Dr. Jessica MacLellan

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Jessica MacLellan is an archaeologist and Assistant Professor of Anthropology. She is interested in ritual, household archaeology, ceramics, and the development of complex societies in Mesoamerica and lower Central America. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in 2019.

Since 2012, Dr. MacLellan has investigated early households at the Maya site of Ceibal, in Guatemala, as part of the Ceibal-Petexbatún Archaeological Project. She focuses on the role of domestic and supra-household rituals in early Maya society. That research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Society for American Archaeology, and others. As of 2021, Dr. MacLellan is also investigating pre-Hispanic archaeological sites in the Azuero Peninsula of Panama, with colleagues at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

In addition to her research, Dr. MacLellan is committed to undergraduate teaching and archaeological public outreach.

More information can be found on her personal website: jessicamaclellan.com

Curriculum Vitae