End-to-End Research Design
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Completing end-to-end research is at the core of anthropological archaeology; however, there tend to be more research phases than most fields. For instance, archaeological research requires international permits, large teams, and considerable funding to collect even preliminary data to generate questions and substantiate large-scale investigations. Beyond this, our work seasonally constrained, often compressing us into limited timelines. Additionally, it addresses the cultural heritage and ancestral remains of living peoples thus we work in direct collaboration with descendant communities.
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Research Process: Archaeology
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Phase 1: Identify a gap in scholarship OR a novel approach to an existing discourse.
Phase 2: Develop research questions (preliminary), generate multiple working hypotheses including a null hypothesis, and establish a) what would prove and disprove each hypothesis and b) determine what you would conclude given each possible outcome. Phase 3: Design research to test and disprove hypotheses. Phase 4: Apply to grants and permits to complete research. Phase 5: Build team, establish schedule, and organize resources. Phase 6: Complete data collection through archaeological survey, excavation, and material analysis. Phase 7: Revise hypotheses and narrow research questions. Phase 8: Repeat Phases 3–6. Phase 9: Convert results from material analyses to big data analytics and perform statistical analysis as well as pattern recognition in order to interpret findings. Phase 10: Write up, publish, and present research outcomes. |
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Discoveries & Insights: Archaeology
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Popular ideas of archaeology help to characterize us as discoverers more so than scientists or researchers. While we certainly do occasionally stumble upon remarkable circumstances, this is quite rare, and more often than not, our discoveries are born out of systematic research where we apply the scientific method to the analysis of multiple types of preserved artifacts and cultural materials.
This is indeed the case with my work on the sweat bath, Los Sapos, at the site of Xultun, Guatemala. |
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"Discoveries" at Los SaposDuring the second season of excavation at this Early Classic period (200–550 CE) Maya sweat bath, I encountered a large offering in front of the doorway. I was fortunate to have Dr. Ashley Sharpe from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute join me in the early analysis as we identified commonalities in the offered animals and the iconography present on the structure's exterior. A few years later, we were joined by my former student, Elizabeth Hannigan, who analyzed the human remains. Additionally, I analyzed ceramics and employed the data to reconstructing burning events and deposit assemblage.
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Following our analyses, we compared our results to ethnohistories and recent ethnographies from Mesoamerica that involved sweat baths. What we found surprised us! The notable majority of sweat baths were and continue to be understood as grandmother deities whom require feeding in the form of complex offerings placed in front of or directly within their doorways. Our research is able to demonstrate the antiquity of indigenous myths, rituals, and ancestral relations as well as illustrate their early historical ties within Classic Maya society.
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Problem Solving Research & Published Solutions
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I encounter the unknown, the unexplored, and the overlooked through my research. When doing so, I've often come up against pervasive problems or unaddressed questions where I've responded by facing them head on, researching their breadth and depth, while also thinking strategically and creatively about their solutions.
Here I share a few published examples of this work: |
The Digital Dilemma
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Critical Citations
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