Current Students
Former students
Work-Study
Lia Plankenhorn
Lia is in her third year in the CU Denver Anthropology graduate program focusing on paleoanthropology and archaeology. Research areas of interest to her are human behavior during the late Pleistocene, understanding Neandertal and early modern human cognition and behavior, and factors that led to the extinction of Neandertals and the role of climate. Her thesis will focus on Mesolithic infant burials and result in an in-depth literature review of the material. Alongside her passion for archaeology and human origins, Lia helps out in the zooarchaeology lab, teaches yoga classes, and enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking and snowshoeing.
Hannah Keller
Hannah is interested in zooarchaeology, taphonomy, and reconstructing human behavior in the late Pleistocene. During 2018, she was a HOMER recipient, which enabled her to participate in excavations in South Africa and Italy, and collect data for her thesis: "The Subsistence strategies of Middle and Later Stone Age foragers during an Interglacial/Glacial transition in Knysna, South Africa." Her time in the lab involved experimental taphonomic studies on ostrich eggshell, analyzing archaeological eggshell, and organizing and identifying her collection of faunal remains. Currently, she is studying Paleoanthropology and archaeology at Yale University.
Mathani Hamid
Mathani is a student at CU Denver, studying Mathematics with a focus in probability, statistics and pre-medicine. She is interested in the dental field, and plans on becoming an Orthodontist.
During her time in lab, Mathani assisted with experimental work, washed dozens of faunal remains, and created the excel videos for the zooarchaeology class.
Ari Del Olmo Medina
Ari Del Olmo Medina is a Latinx who completed their B. A. in Fine Arts at the University of Puerto Rico. They are a continuing education student at CU Denver. Ari’s interests are in cultural preservation, zooarchaeology, paleoanthropology, and human evolution. They work at the Denver Art Museum and volunteers at the Emory Archaeology lab at the History of Colorado Center.
Ryan Cline
Ryan Cline is a disabled veteran studying archaeology with a focus in taphanomic and geospatial analysis. Ryan’s other interests include conflict, territoriality, and environmental reconstruction. Ryan has worked at various sites near Golden, Colorado including the ancient hunter-gatherer site at Magic Mountain and the historic hotel site the Astor House. Ryan also currently works as a lab technician for the Paleocultrual Research Group (PCRG) while pursuing his MA at CU Denver.
Sarah Manassee
Sarah is a recent undergraduate of the University of Colorado Denver, where she majored in Anthropology. She is an aspiring scientific illustrator and archaeologist. Her interests include Pleistocene megafauna, paleoanthropology, and critical analysis of pseudo-archaeology. She works in Guest Services at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and hopes to continue her studies in Fall of 2022.
Danielle Mercure
2019 winner of the Society of American Archaeology's Historically Underrepresented Groups Scholoarship (HUGS), Danielle Mercure, '17, is a Data Analyst for Nolte Vertical Five, a leading provider for technical engineering and consulting services in San Diego, California. She currently works with the Survey and UAV department, completing post-processing of aerial and terrestrial imagery, along with LiDAR and high-definition surveying. Training from UCD in GIS and hands-on training at the archaeological sites of Pinnacle Point in South African and Arma Veirana in Italy, provided preparation for this job.
Sarah Simeonoff (Sugpiaq/Alutiiq, Tangirnaq Native Village) completed her MA in Anthropology, with a focus on zooarchaeology. Her thesis focused on the human response to changing climate at a Middle/Upper Paleolithic site. Her interests include subsistence, human adaptability, and American Indian/Alaska Native cultural preservation. Sarah works as a project manager and senior archaeologist at the Colorado office of PaleoWest (a nationwide Cultural Resource Management Firm), where she helps to identify and preserve sites across the Intermountain West.
Sarah Simeonoff
Rebeca Thornburg
Rebeca researches taphonomy through experimental archaeology, and explores the geospatial relationships of artifacts in archaeological sites. Her thesis focuses on the physical distortion soil acidity has on the surface of bone. Other projects include understanding the potential bite marks and modifications that Nile monitors and crocodiles create on bones. Her foci are mostly in late Pleistocene and early Holocene sites, and she has excavated at Arma Veirana, Italy, and in Ireland.
