Sarah Oas’s interest in archaeology, and her pathway to working in the Southwest, center around the beautiful and complex relationships between people and plants, relationships that continue to be central to daily life in the ways we incorporate plants into our foods, medicines, crafts, and homes.
Dr. Oas received her Ph.D. (2019) from Arizona State University, her M.A. (2013) from Simon Fraser University, and her B.A. from the University of Michigan (2010). While Dr. Oas has studied ancient foodways and environments in numerous parts of the world, she began working in the Southwest in the 2010s and focused her research on studying the histories of foodways and cuisine in the Ancestral Zuni (Cibola) region. Ultimately working to bring together not only ancient plant remains, but also numerous other ceramic, ground stone, faunal, and architectural materials at household, villages, and regional scales, her research asks questions about how foodways persist and change through periods of social transformation and climatic uncertainty.
At Archaeology Southwest, Dr. Oas is a data specialist working with the cyberSW database to expand and improve this powerful resource for a wide range of professional researchers, educators, and volunteers.