Sarah J Noe, Ph.D.

About Me

Education

• Ph.D. Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara
• M.A. Applied Anthropology, University of Maryland
• B.A. Anthropology, Mercyhurst University

Research Interests

I study human-environment interactions with a focus on subsistence strategies, animal domestication, and risk mitigation in the face of environmental and social change. My research explores how ancient societies adapted to shifting ecologies, developed food systems, and maintained cooperation and resilience in times of stress.

Methods Expertise

I apply stable isotope analysis, ancient DNA (aDNA), zooarchaeology, and radiocarbon dating to reconstruct past diets, mobility patterns, and human-animal relationships. I also use statistical and computational tools, including R and MATLAB, for quantitative analysis, data visualization, and ecological modeling.

Regional Expertise

My research centers on the Central Andes and the North American Midwest, particularly Mississippian mound sites.

Research Overview

[1] The Domestication of Camelids in the Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru

[2] Subsistence Strategies in Mississippian Societies

[3] Climate Change, Food Insecurity, and Violence in the Andean Highlands

[4] Comparative Osteometry

[5] Foodways in Historic California

Peer-Reviewed Publications

*cover art

1. Noe, Sarah J., Haas R., and Aldenderfer M. (2024).
   Hunting to herding on the Andean Altiplano: Zooarchaeological insights into Archaic Period subsistence in the Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru (9.0–3.5 ka).
   Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
   Link
2. Noe, Sarah J., VanDerwarker A.M, Wilson G., Kuehn S., and Haas H. (2024).
   An Examination of Shifting Foodways during the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in the Central Illinois River Valley.
   Southeastern Archaeology. Link
3. Noe, Sarah J., McCool W.C., Wilson, K.M. (2024).
   Cross-Regional Examination of Camelid Herding Practices in Peru from 600 BCE to 1450 CE: Insights from Stable Isotopes in Camelid Bone Collagen and Fiber.
   PLoS ONE, 19(10), e0306205
   Link
4. Byers, David A., Welker, M.H., Semanko, A., Itie, D., Noe, S.J., Vasquez, J., Holland-Lulewicz, I. and McClure, S.B. (2024).
   Cranial variability in North American domestic and wild canids.
   Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 57, 104590
   Link
5. Noe, Sarah J., Wilson G., VanDerwarker A., George R.J., Kennett D.J. (2023).
   Deer, Drought, and Warfare: Managing Risk in the Central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) from the Eleventh through Fourteenth century.
   Quaternary International, 689, 106–119
   Link
6. *Noe, Sarah J. (2023).
   Indigenous Foodways as Persistence in the Alta California Mission System.
   American Antiquity, 88(4), 451–475
   Link
7. *Noe, Sarah J. (2023).
   Subsistence and Persistence: Indigenous Foodways within Mission Santa Clara de Asìs.
   California Archaeology, 15(1), 69–107
   Link
8. Hixon, S.W., Domic, A.I., Douglass, K.G., Roberts, P., Eccles, L., Buckley, M., Ivory, S., Noe, S.J., and Kennett, D.J. (2022).
   Cutmarked bone of drought-tolerant extinct megafauna deposited with traces of fire, human foraging, and introduced animals in SW Madagascar.
   Scientific Reports, 12(1), 18504
   Link
9. Noe, Sarah J. (2021).
   Zooarchaeology of Mission Santa Clara de Asís: bone fragmentation, stew production, and commensality.
   International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 26(4), 1–43
   Link
10. Haas R., Watson J., Buonasera T., Southon J., Chen J.C., Noe S.J., Smith K., Llave C.V., Eerkens J., and Parker G. (2020).
    Female hunters of the early Americas.
    Science Advances, 6(45), eabd0310
    Link
11. Haas R., Buonasera T., Chen J., Eerkens J., Noe S.J., Parker G., Smith, K., Viviano C., and Watson J. (2020).
    Behavioral adaptations to life in the interior high Andes, 9–7 ka.
    American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 171(S70), 110
    

Research

Camelid Domestication and Early Management in the Lake Titicaca Basin

This project investigates the transition from hunting to early management of camelids during the Archaic Period in the Lake Titicaca Basin using faunal analysis, stable isotope data, ancient mitochondrial DNA, and radiocarbon dating. Located in the high-altitude Altiplano of southern Peru, this region experienced significant ecological shifts during the Holocene, including Archaic-period lake regression and increasing aridity, which likely influenced subsistence strategies. Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen reveals a gradual shift in camelid dietary and mobility patterns over time, consistent with low-level management practices prior to full domestication. These data indicate that humans began exerting control over camelid foraging behavior well before clear archaeological evidence of herding. Ancient DNA analysis of camelid remains dating as early as the mid-Holocene shows high genetic diversity relative to modern populations, providing some of the oldest genetic data for South American camelids. This genetic diversity suggests that a domestication bottleneck had not yet occurred and supports the interpretation of incipient management rather than intensive breeding.

