Biography
Mel Gomez is a current biological archaeology PhD Candidate in
Anthropology at the University of Central Florida. Mel has received a B.A (2017) and an M.A (2020) in Anthropology from UCF. Mel is working under the advisement of Drs. Emily Zavodny, Peter Sinelli, and Lana Williams, with a focus on Caribbean archaeology, animal management, and foodways which are specific to the Taino culture. Mel’s research examines the translocation and management of the hutia, a large Caribbean rodent, by the Lucayan Taino in the pre-Columbian Bahamas.
Mel was awarded an NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant in 2023 for their research. Mel plans to complete her degree in Summer 2025. Upon graduation Mel wants to continue as a professor of anthropology with a special interest in continuing assisting undergraduates with their research endeavors in a laboratory setting.
Mel currently teaches General Anthropology and Human Species and will also be teaching Cultural Anthropology in the Fall here at UCF. She assists in curation at the Caribbean Archaeology Lab located inside the Maya Archaeological Skeletal Collection laboratory (MASC) Bioarchaeology Lab in Howards Phillips Hall.
Research Interests/Specializations:
- Caribbean Archaeology
- Osteology – inc. zooarchaeology
- Indigenous foodways
Teaching
University of Central Florida
Instructor of Record
- General Anthropology (ANT 2000)
- Human Species (ANT 2511)
