SAS Webinar
Saturday, June 6, 2026
2:00 – 3:30 PM PT
Scholar Seminar
“Ohlone Lifeways 10,500 Years Ago”
by
Hayley Kievman, PhD student at University of Utah
and
“From Iberia to the Eastern Steppe: Human and Neanderthal Subsistence Strategies at the Edges of Eurasia”
by
Madison McCartin, PhD student at University of California Davis

Abstract: The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area gave permission to Dr. Alexandra M. Greenwald, Department of Anthropology, University of Utah to do archaeometric (C14/AMS) dating analysis on their recovered remains at CA-SCL-1070/H, a 10,500 years old site located on Walsh Avenue, Santa Clara. This research became the dissertation topic for Dr. Greenwald’s graduate student, Hayley Kievman. In this talk Hayley will report on the results of stable isotope, radiocarbon, proteomic, and ancient DNA analysis performed on these skeletal elements. Since the goal of the analysis was to learn more about the ancestor’s lifeways at this ancestral site, she will discuss her results highlighting diet and human adaptation to past climate conditions by these Ohlone ancestors.

About the speaker: Hayley Kievman is a fourth year PhD student at University of Utah who was honored with a scholarship from Sacramento Archeological Society in 2024. She received her M.S. Anthropology at University of Utah and B.A. Anthropology at Penn State. As an undergraduate and post-baccalaureate researcher at Penn State she contributed to the Human Environment Dynamics lab’s work on anthropogenic fire activity through the creation of sophisticated database and presented her research on the ecology of Cayman Island fishers facing climate change at a national level conference. In the first two years in the University of Utah Hayley formulated a Master’s project examining shellfish remains from an archaeological site in Northwest California to address mussel harvesting strategies in light of Late Holocene climatic fluctuations. Her findings suggest ancient implementation of sustainable harvesting practices still employed by descendant communities today in the region. She has published journal articles, performed extensive research and has sizable field experience. She is an on-call archaeologist with Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Davis, CA.

Abstract: The Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition marks an important shift in hominin biology and culture. The causal forces behind this transition are debated and plausible hypotheses include the influence of climate change, demographic pressure or competition between Neanderthals and humans. Madison’s dissertation focuses on hominin subsistence practices at geographic margins of Eurasia. In this presentation she will discuss her analysis of animal remains in Spain, Belgium, and Mongolia to ascertain the hunting preferences of hominins and postulate possible differences in subsistence strategies between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, which may have led to Neanderthals’ demise.

About the speaker: Madison McCartin is a third year PhD student at University of California Davis who was honored with a scholarship from Sacramento Archeological Society in 2025. She received a B.A with highest honor in Anthropology magna cum laude from New York University, and a M.Sc in Archaeological Sciences from Institute for Archaeological Sciences at the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen. Her research interests include the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, hominin subsistence, paleoecology, zooarchaeology, faunal analysis, taphonomy, experimental archaeology, paleoproteomics, ZooMS, stable isotope analysis, personal ornamentation, osseous technology, bone fracture mechanics, 3D scanning and morphometrics. Her archaeological excavations include over 70 weeks in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, Armenia and South Africa. She has extensive experience analyzing faunal remains from Paleolithic sites in Germany. She has published 5 articles and given numerous presentations.

Friends are welcome and also invited to join our organization. There is no participation fee. You are invited to attend the webinar before 2:00 PM for chat time.