Risk, Climate, and Subsistence: Comparative Faunal Analysis of Mississippian Societies

This project investigates how Mississippian communities in the American Bottom and Central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) adapted their subsistence strategies in response to climate fluctuations, population growth, and sociopolitical instability between the 11th and 14th centuries CE. Faunal assemblages from Cahokia—North America’s largest pre-Columbian urban center—and outlying CIRV settlements are analyzed to assess how local ecological risk, social organization, and conflict shaped animal exploitation patterns. The study focuses on the impacts of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA), a period of regional warming and aridity, on maize agricultural productivity and dietary diversification. At Cahokia, evidence suggests increased reliance on high-risk, high-return hunting strategies, consistent with centralized redistribution systems supporting a dense urban population. In contrast, CIRV communities exhibit broader-spectrum foraging and risk-buffering behaviors, likely reflecting decentralized food production and concerns over raiding and intergroup violence. By comparing taxonomic diversity, age profiles, and skeletal part representation, the research identifies divergent risk management strategies linked to settlement hierarchy and demographic pressure. These findings contribute to broader models of resilience and collapse in prehistoric complex societies.

Climate Change, Food Insecurity, and Violence in the Andean Highlands

This research investigates how climate change influenced food systems, subsistence stress, and patterns of conflict in the prehispanic Andes. Drawing on paleoclimate data, isotopic evidence, and regional archaeological surveys, we examine how shifting ecological conditions shaped both environmental risk and human behavioral responses across time. In particular, the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1450) presents a case of widespread climate instability, including declining rainfall, shrinking lakes, and cooler temperatures. These changes disrupted agricultural productivity and pastoral systems, contributing to food insecurity and population shifts. Stable isotope analysis of human remains reveals elevated δ¹⁵N values consistent with chronic undernourishment, while site abandonment and defensive architecture suggest rising regional tensions.

Comparative Osteometry for Species Identification

This project collects standardized osteometric data from modern comparative specimens of dogs, rabbits, and cattle to enhance zooarchaeological research across the Americas. Dog measurements refine criteria for distinguishing domesticated dogs from wild canids such as wolves and coyotes, improving interpretations of early human–canid relationships. Rabbit skeletal data support the development of an improved leporid metapodial index, facilitating taxonomic differentiation and analysis of processing intensity. Cattle measurements contribute to the study of livestock introduced during the Spanish colonial period, enabling assessments of breed origins, morphological variation, and management strategies in early colonial assemblages. Together, these datasets provide essential morphometric baselines for identifying species, understanding domestication, and reconstructing human–animal interactions across time and space.

Historic Foodways in California

This study applies zooarchaeological methods to analyze faunal remains recovered from refuse deposits at Mission Santa Clara (1777–1836), a key site in the Spanish colonial network of Alta California. The research investigates food procurement, preparation, and consumption strategies with a focus on butchery and bone fragmentation patterns. High frequencies of long bone shaft fragmentation, spiral fractures, and extensive grease-rendering indicators point to intensive secondary processing practices such as marrow and grease extraction—techniques associated with both nutritional optimization and traditional culinary knowledge. Taxonomic abundance data indicate a provisioning system centered on domesticated cattle, while the absence of high-value skeletal portions and presence of low-utility elements suggest institutionalized distribution systems that prioritized meat allocation based on status or role. These data, combined with taphonomic indicators, provide insight into how colonial systems structured food access and how traditional food processing methods persisted within them. This analysis contributes to broader discussions of colonial provisioning, resource management, and food system adaptation in frontier mission settings.

