Bladen Legacy
Oscar Wilkinson graduated with an MSc Bioarchaeology: Zooarchaeology from the University of Exeter Department of Archaeology and History. His dissertation, titled “The Road to Belize: an Analysis of a Faunal Assemblage,” assessed the faunal material from a unit within the Mayahak Cab Pek rock shelter in the Bladen project area.
Mark, Sara, Harper, and Joe attended graduation to cheer for him and the other graduates. Congratulations Oscar!
The Uchben’ kaj Kin Ajaw Association (UKAA) of Santa Cruz, southern Belize has a new website (ukaa-santacruz.com)! Daniel Mes, a local associate for the Bladen Legacy project, is the UKAA chairman. He joined the Bladen Legacy team for the 2025 field season and expressed the need for their organisation to have a website that conveys the cultural and environmental heritage of their Maya community. After the field season, Sara Eshleman and Mark Robinson met with the UKAA board and developed the site based on their feedback. Check it out!
Bladen Legacy is hiring a postdoctoral researcher in plant evolutionary genomics! This position is based at the University of Gothenburg with Dr. Christine Bacon. Find the full details in the job posting.
Dr. Harper Dine is joining the Bladen Legacy team as a palaeobotany postdoc based in Exeter. Harper earned her PhD from the Department of Anthropology at Brown University. Harper specializes in phytolith analysis and palaeoethnobotanical techniques, and will be applying these techniques to the Bladen project.
Read more about Harper in her profile.
The initial results are in and the most abundant tree in the botanical plots from the 2024 field season is Astrocaryum mexicanum – totalling 209 stems above 5 cm dbh (diameter at breast height). Meanwhile, the species with the highest total basal area was Dialum guianense.
Astrocaryum mexicanum (pictured) is a palm with spines that have pricked more than a few tropical researchers. The palm heart can be eaten, but its uses are not as well-documented as the other species that came out on top. Dialum guinanense, commonly known as ironwood, has edible fruits, but it is best known for its dense wood that has been used for construction since prehistoric times.
Dr. Joseph Hirst is joining the Bladen Legacy team as a palaeoecology postdoc based in Exeter. Joe earned his PhD from the School of Archaeology, Geography, and Environmental Science at the University of Reading. Joe specializes in pollen analysis and agent-based modelling, and will be applying these techniques to the Bladen project.
Read more about Joe in his profile.
We are hiring two postdoctoral research associates to join the Bladen Legacy team. One of the University of Exeter-based postdocs will lead palaeoecological analysis and interpretation, particularly for pollen and charcoal. The other will lead the palaeobotany analysis and interpretation, especially for phytoliths. These positions will work together and with the broader team towards understanding vegetation change and plant use through time in the Bladen Project area.
Find more information and apply by 6 January 2025 here for the palaeoecology post and here for the palaeobotany post.
Sara Eshleman successfully earned her PhD. Her dissertation, “Sensing Human Legacies in the Tropical Forests of Northern Central America,” focuses on using lidar imagery to correlate Maya infrastructure to modern forest structure in northwestern Belize. Her degree is conferred from the University of Texas at Austin Department of Geography and the Environment. She has already joined Bladen Legacy as a Postdoctoral Research Associate for remote sensing and ecological modelling.