Current Graduate Students

 

Photo of Graduate Student Heidi Buratti flintknapping during a campus workshop.

Heidi J Buratti, M.A. in Progress

Heidi is a first-year anthropology graduate student at Cal State LA. She recently obtained my bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UC Berkeley in May 2024, after transferring from LA Pierce College with associate degrees in Anthropology and Social/Behavioral Science. While at UC Berkeley, she was an Undergraduate Researcher at Bear Bones Lab focusing on zooarchaeology, remote-sensing, and community-accountable/collaborative archaeology. She has participated in archaeological fieldwork in Northern California, Northern Channel Islands, Southern Coastal California, and archaeological analysis in Baja California Sur.

Research Interests:

Coastal and Island Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Human/Animal Relationships, Historical and Behavioral Ecology, Remote-Sensing, Foodways, and Subsistence Strategies. 

Photo of Graduate Student Hannah Calistri in the field.

Hannah Calistri, M.A. Candidate

Hannah has her B.A. in Anthropology from NYU where she worked as a research assistant in the African Paleosciences Lab. She continues her focus in archaeology at CSULA and has done fieldwork at California State Parks, Channel Islands National Park, and Ireland. For her thesis project, she is investigating how P-XRF can aid in the repatriation process.

Research Interests:

Portable X-ray fluorescence technology, lithic sourcing, pigment analysis and sourcing, pesticide analysis, repatriation, experimental archaeology, coastal archaeology, Early Medieval and Iron Age archaeology in Ireland

Photo of Graduate Student Jennifer Leiva on the coast.

Jennifer Leiva, M.A. in Progress

Jennifer holds a B.A. in Photo-Communications from St. Edward's University and certifications in Archaeological Field Work and GIS. She has documentary, ethnographic, and archaeological field experience in France, Utah, Oaxaca, and Baja California. She is also the president of the Anthropology Film Club. For her thesis, she will be analyzing rock art in Baja California using photogrammetry and X-ray fluorescence technology. She is particularly interested in how visual expressions connect to cultural, social, and environmental contexts.

Research Interests:

Coastal and Island Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Visual Anthropology, GIS, Rock Art, Cultural Landscapes, Human and non-human interactions, Ecotourism, Cultural Heritage, Ethnobotany, Museum Studies, Mesoamerica, Biodiversity Hotspots, Zooarchaeology, Creativity & Memory studies in Archaeology, Anthropological Film, Archives 

Jennifer's Profile at Cal State LA's Borderlands Center

Photo of Graduate Student Matt Lowry smiling.

Matthew B. Lowry, M.A. Candidate

Matt is a graduate student of anthropology at Cal State LA. He looks at archaeology in riverine, wetland, and coastal environments, and is an educator in biological anthropology who works as a TA for lab classes.

Research Interests:

"I am currently working on my proposal for my Master’s degree that focuses on mapping the Zanjas system in the greater LA region from the Spanish colonial period through the Mexican and Anglo-American periods. I have on-site experience on the Pacific North American Coast, Northwestern Ireland, and Bulgaria. I am also proficient in R and GIS mapping. I am interested in learning more about human interaction with waterways both natural and anthropogenic throughout history."

Photo of Graduate Student Ryn holding a swab with taxidermy bird mounts.

Kathryn E.S. Lucas, M.A. in Progress

Ryn earned her BFA in Studio art from the University of South Florida. After undergrad, she moved to Colorado where she started a career in Art and Artifact Restoration. While there, she worked for a private art restoration company and local museums in the Denver area, specializing in historic-era and paleontological collections, registrar, and conservation.
 

Research Interests:

Ryn's research interests include post-disaster Cultural Resources Recovery and artifact conservation. "As a child of the Gulf Coast, I am heavily influenced by my experience and observations of the hurricane recovery process for cultural material and living heritage. I hope one day to help communities affected by disaster in rebuilding and conservation efforts. I am also working to develop a methodology of sourcing patterns commercially produced in China on damaged ceramics using AI to recreate incomplete designs."

Photo of Graduate Student Stephanie Renaud on the coast.

Stephanie Kough Renaud, M.A. in Progress

Stephanie completed her Bachelor's of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2017. She worked in the public sector as a California State Parks interpreter for two years prior to becoming a cultural resource management archaeologist. She has worked across California and Arizona and is passionate about connecting communities with their local cultural and archaeological resources. Her thesis work centers around the Crystal Cove State Park National Historic Register nomination process; based on its abundant pre-contact and historic archaeological sites, with methodologies including archival research, pedestrian survey, and site updates using aerial photogrammetry. Outside of her thesis work, Stephanie is the president and founder of the Experimental Archaeology Club at Cal State LA.

Research Interests:

Non-destructive survey techniques, remote sensing technologies, lithics, pre-contact archaeology, and public archaeology