Funding and Awards

Research Funding

• 2025 – UCSB Academic Senate Committee Research Grant – $20,000
• 2025 – NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant – $31,128
• 2024 – Summer Research Block Grant – $2,500
• 2024 – Rust Family Fellowship – $8,855
• 2023 – Broom Center Research Block Grant – $2,500
• 2022 – UCSB Social Science Research Accelerator Award – $5,500
• 2022 – UCSB Summer Research Fellowship – $2,000
• 2022 – UC ARP Summer Fellowship – $7,000
• 2021 – Decolvenaere Research Accelerator Award – $500
• 2021 – UCSB Anthropology Department Summer Research Grant – $2,000
• 2019 – UC Summer Research Block Grant – $2,200
• 2019 – Charles J. Erasmus Fund – $600
• 2018 – UC Summer Research Block Grant – $2,000
• 2018 – Lewis & Clark Fund for Exploration & Field Research – $5,000
• 2017 – Phi Delta Gamma, UMD Chapter Award for Excellence – $1,500
• 2016 – UMD Chair’s Graduate Summer Research Fellowship – $2,500
• 2012 – Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute Undergraduate Research Grant – $800

Fellowships and Long-Term Funding

• 2019 – Critical Mission Fellowship – $38,000
• 2017 – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship – $138,000
• 2017 – UCSB Anthropology Teaching Assistantship – $169,000
• 2016 – UMD Environmental Science TAship – $33,000
• 2015 – UMD Anthropology TAship – $28,000

Awards

• 2024 – Jamie Chad Brandon Student Paper Competition (SHA) – $500

Travel Funding

• 2023 – Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Travel Grant – $500
• 2022 – GSA Conference Travel Grant – $800
• 2018 – GSA Conference Travel Grant – $500
• 2016 – UMD Anthropology Department Travel Grant – $500
• 2012 – Catherine McAuley Travel Scholarship, Mercyhurst University – $3,500

Teaching and Lectures

Instructor of Record

• University of California, Santa Barbara
  • ANTH 3 Introduction to Archaeology (Summer 2025)
  • ANTH 3 Introduction to Archaeology (Summer 2024)
  • ANTH 3 Introduction to Archaeology (Summer 2023)

Teaching Assistant

• University of California, Santa Barbara
  • ANTH 3 – Introduction to Archaeology
  • ANTH 5 – Introductory Biological Anthropology
  • ANTH 133 – Cultural Development of Mesoamerica
  • ANTH 109 – Human Universals
  • ANTH 131 – California Indians
• University of Maryland, College Park
  • ENSP 101 – Introduction to Environmental Science
  • ENSP 102 – Introduction to Environmental Policy
  • ANTH 240 – Introduction to Archaeology
  • ANTH 260 – Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics

Workshop Instructor

• UCSB Workshop Graduate StudentsGrant Writing Fundamentals for Graduate Students
• UCSB 4th Annual Workshop Graduate Students:R Programming for Social Scientists
• UCSB 5th Annual Workshop Graduate StudentsIntro to Data Analysis and Visualization in Python for Social Scientists

Public Talks

• 2023 – Foodways and Persistence: Native American Diet at Mission Santa Clara (1777–1836), Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
• 2021 – Zooarchaeological Insights into the Persistence of Native American Diet at Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1777–1836), Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
• 2019 – Risk, Agriculture, and Climate Change: Sustainable Viking Foodways System, UC Santa Barbara Colloquium
• 2017 – Archaeology and Climate Change: Interdisciplinary Studies and Talking Across the Aisle, University of Maryland, College Park Library Series: Interdisciplinary Dialogues
• 2014 – You Are What You Eat: What Archaeology Adds to Understanding Foodways, expERIEnce Children’s Museum, Erie, PA

Invited Academic Lectures

• Dickinson College
  • 2022 – Foodways and Persistence, Environmental Archaeology (undergraduate course)
  • 2021 – Sustainable Foodways in the Face of Climate Change, Environmental Archaeology (undergraduate course)
• Northern Illinois University
  • 2021 & 2022 – Introduction to Zooarchaeology, Exploring Archaeology (undergraduate course)
• University of California, Santa Barbara
  • 2020 – Sustainable and Ancient Food Production in the Andes, Introduction to Archaeology
  • 2018 – Food and Social Identity, Introduction to Archaeology
• University of Maryland, College Park
  • 2017 – Climate Change and the Longue Durée, Environmental Science
  • 2016 – Food and the Legacy of Colonialism, Introduction to Environmental Policy

Elements

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