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.)
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.
I grew up in the small town of Granby, Colorado with a great love of the outdoors and high-altitude forests. I ended up attending Kansas State University (Go Cats!) for my undergraduate career and discovered my love for anthropology. I knew after attending my first cultural anthropology class that I had to learn more. I finished my undergraduate with a Bachelor's in Anthropology and a minor in Spanish. My path finally lead back to my beloved mountains and I attended a field school at La Prele with the University of Wyoming. Somehow that did not scare me away because I came back to work at the site again this past summer. I am very interested in continuing to study the rich prehistory of the Rocky Mountain region as well as the American Southwest and Mesoamerica.
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.
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.
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.
