Current Projects

The Anthropology Laboratory at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

Student training and mentoring take place in the anthropology laboratory. Here, we house a growing collection of fossil hominid skeletons, disarticulated skeletons, stone tools, ceramics, and replica artifacts. Of unique value, the laboratory houses a collection of ceramics created by local Indigenous artists, which are utilized in teaching archaeology and modern craftwork. In addition, the lab has a growing collection of scholarly books and articles devoted to the study of ancient Olmec culture and archaeology. Hands-on practicums in the anthropology laboratory involve creating pottery, stone tools, clothing, ArcGIS Maps, educational materials, and healing and medical tools. All hands-on work is meant to improve the health and well-being of students and society.

Proyecto Arqueologías Lago de Chapala

In the early stages, I am working with Claudia Itzel Márquez to investigate unprovenanced pottery from the north shore region of El Lago de Chapala in Jalisco, Mexico. This project is a life-long convivio involving small community museums, educators, and local residents. We have three goals: 1) establish a chronology for the ancient pottery of Lake Chapala, 2) situate the Lake Chapala region in the broader social, ritual, and ceremonial context of West Mexico, near and far, and 3) support ongoing efforts to enrich the lives of Lake Chapala's Indigenous peoples and pueblos.

The Mesoamerican Clay-Figurine Project of Rio Hondo Community College

In the summer of 2014, students in Humanities 125: Introduction to Mexican Culture at Rio Hondo College began to excavate and materialize the human body and ideology on a small scale through the sculpting of Mesoamerican clay figurines and reflective writing. Drawing from a series of Indigenous Xicana/o teaching strategies and philosophies, mainly Gloria Anzaldúa’s Coatlicue State, students gave birth to their own forms of being and becoming as a means to contest ongoing trauma and violence. Collectively, students developed a strong sense of agency and empowerment while meeting student learning outcomes in a humanities classroom. The project continues today in many formats and diverse learning spaces of the greater LA area.