Esteban  Rangel
Fulbright Garcia Robles Award  |  2026-27

Mexico

Esteban Rangel is a PhD student in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. His research focuses on bioarchaeology which combines biological anthropology and archaeology to study migration and identity in Mesoamerican populations. His previous work has included studying cranial modification in the Andes and analyzing human skeletal remains from Maya sites in Belize. As a bilingual Mexican American researcher, he is especially committed to developing long-term collaborations with Mexican scholars and institutions.

His Fulbright award will fund his dissertation project data collection which investigates the population origins of the Mexica, which formed part of the Aztec Empire, and migration into the Basin of Mexico during the Postclassic period. Using dental morphology, he will compare skeletal collections from different populations in Mexico to evaluate models of Mexica migration and origins. The project builds on pilot research and networking trip to Mexico funded by an LAII Field Research Grant. In addition to collecting dissertation data, he will work with Mexican students and researchers to offer training in dental morphology.