Research Interests
Kitty Emery in the Environmental Archaeology collection.
With the Florida Museum Environmental Archaeology team, I study ancient animal, plant, and soil remains to investigate the ancient relationship between humans and the environments within which they lived. Our projects span the circum-Caribbean from the Southeastern United States to northern Peru. I work in the tropical forests of Central America, using the environmental remains recovered in archaeological deposits to understand how the ancient Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures used (and sometimes abused) their natural world. I have worked in Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala for 20 years, and am currently studying animal materials from several Maya sites while also collaborating with other environmental and archaeological researchers to trace the distribution of environmental resources through the Classic Maya community of Motul de San Jose, Guatemala.