Research Interests
I am a coastal archaeologist interested in maritime peoples around the world. My current research focuses on the excavation and analysis of shell middens from the California Channel Islands and the Santa Monica Mountains. I specialize in stratigraphic excavations, the removal of delicate features, and midden analysis. I have published on a variety of topics within coastal archaeology, including historical ecology, zooarchaeology, biogeography, artifact replication and use-wear studies, settlement chronology, and other subjects. My work on San Nicolas Island spans the past two decades and includes research related to my MA and PhD theses, ten archaeological field schools, and other interconnected projects developed to understand the long-term natural and cultural dynamics of the island. My work in the Santa Monica Mountains is a more recent development with California State Parks. It is designed to provide cultural resource management assistance and to expand my research on the mainland coast.
Educational Background
Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Oregon, 2001
M.A., Anthropology, California State University, Los Angeles
B.A., Anthropology, University of Califonia, Los Angeles
René L. Vellanoweth
Office: KH D1058
Phone: (323) 343-2449
FAX: (323) 343-2446
Email: rvellan@exchange.calstatela.edu