Africa Table - 2016 CAS Summer Research Fellows Present their Archaeological and Biological Research in Mauritius

Join the Center for African Studies for our weekly lunchtime lecture series. This week two 2016 CAS Summer Research Fellows will present on their research.

The Mauritian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage ProjectClaire Maass, PhD Student, Anthropology, CAS Summer Research Fellow 2016

My research explores the potential applications of medical anthropological theories of the body to osteoarchaeological investigations of public health. I am particularly interested in using these analytical models as a way to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of enslaved African laborers in colonial Latin America.Small Mammals as Living Artifacts: Tracking Past Humans through their Commensals and CompanionsAlexis Mychajliw, PhD Student, Biology, CAS Summer Research Fellow 2016

I use the Caribbean as a model system in which to apply an understanding of past human-animal interactions to modern conservation planning, as over 90% of endemic mammals have gone extinct in the last 5,000 years. I seek to answer the question of how extinction has selectivity changed through time in response to changing human cultures and climate using a combination of paleontological, ecological, and genetic techniques. I directly apply my findings through collaboration with Dominican conservationists.