Cal State LA graduate student explores ancient rock art in Baja California

Cal State LA's anthropology graduate student Jennifer C. Leiva is conducting a collaborative, cross-border study focused on ancient rock art traditions in northern Baja California.

Her thesis project, "Comparative Rock Art Studies in a Cultural Transition Zone," explores how ancient imagery reflects indigenous cultural dynamics in a region where the Cochimí and Yuman peoples historically converged.

Leiva's work is part of a long-standing collaborative effort between Cal State LA's Department of Anthropology and archaeologists from Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). This project is being conducted under the INAH project, Estudio de Campamentos en la Línea Costera y Valles Intermontanos de Baja California, directed by INAH archaeologist Enah Montserrat Fonseca Ibarra.

Her fieldwork, conducted earlier this year, was made possible through binational partnerships developed over more than a decade by Cal State LA Professor Amira Ainis, who directs the university's Coastal Archaeology Lab. For this project, Leiva is working directly with Fonseca Ibarra, alongside Ainis, INAH archaeologist Fiorella Fenoglio, and Cal State LA's CalNAGPRA/NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) Repatriation Coordinator Gregorio Pacheco.

"Working alongside INAH archaeologists and faculty at Cal State LA has shown me the power of collaboration across borders," said Leiva, an Echo Park resident. "This research not only helps preserve ancient visual expressions but also opens up conversations about the social, cultural, and environmental contexts."

Leiva recently received the Sally Casanova Pre-doctoral Scholar Award, which supports the doctoral aspirations of students across the 22-campus California State University system. She holds a B.A. in photo-communications from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and certifications in archaeological field work and geographic information systems. She is also the president of the Anthropology Film Club at Cal State LA.

Drawing on her background in the arts, Leiva integrates cutting-edge technologies such as a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) and photogrammetry to analyze the elemental composition of pigments and generate high-resolution 3D models of prehistoric rock art panels.

With support from the College of Natural and Social Sciences, she utilized Cal State LA's portable pXRF instrument during her time in the field. Five archaeological sites were documented and analyzed across a range of ecological zones. Her work will help to show how ancient populations interacted with diverse landscapes and how these interactions are reflected in local styles of rock art imagery.

The study area is situated in a cultural and ecological border zone along the U.S.-Mexico border, where the Mediterranean region transitions into Baja California's central desert.

"This project connects visual expression with cultural and ecological histories," explained Ainis, thesis advisor and principal investigator of Cal State LA's ongoing Baja California fieldwork. "It's about understanding not just what people painted and carved into rock panels, but why and what those images can tell us about cultural lifeways in these borderland spaces."

This project is supported by student research grants from the Society for California Archaeology's Bennyhoff and Rozaire Committees, as well as the American Rock Art Research Association. Leiva's thesis project is also highlighted on the Cal State LA Borderlands Center website, where her work represents a growing commitment to student-led, interdisciplinary research that addresses the critical ecological and social challenges faced in borderland regions worldwide.

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