of North America.  She endeavors to provide exacting technical performance while maintaining a keen interest in broadening our understanding of prehistoric and historic subsistence and land use.

 Pearsall, Deborah M,  2000.  Paleoethnobotany: A handbook of procedures. Second Edition.  Academic Press, San Diego.