Kyle Pontieri graduated from CU Denver in Winter 2024 with a MA in Anthropology, concentrating in Archaeology. Throughout the program, he worked closely with Dr. Jamie Hodgkins on analyzing faunal remains. According to Kyle, Dr. Hodgkins’ course in Zooarchaeology was the most impactful on his career post-graduation. “Zooarchaeology was the most helpful for understanding the taphonomic effects on bone fragments and how that contributes to determining difficult stratigraphy and understanding how sites are formed as well,” he said.
The Zooarchaeology course also helped launch his current career . Over a year ago, Kyle started working at ERO Resources Corporation as a Staff Cultural Resource Technician Specialist. As a result of gaining in-depth knowledge of faunal analysis and analysis of fossil hominins while in CU Denver’s MA program, Kyle was able to qualify as a state-registered paleontologist. Now, he works a Project Paleontologist at ERO.
Kyle’s advice for MA students hoping to start a career in archaeology or Cultural Resource Management is to “have fun with it and explore things.” Once students gain a solid understanding of archaeology, finding a niche specialization is helpful for career prospects as well. Kyle says he learned through experience that “exploring other things, other sciences, helps deepen the perspective and ends up being a benefit in the field.” Anthropology is an interdisciplinary field, so being able to contribute other skills and perspectives to archaeological work can give students an advantage in the job market.
Kyle got his job with ERO right after graduating from the master’s program. He credits CU Denver’s career networking, saying that it made a difference in being able to connect with local archaeology firms and land a job after graduation.
