Susan Monge Blanco

My research interests include zooarchaeology, domestication, and animal management. My research areas include southern Central America, specifically the Greater Nicoya area of Costa Rica, where I focus on subsistence, resource procurement, interregional relationships, and identity. I am a PhD candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago where my current research encompasses the domestication and management of ancient turkeys using osteometric, stable isotope, and ancient DNA analyses. My research also includes ancient DNA analyses on ancient cattle and horse samples from Mongolia. I completed my undergraduate studies in Anthropology in 2010 at the Universidad de Costa Rica. After receiving an Investigation Scholarship from the Institute for Social Science Investigations (IIS), I completed my Masters in Anthropology with emphasis in Archaeology in 2014 at the same University. Subsequently, I worked as an interim instructor for the Anthropology department at the Universidad de Costa Rica for 2 years. I completed a summer internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in 2019, where I worked with archaeofaunal collections. I have volunteered at the Costa Rican National Museum, the Carlos Aguilar Archaeology Laboratory, and the Field Museum in Chicago. I also participated in the Summer program at Lubbock Lake Landmark. I have worked as project manager on several environmental conservation projects with the surrounding communities of the Ribera wetlands in Heredia, Costa Rica. I also received the National Gold Cube award from the Costa Rican Architects Association for my participation in a community service project investigating the relationship between at-risk populations and their environment.