Cuisine Through Time: Art and Archaeology of Food
August 23 - 28, 2020
Why does the party always end up in the kitchen? Because food has been a core component of society and culture. Learn how wild foods and feasting events influence settlement patterns, cultural identity, and trade throughout the Southwest. Join us as we examine past and present food systems around various archaeological sites, and work alongside renowned chefs to create magnificent, locally sourced meals.
Highlights:
- Spend the day in the shadow of Mesa Verde, at archaeological sites and ancient farming plots. Visit the Northern Chaco Outliers Project, where we examine in situ artifacts, Chaco style architecture, and ancestral fields to introduce ancient foodways linked to social transformation.
- Enjoy wild, farmed, and locally sourced foods in a feast atmosphere with regional celebrity chefs Katrina Blair and Ray Naranjo.
- Visit Sand Canyon Pueblo and learn about the importance of food security during a time of upheaval—discussing shifts in cuisine induced by environmental and social change.
To our valued participants: We appreciate your support and welcome your registration in our programs. Given the ongoing uncertainty around social distancing and travel guidelines, we are no longer requiring deposits upon registration. This will allow a smooth process for both our travelers and our organization if it becomes necessary to cancel additional programs due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you have questions about this policy for our Cultural Exploration programs, please contact Tayler Hasbrouck at 970-564-4366 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. With questions about any of our other on-campus programs please contact Laura Brown at 970-564-4346 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sarah Oas, Ph.D. - Sarah recently earned her Ph.D. in anthropology at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. As an archaeologist who specializes in paleoethnobotany, Sarah’s interests span foodways, ethnobotany, political ecology, ethnoarchaeology, and environmental archaeology. Her research and publications have explored a range of human-plant relationships, with her dissertation examining the relationships between daily food practices and processes of community formation in the13th and 14th centuries. 
Kyle Bocinsky, Ph.D.- Kyle is a computational anthropologist interested in human responses to environmental change. As the director of the Research Institute at Crow Canyon, Kyle focuses on the Village Ecodynamics Project, where he addresses the big picture of climate change on social dynamics of the ancestral Pueblo Southwest. Other projects include research on the northwest coast of North America and on the Tibetan Plateau. 
Katrina Blair- Katrina began studying wild plants in her teens, which then led to her first publication, “The Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants of the San Juan Mountains.” In 1997 she completed an MA in holistic health education at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, CA, before founding Turtle Lake Refuge, a nonprofit whose mission is to celebrate the connection between personal health and wildlands. She teaches sustainable living practices and wild edible plant classes through San Juan College in Farmington, NM, and Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. 