People
Sarah B. McClure, Ph.D.
Professor of Anthropology
Director, Mediterranean Prehistory and Palaeoecology Laboratory
Director, Zooarchaeology Laboratory
I am an environmental archaeologist and I study the environmental and social impacts of the spread of agriculture worldwide, but my work focuses primarily on early farming in the Mediterranean and Europe 8000-5000 years ago. I joined the Department of Anthropology at UCSB in 2019. Prior to this I was first an Assistant and then Associate Professor in Anthropology at Penn State and an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. I am a Santa Barbara boomerang: I completed my doctoral studies here in 2004 and am excited to be back!
The origins and spread of farming during the Holocene were a turning point for human-environmental interaction, health, nutrition, disease, and increasing social complexity. My research centers on the social and ecological impacts and legacies of early farming populations that have implications for today’s issues of the adaptability and resilience of small-scale farming and biodiversity under shifting environmental, climatic, and demographic conditions. I approach the transition to agriculture comparatively by studying two main areas: the gateway to European agriculture in the eastern Adriatic (Dalmatia, Croatia); and impacts of early farming in the arid western Mediterranean (Valencia, Spain). See below for more info on these projects. In recent years I have also begun to expand this work to historic contexts, particularly in the eastern US with Dr. Martin Welker, and more recently in California.
Nicholas Triozzi, M.A.
Ph.D. student
I focus on landscape archaeology, ecological niche construction, life history strategies of agro-pastoral societies, human-environment interactions, place formation, decision making, navigation, and computational analytics. My dissertation research focuses on the relationship between resource availability and predictability under shifting agricultural and pastoral subsistence behaviors during the Neolithic in the Eastern Adriatic. In 2021-2022 I am residing in the city of Zadar on the Dalmatian Coast as a Fulbright Scholar where I am collecting data related to my dissertation research.
Signe Aspengren
Ph.D. student
Details coming...
Katy Stehr, M.A.
Ph.D. student
Details coming...
Michael Jochim, Ph.D
Professor emeritus
I am continuing my research on the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of central Europe, particularly in southwestern Germany. Two new articles are currently in press, one examining the intrasite patterning of four Mesolithic sites in Germany, the other on the late- and postglacial colonization of the Alps, comparing these processes between the north (Germany and Switzerland) and the south (Italy). Another article, currently submitted, investigates how postglacial adaptations in southern Germany and Switzerland led to a feedback loop resulting in niche construction.
Projects
We have a range of projects we are working on in Spain and Croatia
Neolithic Dalmatia
ongoing
McClure has been working on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia with Emil Podrug (Šibenik City Museum) since 2008. By excavating sites, working on existing collections, and using innovative technologies, we are helping to define the nature and timing of early farming societies in the eastern Adriatic region.
Check out our work on the earliest cheese in the Mediterranean, and stay tuned for more discoveries on nature of farming practices and their implications for long-term sustainability.
Krivače and Ostravica Paleolake
ongoing
Recent excavation and coring by our collaborative team has demonstrated the existance of a paleolake next to the Neolithic site of Krivače. This lake dates back 11,000 years and dried up around 4000 years ago. Pollen and other markers from lake cores provide an environmental record that gives us the unique opportunity to study the effects of early farming on the environment.
Mesolithic and Neolithic in Spain: Cueva de la Cocina
ongoing
McClure has been working with colleagues at the University of Valencia in Spain since 1998. Most recently she co-directs with Oreto García Puchol and J. Juan Cabanilles a re-evaluation of Cueva de la Cocina, a Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period site in eastern Spain. The site was extensively excavated in the 1940s and 1970s, but much of the material was never analyzed. This is an amazing site with thousands of stone tools, art in the form of engraved stone slabs (plaquettes), food debris, and human remains. Important for models of the transition to agriculture in the western Mediterranean, this site is proving itself to be an incredible document of the region's last hunter-gatherers prior to the arrival of farming.
