My research encompasses a variety of methods, regions, and themes that revolve around the relationship between humans and food in the New World. Methods that I employ include archaeobotany and zooarchaeology. My lab is set up for the analysis of macro plant remains, starch grains, phytoliths, and faunal remains. I focus my research in Mesoamerica and the Eastern United States, but I also train students working in California and South America.  Some themes of my research encompass the development of socio-political complexity, agricultural intensification, social identity and feasting, gender, the effects of warfare on the food quest, and exploratory data analysis.

Research Key Words:

• New World Archaeology (Mexico, Southeastern U. S.)
• Middle Range Societies, Political Economy, Gender Studies, Warfare
• Subsistence Strategies, Zooarchaeology, Paleoethnobotany
• Prehistoric Foodways, Agriculture, Human Ecology
• Environmental Archaeology, Biogeography