I am from San Antonio, Texas and graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology and German with a minor in Museum Studies from Texas A&M University in spring of 2022. I have had the opportunity to participate in the Texas Archeological Society’s field school held in Kerrville, Texas in the summer of 2021 and in 2022 I participated in a month long geoarchaeology project in Maryland. My research interests in anthropology include Paleoindian archaeology, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology and optimal foraging theory, but I am especially interested in Proboscidean sites and the relationship between prehistoric humans and megafauna. When not thinking about archaeology, I love hiking and visiting zoos.
My name is Natalie Bossler, and I am a master's student of Anthropology. I have a Bachelor's in Elementary Education from McKendree University in 2019 as well as the Anthropology major from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in 2022. My research interests lie in zooarchaeology, animal/human relationships, working in collections, and public archaeology. I attended my field school at the Berry Site in North Carolina in 2022 excavating a Native American town and their Spanish neighbors. Other regions I have worked in include the Northeast and the Midwest. I am also a former volunteer at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. When I am not focused on the past, I can be found baking or hanging out with friends.
Hi there! My name is Dakota Buhmann, I am a master’s student of anthropology/archaeology. My interest lies in Bioarchaeology, where I have an interest in osteology (human or otherwise), mortuary studies, bibliomania, and archaeology. I am originally from Evanston, WY, I left to get my A.A. in History from Sheridan College before transferring to the University of Wyoming where I received my B.A. in Anthropology with minors in Honors and Museum Studies. After a field season at our Hell Gap field school, I decided the master’s program at UW was the place for me. When not in school I am typically doing field work at archaeological sites or with cultural resource management. In the past my research has included an oral history project of Hell Gap National Historic landmark, which I became involved with through the Paleoindian Research Lab (PiRL.)
Hello! My name is Claudia Celia and I am a Master’s student in the Department of Anthropology. I am from Collingswood, New Jersey and am loving the Mountain West. I graduated from Salve Regina University in 2024 with a BA in Anthropology and in Cultural and Historic Preservation. While there, I attended an archaeological field school excavating a Paleoindian quarry site. Through this field experience and the lab work that followed, I developed a passion for evaluating human behavioral patterns through material remains. My research interests include lithic technologies, hunter-gatherer studies, and geospatial studies. My MA research is focused on the projectile point assemblage from the Willow Springs Bison Pound and tests hypotheses of cooperation dynamics present in High Plains communal hunting sites.
My name is Josie Corbett Waters and I’m from Micanopy, Florida, located in north central Florida. I received my AA in studio art from Santa Fe College and my B.A. in Anthropology with honors from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). I’m a product of a long history of Florida farming/ranching pioneers that settled the area before it became a state. I’ve worked on beef cattle operations and the horse industry my whole life and was heavily involved in 4-H, showing livestock. While working towards my degree at Florida, I had a rewarding career in agribusiness in the Florida horse and cattle industry before switching to archaeology. I was a member of Florida Cattlewomen’s Association and Marion County Young Farmers & Ranchers. I also volunteered in vertebrate paleontology and the NAGPRA office for South Florida Archaeology and Seminole Tribe at Florida Museum. I completed my field school with the University of Wyoming in central Alaska with Dr. Bree Doering. I worked CRM in Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and Indiana. I’ve also worked independently in Costa Rica as a research assistant. My interests are historical archaeology, cultural anthropology, and regenerative agricultural practices with a focus on homesteading, ranching/herding history, historic preservation, and women in pastoralism and livestock management in North America. I believe Wyoming was the perfect place to apply anthropology to present-day agriculture and help the next generation of young women ranchers and farmers to take the lead in North American agriculture.
Hello, my name is Logan Dean and I am a MA student in the Department of Anthropology. I was born and raised in Southwest Colorado. I graduated from Colorado State University in 2018 with two bachelor’s degrees, in Biological Anthropology and Sociology (Criminology & Criminal Justice). Since graduation I've attended University of New Brunswick's Bioarchaeology Field School in Nova Scotia, Canada, and have been associated with Archaeological research endeavors and excavations in the United States and Egypt. My research interests include Southwestern archaeology, migration, landscape archaeology, GIS, LiDAR, and Westward expansion. My MA research focuses on the limitations and potentials of remote sensing datasets, specifically LiDAR, and how these datasets can be applied to identifying, recording and researching prehistoric Pueblo III-era farming terraces and check dam features in the Northern San Juan Region of the Colorado Plateau. In my spare time I enjoy most anything outside: hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, hunting, and sightseeing.
