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Gabriel D. Wrobel

I am an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Michigan State University, a bioarchaeologist, and the director of the Central Belize Archaeological Survey (CBAS) Project. My research focuses primarily on investigating mortuary and biological variability in ancient Maya individuals interred in caves and rockshelters in central Belize. I have increasingly incorporated digital methods in my research, and have recently begun projects to construct repositories of three-dimensional photogrammetric models of crania from the Maya area and from New Guinea. These models not only serve as a permanent record of the skeletal remains, but also facilitate a variety of analyses focused on health, genetic relationships, trauma, and intentional modifications occurring in life and after death.

Archaeologists on a dig

How Do Archaeologists Know Where to Dig?

Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find thanks to obvious visual clues. But technology—and listening to local people—plays a bigger role now.