Profile for Eric Stockdell
Eric Stockdell- PhD track in Archaeology, with inside major of Archaeology and outside minor in Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS); area interest in the Yucatán, México.
After completing my B.A. in anthropology at the University of Kentucky (UK), I spent a year and a half doing CRM work for the UK Program for Archaeological Research, after which I spent a year teaching English in Mérida, Yucatán, México. While living in the Yucatán, I developed a keen interest in the Maya people with whom I lived and worked. After returning to the US, I returned home to Indiana in order to study Maya archaeology.
My primary research interests include households, settlement patterns, and political economy. I study how the Maya lived and worked at the household level. My dissertation research is focused on how small farmers were affected by the political and economic events of the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods (ca. A.D. 750-1200).
I have taken part in several research projects in a variety of locations and am currently involved in three projects. I have been working with the Proyecto Arqueólogico Xuenkal (PAX) since its initial season in 2004. The Maya site of Xuenkal is located just west of Espita, Yucatán. PAX is directed by Traci Ardren of the University of Miami, and T. Kam Manahan of Kent State University. Outside of the Yucatán, I am working at the Maya site of Chau Hiix, Belize, with K. Anne Pyburn of Indiana University. In addition, I am working with G. William Monaghan of the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL) on a geo-archaeological project that is using GIS and geophysical data to test models for predicting buried-site locations in Michigan.
My previous research experience includes excavation and survey at Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, México; Caesarea Maritima, Israel; and Angel Mounds, Indiana. I have also done fieldwork in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia.
In addition to my research, I have a strong interest in education and public archaeology. As a member of the Center for Archaeology in the Public Interest, I have taken part in several public archaeology events across Indiana. This has included speaking with students in grades K-12 about archaeology, science, and culture. This last year I had the extreme pleasure of returning to my hometown of Columbus, Indiana, where myself and other CAPI members were able to conduct a special half-day presentation of activities at Mt. Healthy Elementary School.
Fig. 1 Students from Mt. Healthy learn about excavation Fig. 2 The PAX crew at Xuenkal, Yucatan
Fig. 3 Landis and I at Chau Hiix, Belize