Leslie Zubieta Calvert

Leslie Zubieta Calvert serves as an Adjunct Research Fellow in Archaeology within the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia, specializing in rock art studies, ethnoarchaeology, and cultural heritage management. Her research integrates fieldwork across Africa, Mexico, and Australia with interdisciplinary approaches to understanding cultural knowledge transmission.

Her academic qualifications include:

• Undergraduate degree in archaeology with distinction from Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH), Mexico City
• MSc in rock art studies from the University of the Witwatersrand
• PhD in rock art studies from the University of the Witwatersrand

Calvert's research examines body perceptions in rock art, animal symbolism, material culture, memory systems, and oral traditions, with particular focus on women's narratives in south-central Africa and connections to initiation ceremonies. She investigates rock art as mnemonic devices for cultural knowledge preservation and analyzes creation processes within specific socio-cultural contexts, bridging archaeological evidence with living traditions.

Her recent publications (2022-2025) reveal three interconnected research trajectories: Mesoamerican clay modeling techniques in Oaxaca, sacred site management in Western Australia, and theoretical frameworks for rock art's role in memory transmission. These works demonstrate methodological innovation through combining archaeological fieldwork, ethnoarchaeological observation, and cognitive anthropology to decode symbolic systems.

Major recognitions include:

• Hermes scholarship from Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, French Ministries, and CNRS
• National Research Foundation PhD bursary
• University of the Witwatersrand Postgraduate Merit Award (2003-2008)
• Fulbright-Hays Act Exchange Visitor Program fellowship
• Nissan South Africa car sponsorship for doctoral fieldwork

She secured competitive funding including the ARC Linkage Project 'Kimberley Visions' (2015-2021) as Chief Investigator, British Institute in Eastern Africa grants, and French GDRI-STAR collaboration funding. Her fieldwork spans northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Durango) with INAH, southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), and Australian Indigenous heritage sites. Since joining UWA's Centre for Rock Art Research and Management in 2013, she has collaborated with University of Texas at Austin, Centre National de Préhistoire, and TRACES research unit in Toulouse.

Current research integrates digital documentation of earthen sculptures in Oaxaca with memory studies frameworks, while advancing culturally appropriate heritage management models for Australian rock art provinces through community-engaged methodologies.