Rate My Professor Joseph Reti

Joseph (Jay) Reti is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research examines the origins of human reliance on technology and cultural transmission through experimental studies of stone tools dating back 2-3 million years from East Africa. Reti investigates hominin economic decisions, stone tool production strategies, raw material transport, and evidence of active teaching among early hominins. He directs the Human Evolution and Lithics Experimental Lab (HELEX), which supports experimental archaeology projects from diverse periods and regions, with a focus on human preferences for environmental raw materials. HELEX also trains UC Santa Cruz undergraduates in public outreach, enabling them to deliver lessons on human evolution to local high school biology classrooms. Previously, Reti served as Director of the Santa Cruz Island Reserve, part of the University of California Natural Reserve System managed through UC Santa Barbara. In this role and beyond, he collaborates with Native American communities on the cultural preservation of archaeological materials and develops strategies to mitigate the erosion of cultural sites exacerbated by climate change. Reti engages with indigenous leadership across California to shape archaeological policy.