Ariel N. Barrera

PhD Candidate

CUNY Graduate Center

Division of Anthropology

American Museum of Natural History

About Me

I'm a Partner PhD Candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, The American Museum of Natural History, and NYCEP. I am a paleoanthropologist co-advised by Dr. Ashley Hammond and Dr. Chris Robinson and a former adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College. My research interests include hominin teeth evolution and geometric morphometrics. I have experience in scientific illustration, statistical analysis, fieldwork, and teaching K-12.

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GC Stories

Digging into a Dream: Ph.D. Student Follows Her Passion for Paleoanthropology

July 23, 2025

Ariel Barrera returns to the American Museum of Natural History — where her fascination began — to study ancient teeth and human evolution.

Publications

Fanjul, A., Vega, J.A., Alonso-Llamazares, C., Álvarez, D., Fernández, M.A., Nava, H.S., Díez, T.E., Barrera, A., Martiño, A. y Suárez, D. (2024) “Alimentación y muerte en la alta montaña astur. Primeros datos procedentes de la sima de La Sobia (Tever ga, Asturias)”, Vaccea Anuario, 17, pp. 71-81. https://doi.org/10.69531/SJYU-9139-PNTV

Scientific Illustration

Publications:

Wygal, B. T., & Krasinski, K. E. (2019). POST-GLACIAL HUMAN COLONIZATION OF SOUTHERN ALASKA: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF TRAPPER CREEK. Alaska Journal of Anthropology, 17.

Figures 6, 8, and 9

Conference Presentations:

Hammond AS. 2025. Big mamas and big babies: Becoming human in the Pleistocene. Wellcome Connecting Science "From Fossils to Ancient and Modern Genomes."

Homo erectus female

Conference Presentations

PODIUM:

Gilbert, C.C., Arenson, J.L., Barrera, A, N., Strain, J.A., Won, J. (2025, March). Re-investigation of maxillary molar ratios, endocranial volume, prenatal growth rates, and body mass in catarrhine primates. [conference presentation abstract], Program of the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 186, e70031.https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70031

POSTERS:

Barrera, A. N., Post, N. W., Ortiz, A., Hammond, A. S., & Pugh, K. D. (2024, April). Phylogenetic Analysis of the Lukeino Molar (KNM-LU 335) using Occlusal Morphology. In AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Vol. 183, pp. 13-13). 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN 07030-5774, NJ USA: WILEY.

Gazabon, A. V., Profico, A., Grine, F., Mongle, C. S., Barrera, A., Fuentes, E. M., ... & Cazenave, M. (2024, April). Comparison of medical vs. micro-computed tomography in the assessment of cortical bone thickness distribution in the primate femoral diaphysis. In AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Vol. 183, pp. 186-186). 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN 07030-5774, NJ USA: WILEY.

Barrera, A. N., & Robinson, C. A. (2023, April). ANTERIOR TEETH AND THE MANDIBULAR SYMPHYSIS: A Morphometric Analysis of Correlation in Extant Hominids. In AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Vol. 180, pp. 13-13). 111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN 07030-5774, NJ USA: WILEY.