The ELLA Lab Team
Dr. Eréndira Quintana Morales
Lab Director (she/ella)
I lead the ELLA Lab and work as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I have dedicated the last fifteen years of my archaeological career to analyzing fish remains from African archaeological sites. My research focuses on the historical ecology of fisheries, the role of foodways in social identity and interaction, and the application of archaeology towards the conservation of biodiversity and livelihoods. I conduct archaeology using collaborative, anti-colonial, and community-based practices. I named my lab the Ecological Legacies in Archaeology or ELLA (pronounced EH-yah) Lab to reflect the themes of my research, my background as a Latina scholar, and my commitment to recruiting, funding, and actively mentoring students from diverse backgrounds. Outside of the lab, I enjoy being a mom, hiking with my family, and creating arts and crafts.
Lucia Bryan
Lab Research Assistant (she/her)
I’m a recent graduate from the University of California Santa Cruz where I majored in Anthropology and Spanish Literature. I’ve been working at the ELLA Lab for the past two years, and I’m currently a Research Assistant there analyzing fish remains from Zambian archaeological sites, developing an online skeletal reference collection, and training undergraduate students. In the lab my focus is in African zooarchaeology, more specifically ichthyoarchaeology, but I am also interested in underwater as well as historical archaeology. My goal at ELLA Lab is to expand my knowledge of faunal analysis, learn more about the process of archaeological lab processing, further the knowledge about past and present fishing practices in Zambia, and find ways to share and help others engage with the material we work with. Outside of the lab I work at a climbing gym, travel, read lots of fiction, cook family recipes, and am working on applying to graduate school for a Doctorate in archaeology.
Lily Singman-Aste
Lab Research Assistant (she/her)
I am a recent graduate from the UCSC Anthropology program. I have a background in both osteology and historical archaeology, working on projects based in Benin and Zambia covering different time periods. My research interests include ichthyoarchaeology/zooarchaeology and historic glass bottles. I have written an honors thesis on the reuse of glass bottles in the Kingdom of Dahomey, and have 2 years of experience analyzing fish remains. I participated in excavations in Zambia, and am interested in discovering more about trading practices and the diversity of the fish population there.I would like to pursue a graduate degree in archaeology and further develop my skills as a zooarchaeologist, and will be applying in the fall. I am currently working in the ELLA lab as a Research Assistant cataloging and digitizing a reference collection so that eventually others can access these resources, as well as teaching the lab’s new students. In the future, I hope to pursue work in ZooMS and help to build a database that all can use, and I want to be able to share my research with others to build off of and collaborate with. In my free time, I like to take care of my plants and read.
Veler Brown
Lab Design Intern (they/them)
I’m a second-year Anthropology and Film & Digital Media double major. I am the lead designer on this project working on the website and logo. My role involves compiling the research done by Eréndira and the others at the lab in a visually pleasing and organized manner. My time at UCSC has been spent chasing knowledge of documentary form and forensic anthropology methods. My goal at ELLA Lab is to create an industry/department-appropriate logo and accompanying website for people to recognize and learn more about the lab. Outside of the lab, I work two part-time jobs where I do video captioning for accessibility and project-based web design. I am considering graduate school for forensic anthropology post-2026 because I want to become a forensic anthropologist or bio-archaeologist someday. I am hoping my time at ELLA Lab will give me the opportunity to merge my graphic design and anthropological interests.
L (Laura) Caine
Lab Intern (they/them)
I’m a fourth year anthropology student at UC Santa Cruz who transferred from Cabrillo College. My time at UC Santa Cruz has been focused on both cultural anthropology and archaeology, with interests in Indigenous land sovereignty/access and traditional ecological knowledge. At Cabrillo I was involved in the archaeology club, Dig It! and attended a field school in San Luis Obispo county where I learned survey, excavation, and field lab techniques. My general research goals are centered around increasing connections between academia with wider audiences and working to utilize research to bring solutions to aid in contemporary environmental problems. At the ELLA lab my role involves sorting, cataloging, and identifying fish remains to increase knowledge on the historical ecology of African fisheries. I’m looking forward to contributing to research of human-environment interactions and broadening my own understanding of zooarchaeology through working with the fish remains during my time here. When not in the lab, most of my time is spent at concerts, backpacking/camping, or collaging.
Layla Saad
Lab Intern (she/they)
I’m a second year Anthropology major with a Black Studies minor. My personal research goals center around the biocultural intersections of race and gender, and the role they play in a community’s access to food resources. My role in the ELLA lab involves assisting with the organization and cataloging of the archaeological remains, but most of what I do here is learn! There is so much to know about these beautiful little creatures, and even more that they can teach us about the lives of the people who ate them. I’m so excited to develop more skills in the lab and really get to know the ins and outs of these fish, as well as start to learn about how the people of the Kafue flood plains interacted with their natural resources. In my free time, I love to read fantasy novels, play with my cat Jiji, and lay in the sun.
Eva Middleton
Lab Intern (she/her)
I am a fourth-year anthropology major and Black studies minor at UCSC. Next year, I will continue my studies in Stanford University’s Anthropology Ph.D. program. My undergraduate background is in historic archaeology and ceramic analysis with a focus on West Africa and the Caribbean. Research interests that I plan to pursue in graduate studies include anti-colonial resistance, identity formation, food sovereignty, power and inequality, and materiality. As an aspiring archaeologist and scholar of the African Diaspora, I am interested in the ways that Afro-Caribbean people have navigated landscapes of food insecurity caused by European colonial imposition, enslavement, and the cash crop industry since the 16th century. This summer, I will participate in an ethnographic research project funded by the National Parks Service to investigate the cultural significance of three heritage sites on the Island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. As a first-generation Afro-Caribbean-American college student and member of The Society of Black Archaeologists, my ultimate goal is to contribute to breaking down the barriers to diversity present in archaeology since its inception and to use archaeology as part of an interdisciplinary approach to African Diaspora scholarship that helps to highlight and amplify African-descended people’s marginalized historical narratives. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family, traveling, and enjoying Santa Cruz’s beautiful coastal setting.