Affiliated Research Centers, Labs, and Initiatives
Research laboratories
Many of our faculty members lead lab groups that conduct research on specific archaeological topics. In addition to these research laboratories, described on this page, our department also has three teaching labs that support students with hands-on learning in osteology, physical anthropology, and ceramics and lithics.
Cultural Heritage Laboratory
The Cultural Heritage Laboratory, led by Associate Professor Jon Daehnke, was established to help facilitate and promote projects related to the preservation and stewardship of cultural heritage, with a particular focus on community-based collaborative work. The lab’s goal is to provide a center for hands-on training in all aspects of heritage stewardship, from initial background research and the development of collaborative partnerships, to the completion of research reports and public/educational materials. Participants will have access to field equipment and computer resources to assist them in their stewardship work.
Digital Archaeologies Laboratory
The Digital Archaeologies Laboratory (DAL) is led by Carla Hernandez Garavito, is an interdisciplinary and collaborative space to explore the potential of digital technologies for anthropological research. Conceived as a research and teaching space, the goal of the DAL is to become an experimentation space that supports creative research, with a particular focus on digital methods in archaeological fieldwork and analysis, heritage conservation, storytelling, and public outreach. The DAL is outfitted with high-end computers, different hardware (digital cameras, drones, microscopes, VR headsets), and software. The needs of scholars working in the lab will determine its continued growth.
Ecological Legacies in Archaeology (ELLA) Laboratory
The ELLA (pronounced EH-yah) Lab, led by Eréndira Quintana Morales, provides a collaborative space to learn about long-term interactions between living organisms, including humans, and their environments. A major goal of the research in the ELLA lab is to work with local partners and apply archaeology to address current climate and environmental issues. Ongoing research in the lab focuses on the social and ecological impacts of past fisheries along the coasts of eastern Africa and southwestern Madagascar, as well as the Kafue River Floodplains in Zambia. Members of the ELLA Lab learn zooarchaeological analysis of fish remains and participate in outreach activities throughout the year.
Human Paleogenomics Laboratory
The UC Santa Cruz Human Paleogenomics Lab, led by Professor Lars Fehren-Schmitz, is a subsection of the UCSC Paleogenomics Labs and part of the UCSC Genomics Institute. It looks at the twin forces of culture and biology in shaping human genomic diversity, demography, and health.
This lab is especially interested in the Anthropocene period of the last 10,000 years, examining how modern-day humans’ genetic variability has arisen from niche construction and the co-evolution of genes and culture.
Laboratory for the Study of California Pasts
The Laboratory for the Study of California Pasts (California Pasts Lab), led by Associate Professor Tsim Schneider, facilitates student and faculty research investigating the prehistory and history of California, with special emphasis on collaborative and community-based scholarship addressing Indigenous-colonial encounters in Central California. Current research associated with the lab includes the study of San Francisco Bay shell mounds, an archaeological and historical study of Indigenous laborers at a mid-century trading post at Tomales Bay, and the re-analysis of archaeological materials previously collected from Mission Santa Cruz.
Landscape Laboratory
The Landscape Lab, led by Professor Anna Tsing and Professor Andrew Mathews, is a research collective dedicated to understanding landscapes in their complexity, diversity, history, and future through a social and environmental change lens. The lab aims to uncover how landscapes serve as places of encounters and mutuality among living things. Faculty and graduate students contemplate how social and biological factors impact these sites, with an emphasis on moving beyond the human world. Active research projects include relationships between birds and people in Indonesia, tree-fungi connections in Denmark, and post-peasant landscapes and biomass energy in Italy.
Mammal and Bird Historical Ecology Laboratory
This lab, led by Professor Emerita Diane Gifford-Gonzalez, supports faculty and graduate student research projects and training in using faunal materials to explore human–animal interactions in central coastal California and East Africa. Graduate students working in these geographic areas who want hands-on zooarchaeological experience are welcome to discuss lab apprenticeship, through the course ANTH 297. For details on undergraduate opportunities, see the Undergraduate Experiential Learning page. Former, now-published projects from this lab include local Indigenous landscape maintenance practices using fire, historical ecology of northern fur seals in the greater Monterey Bay, isotopic ecology and mobility practices of early African pastoralists in Kenya, and parameters of bone grease extraction.
Primate Ecology and Molecular Anthropology Laboratory
The research focus of this lab is twofold: Firstly, the ecology of African great apes and their habitats, and secondly, the subsistence strategies and movements of prehistoric human populations. Led by Associate Professor Vicky M. Oelze, the lab primarily uses minimal or non-invasive molecular tools to reconstruct diets and mobility in these human and non-human primates. Direct observations and remote sensing are also used to study primate behavior in the wild, along with tree climbing for arboreal sample collection. The lab is primarily set up for sample processing and preparation for isotope analyses but also has space for other wet-chemical applications and microscopy.
Spatial Archaeology Laboratory
The Spatial Archaeology Laboratory, led by Professor James Cameron Monroe, provides state-of-the-art research facilities for exploring spatial patterns across cultural landscapes at multiple scales of analysis. The facility boasts advanced laboratory and field research equipment, including six GIS workstations and peripherals, as well as a full complement of spatial technologies used in field survey (total station, Trimble GPS base station, and Trimble GPS handheld field computers), as well as 3D scanning for digital artifact analysis. Projects are designed to collect, analyze, and interpret spatial data from a broad range of cultural landscapes, past and present.
Centers and initiatives
Archaeological Research Center
The Archaeology Research Center (ARC), led by James Cameron Monroe, is a campus hub for interdisciplinary archaeological research, combining faculty strengths across divisions. The center is also a crucial link between UCSC and the local community. The center’s core themes recognize the intricate relationships between the practice of science, its utility for exploring the diversity of the human experience, and the need to engage with and respect the communities and public we serve. The center facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue and public outreach among students and faculty and provides archaeological travel and research grants for undergraduates and graduate students.
Center for South Asian Studies
The Center for South Asian Studies, led by Dolly Kikon, advances the study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean worlds with a focus on economic and social justice. Anchored in themes like caste, gender, technology, and sustainability, the center bridges the arts, humanities, and social sciences to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. The center holds numerous events throughout the year, including film screenings, book talks, and special lectures.
Center for Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions
The Center for Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions is dedicated to studying the biologically and culturally rich land and waterscapes of Southeast Asia. Faculty and graduate students work together to understand the history, anthropology, biology, and ecology of social and environmental dilemmas in the region. The center hosts seminars and international scholars on timely topics and provides research funds for graduate students across the university.
Ethnographic library
Our department’s ethnographic library houses a curated collection of anthropological books, including publications by department authors. The space is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and serves as a quiet place to study, meet in small groups and simply to meet peers and socialize during the day. The library is located in Room 328 of the Social Sciences 1 Building, on the same floor as our department offices.
Monterey Bay Archaeology Archives
The Monterey Bay Archaeology Archives is a UC Office of the President-recognized nonprofit repository for archaeological materials from the greater Monterey Bay region. Faculty director Jon Daehnke oversees the collections. The MBAA houses cultural materials from 12 prehistoric and historic sites in Santa Cruz County and over 60 prehistoric and historic sites in northern Monterey County. In addition to the actual archaeological materials, site excavation records, reports, and other documentary materials relevant to the sites are curated in perpetuity in the archives.