My name is Mackenzie DePlata Peterson. I am a first year PhD student here at UW. I am originally from Granby, Colorado and absolutely loved growing up in the high-altitude Rocky Mountains. I spent my undergraduate years at Kansas State University where I really found my love for archaeology. I first came to the University of Wyoming as a field school student in 2019 and later returned for my master's degree in 2022. Since then, my research has been largely focused on spatial analysis of proboscidean sites across North America. I have been combining computer modeling and science with traditional archaeological methods to further interpret bonebed taphonomy at these sites. I have also started to apply these methods to other sites such as the Vore Buffalo Jump, to further analyze the taphonomy and bone concentrations in attempt to understand the location of the jump point at this site. Computer modeling was not something I ever imagined myself doing, but I've come to understand the immense value I have been able to contribute to the field through the application of these methods. I guess I'm also a nerd enough to like it!
Hello! My name is Alex Diaz, a PhD student and North American archaeologist. My broad interests are in pre-contact American archaeology, hunter-gatherer societies, and the relationship between past humans and their environments, especially the relationships between humans and animals. I received my undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of North Florida (2022) and my Master’s degree at Florida State University (2024). Being an avid fisherman and having lived near water most of my life, my past research has focused on trying to understand how past peoples utilized the wide range of resources provided by the coastal and estuarine environments along Florida’s coasts. When I am not thinking about Anthropology, I love being outdoors, camping, birding, fishing, and hiking.
Hi, my name is Karlee Feinen and I am a MA student in the Department of Anthropology. I am from Champaign, IL. I received my BA in Cultural and Historic Preservation with minors in History and Sociology/Anthropology from Salve Regina University. In 2022, I attended my field school at a Paleoindian site in Maine and have been in love with archaeology since. I am interested in Paleoindian archaeology, hunter-gatherer societies, and lithic technology. I am currently a student researcher with United States Army Corps of Engineers and have worked across the country on both architectural preservation efforts and archaeological sites. When I am not busy, I enjoy reading, playing with my dogs, traveling, and being outside.
Hello! My name is Alexandra (Lexi) Huiras, and I am an MA Anthropology student here at the University of Wyoming. I am a Midwestern girl now living in the Mountain West. Originally from Mankato, MN, I obtained my undergraduate degree in archaeology at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. I love just about anything and everything to do with archaeology. My primary interests include Andean archaeology and zooarchaeology, with an emphasis on ideas surrounding food, class, social organization, identity, and the rise of state-level societies. Outside of academia, I can be found attending football games (mainly for the marching band), trying new cuisine, or hosting game nights.
I am from Stevens Point Wisconsin, and graduated with my BA in Anthropology and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2020. I had the opportunity to participate in the Gete Anishinaabe Izichigewin Community Archaeology Project for my field school in Red Cliff, Wisconsin in 2019, where I gained a passion for doing archaeology. Since, I have worked on archaeology projects and have done GIS work throughout Wisconsin. For the past two summers, I have worked on projects within the interior and north slope of Alaska. I am interested in continuing to study Alaskan archaeology, and landscape archaeology.
Hello! My name is McKenna Litynski, and I am a North American archaeologist and PhD student. Some examples of my broad research interests include zooarchaeology, environmental archaeology, hunter-gatherers, and experimental archaeology. I received my undergraduate degree in 2021 from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with double majors in Environmental Studies and Anthropology and a minor in Museum Studies. Then, I headed west to the cowboy state to receive my M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Wyoming in 2023. As a master’s student, I completed a thesis focused on analyzing the small animal remains from the La Prele Mammoth Site to reconstruct paleoenvironments and to test if people 12,900 years ago were cooking and consuming these jackrabbits, ground squirrels, voles, etc. as part of their subsistence. I am also actively involved in zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) research, which will be a critical component of my dissertation research.