Cova de la Pastora, Spain
ongoing
Oreto García Puchol and McClure directed excavations at the site of Cova de la Pastora in 2007-2008. This site is a mass burial site with the remains of over 70 individuals interred with numerous grave goods. Excavated in the 1940s, it was long thought to be evidence of the emergence of social inequality during the Late Neolithic. Our research has shown, however, that the cave was in use over a much longer period of time and that there was no indication of a special status of individuals.
Agricultural Risk and Sustainability in Neolithic Dalmatia
Nick Triozzi
Triozzi is finalizing his doctoral research looking at risk and Neolithic farming strategies on the Dalmatian coast using a combination of excavation, stable isotopes, ecological modeling, and AMS radiocarbon dating. His dissertation, titled “Herding is Risky Business” examines how subsistence agro-pastoralists minimized risk by adapting their domesticated animal management strategies to local ecological conditions. His research looks at these strategies across a 2,000 year period and assesses the degree to which innovative technologies related to food production influence the decisions a subsistence farmer will make to meet their subsistence needs. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation, a Fullbright Fellowship, the Archaeological Institute of America-Orange County Chapter, and the Register of Professional Archaeologists.
Spaces
Mediterranean Prehistory and Paleoecology
HSSB 1029
- Comparative collections focused on Mediterranean species, mostly mammals
- Ceramic analysis tools
- Computing, GIS, and standard analytical capabilities
- Dedicated work spaces and open benchtop areas
- Lab manual library
- Teleconference set up
- Direct access to outdoor processing space
- Olympus BX53M polarizing light microscope
Faunal Lab - Anthropology Department
HSSB 1013
- The UCSB Faunal lab houses comparative skeletal collections, mostly of mammal, fish, and bird species found in North America
- General research and teaching space for undergrads, grad students, and faculty
- Basic analytical capabilities
- Open bench space for analysis
- Houses the Walker Teaching Collection for Zooarchaeology
Photos & Videos
People, sights and sounds from the lab and beyond
Publications
Interested in learning more?
Check out our Google Scholar pages for the most updated list of publications!
Coming Soon:
Lab procedure resources!
Alumni
We are so lucky to have many students come through the lab. Here's a selection of our alumni.
We are proud of you!
Martin Welker, PhD.
Assistant Curator of Zooarchaeology,
Arizona State Museum
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
University of Arizona, Tucson
Martin is an anthropological archaeologist, specializing in zooarchaeology. His research focuses on understanding human-environmental interaction, domestic animal management, and roles played by domesticates in human societies.
Emily Zavodny, PhD.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology,
University of Central Florida
Emily is an environmental archaeologist specializing in zooarchaeology, bioarchaeology, and isotope geochemistry. Her research investigates how prehistoric human and animal populations successfully adapted to uncertainty and risk posed by marginal landscapes, resource scarcity, and/or changing climate and environments. She is additionally interested in how studying past resilience, sustainability, and biodiversity can help us approach present-day social and environmental problems.
Melissa Teoh, M.A.
Contract Archaeologist
Bonneville Power Authority, Portland, Oregon
Melissa is a socially engaged archaeologist who is interested in increasing public engagement and understanding of archaeology, cultural resource protection, and Native histories and rights.
Paige Lynch, M.A.
PhD. candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of New Mexico
Paige is a bioarchaeologist working on her dissertation examining the health of past populations in Romania.
Hugh Radde, Ph.D.
Hugh is a zooarchaeologist with research interests in human-environment dynamics, paleoecology, and ichthyology. His archaeological work focuses on human settlement and subsistence on the California Channel Islands.
In his current role, Hugh leads UC Santa Barbara's repatriation efforts in compliance with the UC Policy on Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation. He is responsible for consulting with lineal descendants, tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations; identifying and reporting all Native American ancestors and other cultural items; and coordinating the repatriation of ancestors and cultural items. He serves as the point of contact for all NAGPRA inquiries at UCSB.
Shayla Monroe, Ph.D.
Shayla is a zooarchaeologist and her research addresses three broad research emphases: African pastoralism (past and present), pastoralist/non-pastoralist relations in the ancient Nile Valley, and the role of animals in Nile Valley ritual practice.
Affiliations
Check out these great institutions and associations our lab members are affiliated with:
