Postdoctoral Research Associate in Palaeobotany, University of Exeter
As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter on the BLADEN Legacy Project, my work involves the analysis of botanical residues (in particular, phytoliths) to understand emplaced human-plant relationships over the long-term in Mesoamerica. I am especially interested in the active role of people and plants in negotiations of forest dynamics, landscape, and foodways, along with methodological questions about phytolith taphonomy.
I completed my PhD at Brown University in 2025, where I applied archaeological and paleoethnobotanical techniques to investigate cuisine and agricultural practice in the Yaxuna region of the northern Maya lowlands. More specifically, my work examined past use of rejolladas, dry sinkholes whose microenvironmental characteristics can be employed for farming, and plant remains like phytoliths and starch grains extracted from the surfaces of artifacts recovered in excavation. For this research, I received support from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and Fulbright. I hold an MA in anthropology from Brown University and a BA in anthropology and Spanish from the University of Miami, and have previously participated in archaeological fieldwork in Yucatán, Chiapas, Puerto Rico, and Florida.