I earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Anthropology, with a minor in Geology from Florida State University in 1978, a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Anthropology from Florida State University in 1983, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Anthropology, with a minor in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990.  I teach/have taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate-level anthropology courses at a number of colleges and universities since 1985, including:  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Florida, University of South Florida (both Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses), Sante Fe Community College, Central Florida Community College, St. Petersburg College, and State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.  Currently at St. Petersburg College, I teach Introduction to Anthropology (ANT 2000) and Cultural Anthropology (ANT 2410).

As an anthropological archaeologist, my main research has focused on the antiquity of humanly-controlled fire, and I developed a methodological approach for distinguishing between archaeological evidence of fire resulting from human activities and archaeological evidence of fire resulting from natural processes such as grass fires, brush fires, tree stump fires, and forest fires.  My research suggests that our hominid ancestors began controlling and using fire approximately 1.6 million years ago based on evidence from the site of FxJj 20 Main, Koobi Fora, Kenya.

I have a wide-range of field and laboratory experience, and I have directed numerous archaeological surveys and excavations throughout the Southeast, Midwest and Great Plains regions of the United States, and in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and in Kenya, Africa.  I was a member of two international, multi-disciplinary paleoanthropological research expeditions in Africa during the 1980s:  the Semliki Research Expedition to Zaire and the Koobi Fora Research Project in Kenya.  I have authored and co-authored numerous reports of investigations, as well as several articles that were published in national and international journals and books, detailing my laboratory and field research projects. I have expertise in planning and directing large-scale archaeological excavations, lithic (stone) artifact analysis, zooarchaeological (faunal) analysis, shell tool analysis, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, magnetometer survey design and interpretation, reconstruction of prehistoric diet and subsistence practices, air photo interpretation, cartography and mapping, geology, sedimentology, and paleomagnetic sampling and analysis.

Students in my courses gain a solid working knowledge about the discipline of anthropology.  To illustrate and reinforce anthropological topics and concepts, I provide first-hand examples from my archaeological laboratory and fieldwork experiences, and from my experiences with members of different cultures from around the world, such as the Seminole and Miccosukee of Florida; the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Lakota Sioux of North Dakota; the Mvuba (BamBuba) and Nande (BaNande) of Zaire; and the Dassenetch, Samburu, and Maasai of Kenya.