A cutting-edge molecular lab
and launching point to the
Eastern Tropical Pacific
Research in my lab examines the long and complex history of peoples and cultures in the Americas, and how these ancient societies developed both by changing, and being transformed by, their surrounding environment. My lab uses zooarchaeology, or the identification of animal bones, shells, and...
Exploring the tropical peoples
and ecosystems of the past
To better explain how deer populations have declined throughout tropical America, one researcher delves into a collection of 2,500 deer bones at the Smithsonian archaeology lab in Panama.
At one of the oldest Maya sites, STRI staff archaeologist, Ashley Sharpe, discovered dog bones from the Guatemalan highlands deep within two pyramids.
When he’s not racing his bike cross-country, Milton Garcia is in demand for his expertise flying drones. In the last month, he monitored mangrove deforestation on Panama’s Pacific coast, mapped a new research station in Coiba National Park and tracked blooming trees on Barro Colorado Island, the first plot in an international network of forest monitoring sites.
Designed to share a hands-on-science experience, the new, brightly-painted van will make it possible for kids and adults to participate in the excitement of the discovery process in cities and towns across Panama.
