Hi, I’m Kacey (she/her/ella). I am an anthropological archaeologist studying human-environment relationships and inequality in Belize, the ancestral home of the Maya. The methods I engage with include survey, excavation, archaeobotany, and oral histories. Currently, I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Archaeology Center at Stanford University, where I also manage the Archaeological Science Lab. Before joining Stanford, I was a lecturer at Northwestern University, where I earned my PhD in anthropology.

I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to conduct research in Belize since 2010. I am the co-founder of two projects: the Aventura Archaeology Project (AAP), founded in 2014, and the New River Island Project (NRIP), founded in 2023. Both projects take place in the Corozal District, the northernmost district of Belize.

Broadly speaking, I study past human-environment relationships. I am particularly interested in (1) how inequality relates to access to environmental needs and (2) how communities are able to stay resilient in the face of extreme change. My work touches on themes of political ecology, ontologies, colonialism, and environmental justice. I firmly believe that archaeological research should be practiced for stakeholder communities, and my work is grounded in community outreach and collaboration. I center the concerns of local communities in my ongoing research on topics including the sugar cane industry and climate change.