Area of Interest:

Mesoamerican archaeology, social identity and ritual expression, community and public archaeology, applied anthropology, economic anthropology, archaeological method and theory.

Education:

BA, History – Whitman College, 2002

MA, Applied Anthropology – University of South Florida, 2007

Research & Activities:

During the fall of 2008 I am an intern with MACHI (Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative) in the Toledo District of southern Belize. I am working with a local NGO (the Julian Cho Society) to revitalize and implement an archaeological education program in local Maya villages. Focusing on eight communities that are in the immediate vicinity of reconstructed ancient Maya sites, our classes use multimedia presentations and hands-on activities to educate primary school students about ancient Maya culture and archaeological conservation.

My research interests include questions about ancient Maya social identity, ritual expression, and economics. In addition, I am interested in the interplay between ancestral material heritage and modern Maya identities. I hope to pursue a dissertation that combines archaeological investigation with community archaeology initiatives. 

Selected Publications:

Wells, E. Christian, Claire Novotny, and James R. Hawken

2007  Predictive Modeling of Soil Chemical Data by ICP-OES Reveals the Uses of Ancient Mesoamerican Plazas. In Archaeological Geochemistry: Analytical Techniques and Archaeological Interpretation, edited by M.D. Glascock, R.J. Speakman, and R.S. Poelka-Filcoff. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.

2007 Forging Identities through Style: Elite Interaction and Identity Formation at Late Classic (AD 650-900) Palmarejo, Northwest Honduras. MA Thesis, University of South Florida

2007 International Field Schools in Applied Anthropology: Negotiating the Intersection of Academia and Community Research. Participant in a panel discussion held at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting. Tampa, Florida.

2007 Revisiting the Maya Market Hypothesis: Quantitative Models for Ancient Lowland Maya Market Exchange. Presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. Austin, Texas. (Claire Novotny and E. Christian Wells)