Christina Giovas

Education

• PhD (University of Washington)

Biography

I am an environmental archaeologist specializing in zooarchaeology, the study of animal remains from archaeological sites. My research focuses on prehistoric fisheries, non-native animal introductions and the human paleoecology of island and coastal settings – particularly the Caribbean and Oceania. I am especially interested in the dynamic interaction between culture and environment and how this has shaped biodiversity, human migration and landscape history through time. I have conducted fieldwork in the Lesser Antilles, Polynesia, France, and the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest regions. I serve on the Board of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology (IACA) and am an Associate Editor for the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. I joined the faculty of SFU’s Department of Archaeology in 2018.

My current research program draws on human behavioral ecology and historical ecology to address prehistoric foraging, anthropogenic environmental impacts and population movement. I am investigating the prehistoric introduction of South American mammals in the Lesser Antilles, employing isotopic and zooarchaeological analysis to document animal management strategies and dispersal networks in the pre-Columbian era and the ecological legacy of these activities. In addition, I maintain ongoing research interests in the impact of methodology and analytic protocols on zooarchaeological interpretation and recently co-edited a volume on this subject.