The Ceramic Research and Fiber Technologies (CRaFT) Lab is a space where researchers come together to examine social and political life in the past through the study of archaeological ceramics, geomaterials (e.g., rock, soils, clays), and perishables (e.g., textiles, cordage). We are concerned with understanding how making things is a political process that creates, maintains, and disrupts worlds.

Lab members share a commitment to community-based participatory research, in which research problems and outcomes are co-created with stakeholder communities. By working closely with descendant communities, our archaeological research is committed to crafting equitable futures.

Lab members utilize a variety of archaeological science techniques, including microscopy, elemental/molecular analyses (mass spec, XRD, Raman), and isotopes. Our lab houses 8 polarizing light microscopes for research and teaching, including a Zeiss Axioscope 5. Current projects focus on archaeological materials from Peru, including: thin section petrography of ceramics, molecular and elemental analyses of ceramic paints (Raman spectroscopy and XRD), soil micromorphology of a pre-Hispanic reservoir, and chemical analysis of textile dyes (LC-MS/MS).

The CRaFT Lab was established at the Stanford Archaeology Center in 2026 and is directed by Dr. Marie Elizabeth Grávalos.

Current Lab Members:
Daniela Fuenmayor, PhD Student, Stanford Anthropology