Bio

Dr. Grávalos is an anthropological archaeologist with over a decade of fieldwork and lab experience. Located at the intersection of materiality, landscape, and craft production, her research centers on the politics and sociality of making and using ceramic and textile objects. Dr. Grávalos is interested in how artisans embody, share, and contest technological and landscape knowledge across generations and between communities. Most recently, her work has focused on Casma potters on Peru's north coast (ca. 700-1440 CE) and Recuay artisans (100-700 CE) in Peru's north highlands.

Since 2014, Dr. Grávalos has applied material science methods to the analysis of archaeological materials, including ceramic, glass, and stone. She is a specialist in laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and thin section petrography.

She also conducts community-based archaeological fieldwork in Peru. Most recently, Dr. Grávalos co-directed the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica de Jecosh (PIAJ; Jecosh Archaeological Research Project) in highland Ancash, Peru, with colleagues Denisse Herrera Rondan and Emily A. Sharp. Learn more about this collaborative project with the descendant community of Jecosh/Poccrac here: https://www.facebook.com/PIAJecosh

Honors & Awards

  • Workshop Grant for “Political Geologies Past and Present: Ontology, Knowledge, and Affect”, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (2023)
  • Junior Fellowship in Pre-Columbian Studies, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (2020-2021)
  • Dissertation Fellowship (Honorable Mention), Ford Foundation (2020)
  • Women-in-Science Graduate Fellowship, Field Museum of Natural History (2019-2020)
  • Doctoral Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (2018)
  • Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award (#1830719), National Science Foundation (2018)
  • Archaeology Research Grant, Rust Family Foundation (2017)
  • Field Dreams Program Award, Field Museum Women's Board (2017)
  • Collections Study Grant, American Museum of Natural History (2016)

Professional Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, Depaul University (2011)
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Illinois Chicago (2021)
  • Master of Science, Purdue University (2014)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    gravalos@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Anthropology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

2023-24 Courses

All Publications

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0686-825X