Contemporary Archaeology

 My research focuses on colonialism, foodways, landscapes, historical archaeology, preservation and heritage in the western US and northern South Africa. Members of my research cluster bring together complementary lines of evidence of varied types and spatial scales, including analysis of archaeological ceramic and faunal assemblages related to domestic foodways and GIS analysis of remote sensing, geophysical survey, and excavation data to reveal tactical, engineering, and ritual patterning of cultural landscapes.

Natasha Fernandez-Preston is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Anthropology. Prior to her doctoral studies, Natasha completed her undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. Her undergraduate project studied the archaeological dimensions of food and colonialism in Puerto Rico, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Specifically, she used archival research and phytolith analysis to approach food practices.