My research encompasses a variety of methods, regions, and themes that revolve around the relationship between humans and food in the New World.  Methods that I employ include archaeobotany and zooarchaeology.  My lab is set up for the analysis of macro plant remains, starch grains, phytoliths, and faunal remains.  I focus my research in Mesoamerica and the Eastern United States, but I also train students working in California and South America.  Some themes of my research encompass the development of socio-political complexity, agricultural intensification, social identity and feasting, gender, the effects of warfare on the food quest, and exploratory data analysis.