I am a doctoral student and archaeologist studying North American archaeology. I am passionate about teaching, but my broad research interests include New World colonization, hunter-gatherers, geoarchaeology, lithic technologies, tool stone conveyance, experimental archaeology, geo-spatial analysis, and taphonomy. More specifically, I am interested in the quarrying behavior and lithic procurement strategies of Paleoindians in the Intermountain West. I am originally from the Central Valley of California, but I have worked and resided in Wyoming since completing my undergraduate degree. My academic career began at a community college in Livermore, CA where I was introduced to Anthropology. Afterwards, I transferred to California State University, Chico where I received a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology. After falling in love with Wyoming landscapes and its indigenous history, I left California for graduate school at the University of Wyoming. Here, I have gained a Master's degree and conducted fieldwork all throughout the state. Other places I have conducted field research include California, Nevada, Colorado, and Northern Mongolia.
My name is Fox Nelson and I am from Cheyenne, Wyoming. I graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2023 with my BA in Anthropology with Minors in Museum Studies and Honors. During Summer 2022 through the McNair Scholars program, I worked rehousing the Colby Mammoth Collection in the University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository (UWAR) and spent my museum studies internship working in the UW Anthropology Museum cataloguing artifacts. During Summer 2023, I attended my archaeological field school at the Bachner site south of Fairbanks, Alaska. My interests lie in Paleoindian archaeology, human-environmental relations, human-animal relations, zooarchaeology, and diet of hunter-gatherers.
I am originally from Hyattville Wyoming and received two BA's from the University of Wyoming, one in Geography/GIS in 2020 and one in Anthropology in 2022. After spending part of my life living near one of the most intricate archaeological sites in Wyoming, and deciding that working on wind farms in the Midwest was not for me, I decided to pursue what I found most interesting about home- archaeology. I have done fieldwork in Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, France and Croatia. I am very interested in desert and high-elevation prehistoric areas, including more niche studies like rock art, linguistic anthropology, bioarchaeology, land use, and mobility. When I am not pursuing my studies I am generally on my porch with a cup of coffee, roller skating, googling cryptids, or on a walk with my dog.
Hello! Me llamo es Michael Thom… I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in the state of Washington, in a rainy city called Woodinville. Shortly after graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle, I moved to central California where I fell in love with roaming the outdoors, connecting with native lifeways through ethnobotany, learning tribal histories, and communicating these passions with others. That’s what animates me most, and what led me to archaeology. Long days of surveying with the Forest Service, recording sites and artifacts, and excavating under eastern Oregon’s summer sun has only reinforced this conviction of mine. My interests are in studying hunter-gatherer societies, Paleoindian lithic technology, and ethnobotany. I also like to flintknap… My MA research is centered on how prehistoric settlement-subsistence patterns and occupation intensity changed over time in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming.
My name is Clifford White, and I am a masters student whose primary research area is Paleoindian archaeology. I work in the Paleoindian Research Laboratory (PiRL) and this work has allowed me the opportunity to gain a better understanding of archaeology and artifacts from some of the earliest people in North america. My research interests include paleoenvironmental studies, Paleoindian bone needles, human-environment interactions, human responses to climate change, mobility, site formation processes, LiDAR and GIS, Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating, geoarchaeology, and Paleoindian lithic technologies. I have participated in fieldwork and surveys on the Great Plains, in the Rocky Mountain foothills, and at high altitude in the Rocky Mountains. I have worked at the Hell Gap Paleoindian archaeological site the last two summers, most recently as the co-field director. My thesis will focus on Hell Gap’s Paleoindian bone needle collection and the importance of these artifacts to people living in the region surrounding the Younger Dryas.
Christie Wildcat is an enrolled Northern Arapaho, she is a majoring in Anthropology; and has Bachelors in Native American studies, Anthropology, and Political Science. She has received her dual-reverse associates from Central Wyoming College in Anthropology. Research interests are preservation and repatriation of Indigenous cultures around the world and cultural anthropology. Her career goals are to recover lost artifacts in cases across the globe, and to be a curator of the American Indian National Museum. The goal is to preserve culture, due to the culture from dying out. Her thesis topic is historical and current decision-making process regarding natural resources amongst the tribe will be supported by literature review and analysis of decisions that are associated with the Tribe’s energy sources and natural resources. This project explores the decision-making process of the Wind River Reservation and the Northern Arapaho Tribe and Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
