Conference Papers

2025   Rachel Cajigas. “A Coastal Landscape of Change: Late Holocene Sea-level Fluctuations and Estuarine Resource Availability During the Early Woodland Period at the Creighton Island Shell Ring Site (9MC87), Georgia, U.S.A.” Paper to be presented in the Culture, Climate, and Connections: Eventful Histories of Human-Environment Relations Symposium at the 90th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Denver, Colorado.

2025   Austin Tranberg, Rachel Cajigas, C. Fred T. Andrus, Elliot Blair. “Beyond the Shell Ring: Examining the Impact of Sea Level Change during the Late Archaic/Early Woodland transition on Creighton Island, GA, U.S.A.” Paper to be presented in the Ancient Seashore Sites and Environments in Geoarchaeology Session at the 90th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Denver, Colorado.

2025   Dober, Joseph,* Rachel Cajigas, Alex Tokovinine. “Restructuring and Redefining Place: The Role of La Sufricaya in the Holmul Region.” Paper to be presented in the Recent Investigations in Maya Archaeology, Epigraphy, Bioarchaeology, and Zooarchaeology by the Holmul Archaeological Project in Northeastern Peten, Guatemala Session at the 90th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Denver, Colorado.

2025   Rachel Cajigas. “Early coastal villages in a landscape of environmental change: The construction and reoccupation of Creighton Island shell ring, Georgia, U.S.A.” Paper presented at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

2024   Nathan Patty, Rachel Cajigas, and Elliot Blair. “Shallow Geophysical Surveys of the 19th-Century Landscape at the North End Field Site (9MC81), Creighton Island, Georgia.” Poster presented at the 80th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Williamsburg, Virginia.

2024    Rachel Cajigas. Discussant. “The Archaeological Power of Geoarchaeology: Where is it Going in the United States?” Organized session at the 89^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana.

2024    Rachel Cajigas. “The Agricultural Landscape at La Playa.” Paper presented in the 13,000 Years of Adaptation in the Sonoran Desert at La Playa, Sonora organized session at the 89^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana.

2024    Anna Semon, Rachel Cajigas, Elliot Blair, Matthew Sanger, Alain Plattner, Thomas Blaber, Caitria O’Shaughnessy, David Hurst Thomas. “Recent investigations at the Musgrove Shell Ring (9LI2169) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia.” Poster presented at the 89^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana.

2023    Alain Plattner, Elliot Blair, Anna Semon, Rachel Cajigas, Thomas Blaber, Matthew Sanger, David Hurst Thomas. “Geophysical investigation of a ~4500 year old Native American shell ring.” Paper presented in Advances in Geophysical Methods for Archaeology, Forensic, and Anthropological Targets session at the American Geophysical Union conference. San Francisco, California.

2023    Rachel Cajigas, Anna Semon, Victor Thompson, Carey Garland, Matthew Sanger, Elliot H. Blair, David Hurst Thomas. “Sequencing the three shell rings on St. Catherines Island, GA: Contextualizing the timing of the Musgrove Shell Ring.” Poster presented at the 79^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Chattanooga, Tennessee.

2023    Anna Semon, Rachel Cajigas, Elliot Blair, Matthew Sanger, Alain Plattner, Thomas Blaber, Caitria O’Shaughnessy, David Hurst Thomas. “Geophysics and excavations at the Walburg Creek Shell Ring on St. Catherines Island, GA.” Paper presented at the 79^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Chattanooga, Tennessee.

2023    Rachel Cajigas, Elliot Blair, and Matthew Sanger. “Geophysical and Archaeological Explorations of the Center of the Creighton Island Shell Ring (9MC87), Georgia, USA.” Paper presented at the 88^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Conference. Portland, Oregon.

2023    Joseph Dober, Rachel Cajigas, Alexandre Tokovinine, and Francisco Estrada-Belli. “Magnetic Gradiometry Surveys of the Upper and Lower Plazas at La Sufricaya, Guatemala.” Paper presented at the 88^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Conference. Portland, Oregon.

2023    Rachel Cajigas and Elliot Blair. “19^th-Century Rice Agriculture and the Bronson Strip Site, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, USA,” Paper presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology, Lisbon, Portugal.

2022    Rachel Cajigas, Matthew Sanger, and Elliot Blair. “Ancient flutes and whistles from the Eastern Woodlands.” Poster presented at the 78^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Little Rock, AR.

2022    Elliot Blair and Rachel Cajigas. “Archaeological Survey at the North End Field Site, Creighton Island, GA.” Paper presented at the 78^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Little Rock, AR.

2022    Rachel Cajigas and Elliot Blair. “AMS 14C Dates as a Proxy for Shell Ring Construction on Creighton Island, GA.” Poster presented at the 87^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Conference. Chicago, Illinois.

2021    Rachel Cajigas, Alain Plattner, and Elliot H. Blair. “Geoarchaeological Investigations at Mound Z, Moundville, Alabama (ITU500).” Poster presented at the 133^rd Annual Geological Society of America Conference, Portland, Oregon.

2020    Rachel Cajigas. “Long-term Effects of Human Modifications to Floodplain Soils at the La Playa Site.” 85^th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Conference. Conference canceled due to COVID-19

2019    Rachel Cajigas. “Geoarchaeological Examination of Cultivated Soils at La Playa, An Early Agricultural Period Site in Sonora, Mexico.” Poster presented at the 131^st Geological Society of America Conference. Phoenix, Arizona.

