Shane Macfarlan Lab Group

Shane Macfarlan is an evolutionary cultural anthropologist with a variety of research interests including: cooperation and conflict, evolutionary historical demography, rural livelihoods, social network analysis, human-ecosystem dynamics, cross-cultural research, and Latin America and the Caribbean. His lab group is composed of undergraduate and graduate students. Current projects occurring in his lab include: 1) the Evolutionary Ecology of the Baja California Peninsula; 2) Evolutionary Historical Demography; and 3) Cross-Cultural Analysis of Post-Combat Rituals and Rewards for Treating Moral Injury. Shane is always looking for undergraduate and graduate students to assist in his lab. Research opportunities can be facilitated through a number of mechanisms, including: the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, undergraduate research credit hours, and work study.

Projects & Lab Members

Drought Impacts on Cacti and Communities

This project examines how the extreme drought event of 2020-2022 affected arid ecosystems and traditional ranchers across Baja California Sur, Mexico. The project was funded in part through a grant made possible by the International Community Fund ($25,000) and includes partnerships with a local NGO Conserva Loreto

Infographics associated with this research are attached in English and Spanish.

University of Utah students connected with this project include: 

Dynamics of Godparenthood

This project examines the structural basis of Godparenthood relationships in traditional ranching communities of Baja California Sur, Mexico. University of Utah students associated with this project include:

Lab Group Successes!

Congratulations to Shane Macfarlan for receiving the University of Utah Distinguised Teaching Award and the John G. Francis Award for Undergraduate Mentoring for the academic year 2024-2025!

Congratulations to Shane Macfarlan for receiving the College of Behavioral and Social Science Award for Mentoring for the academic year 2024-2025!

Learning Abroad in Baja California Sur, Mexico 2026

Culture, Ecology, & Sustainability

I will be teaching a culturally immersive learning abroad course in Summer 2026 in the pueblo of Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico. This course offers students the opportunity to examine the intersection of BCS’s culture, history, and ecology through an anthropological and ecological lens, using the pueblo of Todos Santos as a case site. Students will apply ethnographic and ecological methods to answer research questions related to the growth of the population, social relationships within the community, and sustainable development.