Born and raised in Mexico, I was always fascinated by the cultures that came before me. I wished to learn more about my ancestors. I knew early on in my life that I wanted to pursue a career in Archaeology and, more specifically, researching ancient Mesoamerica.
Dr. Diana Moreiras is an anthropological archaeologist, bioarchaeologist, isotope biogeochemist, educator, translator, speaker & writer.
Dr. Diana Moreiras Reynaga is an Anthropologist who specializes in Indigenous foodways, residential histories, Mexica (Aztec) society, religion, and rituals, and ancient Mesoamerican studies. Her main research is focused on ‘Reconstructing Past Lifeways’. Her research combines innovative bio-geochemical and -molecular techniques with archaeological and historical data to a broad range of socio-cultural contexts to explore how humans lived and thrived in their pre-Columbian environments. Her guiding research framework is to reconstruct several aspects of ancient people’s lives such as diet and nutrition, health status, and geographic residency, which in turn, provide insights about broader cultural, economic, political, and ritual practices that contributed to the development and resiliency of ancient complex societies.
She received her Ph.D. in Archaeology/Bioarchaeology from the University of Western Ontario in 2019, and holds an M.A. (2013) and B.A. (Hons., 2010) in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia.
From August 2020 to February 2024, she served as the Executive Director of the Canadian Latin American Archaeology Society.
As of September 2021, Dr. Moreiras is the Regional Coordinator for Mexico and Central America within the IsoArcH Association and Database, an open access and collaborative isotope database for bioarchaeological samples across time and space.
She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario, a Research Associate in the Database of Religious History Project (DRH; Department of Philosophy), an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, an active member of the Laboratory of Archaeology, and a Visiting Researcher in the ADαPT Facility at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
Updates
Dr. Moreiras’ research on the geographic residency of Mexica sacrificial child victims (Offering 48) was mentioned in the newspaper El País on November 15, 2024.
Dr. Moreiras is currently writing a sole-authored book manuscript based on her PhD research to be published by the Ancient Cultures Institute (ACI) and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) as part of the “Reportes del Proyecto Templo Mayor” book series.
Dr. Moreiras and coauthors published the article “Effects of consolidants and polar solvents on the stable isotope compositions of bone” in Quaternary International.
Dr. Moreiras is a collaborator in the recently funded UNAM-PAPIIT project titled: “Alimentación y sacrificio en Mesoamérica y en el Área andina (siglos XIV-XVI)” directed by Dr. Elena Mazzetto.
Photo by Sunira Moses on Unsplash