2019    Rachel Cajigas. “Early Agricultural Practices at La Playa, Sonora, Mexico: A Multi-Scalar Geoarchaeological Study of Prehistoric Earthen Irrigation Canals.” Poster presented at the 84^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Albuquerque, New Mexico.

2018    Rachel Cajigas and Elliot Blair. “Archaeological Investigations and Shallow Geophysical Surveys at the Bronson Strip Site, St. Catherines Island, Georgia.” Paper presented at the 75^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Augusta, Georgia.

2018    Elliot Blair, Kareen Hawsey, Edmond Boudreaux, Rachel Cajigas, Matthew Gage, Lindsey Gordon, Stephen Harris, and Allison Smith. “Searching for Mound Z: Results of the 2017 University of Alabama Moundville Field School.” Poster presented at the 75^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Augusta, Georgia.

2018    Rachel Cajigas. “The Early Agricultural Period at La Playa, Mexico, A Geoarchaeological Investigation.” Paper presented at the 83^rd Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Washington, D.C.

2017    Rachel Cajigas. “Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating on Ancient Irrigation Canals in Sonora, Mexico.” Poster presented at the 129th Geological Society of America Conference. Seattle, Washington.

2017    Rachel Cajigas. “Advancements and Prospects in Geoarchaeology Today: The SAA GIG at 20.” 82^nd Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Discussant. Vancouver, B.C.

2017    Rachel Cajigas. “Stratigraphic Investigation of the Early Agricultural Period Irrigation Canals at La Playa, Sonora, Mexico.” Poster presented at the 45th Annual University of Arizona Geoscience Symposium. Tucson, Arizona.

2016    Rachel Cajigas, Matthew Sanger, and Victor Thompson. “Cross-Mended Ceramic Sherds as a Proxy for Depositional Processes at Two Late Archaic Shell Rings in Coastal Georgia.” Poster presented at the 73^rd Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Athens, Georgia.

2016    Rachel Cajigas. “Geoarchaeological Investigation of the Early Agricultural Period Irrigation Canals and Stratigraphy at the La Playa Site in Sonora, Mexico.” Poster presented at the 128^th Geological Society of America Conference.

2016    Rachel Cajigas. “Magnetic Gradiometry in the Spatial Reconstruction of the Early Agricultural Period Canal System at La Playa, Mexico.” Paper presented at the 81^st Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Orlando, Florida.

2016    Rachel Cajigas, Todd Pitezel, and James T. Watson “Anthropogenic Influences on Terrace Soil Development at Tumamoc Hill.” Poster presented at 15^th Biennial Southwest Symposium. Tucson, Arizona.

2015    Rachel Cajigas. “Advances in Shallow Geophysical Prospection on a Floodplain Site in Sonora, Mexico: Identifying Irrigation Canals Using Magnetic Gradiometry.” Poster presented at 127^th Geological Society of America Conference. Baltimore, Maryland.

2015    Christopher M. Stevenson, Mary Gurnick, David Hurst Thomas, Anna Semon and Rachel Cajigas. “Rehydroxylation Dating of Contact Period Ceramics: Closer and Closer to a Quantitative Result.” Paper presented at the Archaeological Society of Virginia’s Annual Meeting. Manassas, Virginia.

2015    Rachel Cajigas and James T. Watson. “Determining Construction Materials and Soil Formation Processes at a Burial Mound in Northwest Mexico Using Soil Micromorphology.” Paper presented at the 80^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. San Francisco, California..

2014    Rachel Cajigas. “Early Agricultural Period Floodplain Reconstruction: Survey of Irrigation Canals at the La Playa Site, Sonora, Mexico.” Paper presented at the 126^th Geological Society of America Conference. Vancouver, Canada.

2013   Rachel Cajigas. “Micromorphology in a Coastal Setting: Issues with Preservation of Anthropogenic Materials.” Paper presented at the 125^th Geological Society of America Conference. Denver, Colorado.

2012    Rachel Cajigas and Christopher Stevenson. “Experimenting with Ceramic Rehydroxylation: Results and Applications of Stratigraphic Soil Testing.” Poster presented at the 77^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Memphis, Tennessee.

2011    Elliot Blair and Rachel Cajigas. “Mapping the Mission: An Integrated Geochemical and Geophysical Analysis of Site Structure at 17^th –century Mission Santa Catalina de Guale.” Paper presented at the 76^th Annual Society for American Archaeology Conference. Sacramento, California.

2010    Rachel Cajigas. “Soil Temperature and Ceramic Rehydroxylation Study at St. Catherines Island, GA.” Poster presented at the 67^th Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference. Lexington, Kentucky.

2009    Caldwell IV Conference: Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Invited participant. St. Catherines Island, GA.

Invited Lectures

2024    “Geoarchaeology and Ancient Indigenous Modified Environments.” Department of Geography Spring Colloquium Series, University of Alabama. (February 23, 2024)

2022    “Geoarchaeology and Ancient Modified Environments.” Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures’ Afternoon Anthropology brown bag lecture series, Mississippi State University. (October 7, 2022)

2022    “Ancient Irrigation and Agricultural Practices in an Arid lands: Using Geoarchaeological Methods to Document, Date, and Interpret La Playa’s Earthen Canals in a Dynamic Floodplain Environment.” The Department of Anthropology and the Quaternary Research Center’s Friday Afternoon Archaeology Lecture Series, University of Washington. (February 25, 2022)

2015    “Using Geology to Investigate Archaeological Problems: Examples from Northwest Mexico.” Invited lecture at California State University East Bay, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (April 27, 2015)