Bonnie Silco

Bonnie Silco (Lawrence) was born in Sheridan, Wyoming March 31, 1967. One of only two children born to Patricia and Edward Lawrence. At an early age her family moved to Greybull, Wyoming where she spent most of her early years as a shy child. However that all changed in high school when she joined speech and debate. Bonnie met Bradly Marlow during one of the speech meets in 1982 and they later married in 1987. After the loss of their infant son, Johnathan, the marriage fell apart and they divorced in 1989. Bonnie met Eric Silco in 1990. They had a son Christian Scott Jaccar Silco born June of 1991. They moved to Littleton, Colorado in 1992. In August of 1994 they welcomed a daughter, Gabrielle Nicole Jaccar Silco. Dissatisfied with the marriage Bonnie and Eric separated in 1995 and later divorced. It's during this time period that Bonnie started finding small roles in film. She arrived in Los Angeles August 25, 1995 and was working on the film "Independance Day" two days later. She worked on various films for the next several years as an actor and later getting behind the scenes into production design and art direction. In 1999 Bonnie met Doug Smith and they married June of 2003. Doug encouraged her to return to school and she received her Associate of Arts degree in Anthropology from Santa Monica College in 2007, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2009. While at UCLA, Smith worked with Dr. Thomas Wake in the Zooarchaeology lab researching the ancient diet of people living off the Panamanian coast, and also with Dr. David A. Scott in the Cotsen School of Archaeology conservation lab studying ancient metallurgy. Ultimately she left California in 2009 to return to the mountains of the West. She is now the Curatorial Assistant for the Draper Natural History Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. She began working for the Center in May of 2010 and transitioned to the Draper in 2011 to serve as the Draper Museum program coordinator. She assists with the Draper's natural science exhibits, collections, and research. She also coordinates the Draper Museum educational programming and outreach. Programs such as the Lunchtime Expedition Lecture Series, Draper After Dark, Science Kids Cody, and other educational outreach programming. She is a member of the Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologist, president of the Absaroka Chapter of the Wyoming Archaeology Society, organizing member of the Cody Culture Club, and P.E.A.K.S.; she sits on the board of the Park County Historic Preservation Commission and just stepped down as president of the Wyoming Archaeology Foundation. She has volunteered with HistoriCorp, on several projects in both Colorado and Wyoming. A Wyoming native, she has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Central America and has lived in Nevada, Colorado, and California.

Statement of Professional Interest:

Her research focuses primarily on the early inhabitants of the Bighorn Basin and their worldview. By researching the stories and oral histories of the first people to migrate through this area, looking at the archaeological evidence, identifying correlations of human modified features on the landscape, and golden eagle nesting behavior her hope is to verify that specific locations were chosen for these sacred activities. To create a richer and more thoughtful story of the first people to call the Bighorn Basin and Wyoming home.

Publications and further reading:

Latex Peels of Petroglyphs at Legend Rock and Torrey Lake, Wyoming, Dr. Lawrence Loendorf and Bonnie Lawrence-Smith. Wyoming Archaeologist. 59(2): 44-51. Fall 2015

French, Brett "Wyoming Researcher explores thunderbird art link to golden eagles." Billings Gazette [Billings] and Casper Star Tribune [Casper] 16 March 2017: Outdoor Section.

Dayton, Kelsey 2017 April 7 "Are thunderbird petroglyphs linked to golden eagle nests?" [WyoFile]

Eagle, Message To 2017 April 26 "Are Thunderbird Petroglyphs In Bighorn Basin Linked To Golden Eagle Nests?"