Faculty/Staff Directory

Department

Anthropology

Division

Business & Social Sciences (BSS)

Office Hours

Wednesday, 12 -3 p.m.

Classes I Teach

2026 Summer

2026 Spring

2026 Fall

2027 Winter

No scheduled classes found for 2027 Spring.

About/Biography

I am an archaeologist who studies in Ecuador, Belize, California, Ireland and Hawaii. My interests are in the rise of complexity in societies and narratives surrounding colonization and resistance. I am also currently heavily involved with public and applied anthropology. Every summer we bring field classes of 30 students to field sites to take in active ongoing research projects. Students in Ireland spend a month focusing on late medieval castles in communities and in Ecuador they continue our amazing research on Inca fortifications. We also head to Hawaii to help Native Hawaiian groups study and revitalize their fishponds and traditional farming practices. Finally, much of our work is done in California where we study at the Hidden Villa farm near campus, and in Lake County near Clearlake.

Check out the Foothill Anthropology website: https://foothill.edu/anthropology/

Anthropology is a great springboard for broadening your horizons. It positions you for the future, by giving you the tools to expand your learning and giving potential employers the satisfaction of knowing that you have been able to interpret and understand other perspectives and other cultures.

Foothill Experience

This is my 20th year at Foothill and I am pleased to be here.

Professional Background

I came to the Bay Area from Hawaii where I was a Forensic Archaeologist specializing in the recovery and identification of Missing In Action U.S. service members from past wars. We mostly worked in Vietnam and Laos excavating plane crashes.

Education & Research

I received my degree from UCLA where I completed a dissertation on the Maya - I studied how regular people were connected to the kings. I surveyed and excavated at a place called Chaa Creek, which is a wonderful resort - check it out online. My studies assessed ways in which we can measure the degree of integration or connectedness among people in the past.

All of my studies were in Belize, until in 2000 when I began researching with my wife, Ana, in Ecuador. We are fortunate to be part of a special project that has been ongoing in the highlands north of the capital Quito.

We look at Inca Fortresses, conducting excavations high in the Andes - on the edge of the Amazon at the equator.

California & Collaborative Work

While I have been traveling to Latin America and taking students on the field projects, but I also have worked in California, and hope to continue this now that I am at Foothill. We have exciting partnerships with local archaeologists at institutions like Stanford and CA State Parks. Currently we are helping to survey and document portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

Ireland Field Program

As I mentioned, we started a brand new research program focusing on castles in Ireland. The excavations and survey have turned up many artifacts and we think we found the medieval village just outside of the castle.

Hawaii & California Field Programs

Lastly, my attention has moved to Hawaii where we are beginning yet another program on the Big Island in Hawaii. And now we are doing a program in Clear Lake, California. It is field school on a budget, and it's been wildly successful.

Check out the department website! This is an exciting time to be involved with Anthropology at Foothill. Please stop by and visit anytime -- my door is always open.