Sarah Barber

Sarah Barber is a Professor of Anthropology and affiliated with the National Center for Integrated Coastal Research at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She earned her Ph.D. and Master’s degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research focuses on archaeology, with two primary themes: the origins of complex societies and human-coastal interactions over deep time. She directs the Latin American and Caribbean Archaeology (LACA) Laboratory and has conducted fieldwork in Mexico and Florida, employing methods like ground-penetrating radar and remote sensing.

Her work is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and others. She co-edited Religion and Politics in the Ancient Americas (2017) and contributed to Approaching Historical Sources in Their Contexts (2020). She mentors students through field projects, including the Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project with the U.S. Space Force.

• Education: Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder
• Key Research Areas: Mesoamerican Archaeology, Formative Period, Coastal Ecosystems
• Field Projects: Río Verde Valley (Mexico), Indian River Lagoon (Florida)

Her research explores how ancient societies managed coastal resources and political organization. Recent publications analyze labor patterns via skeletal morphology and ritual practices in Formative Oaxaca. Collaborative efforts include ceramic production studies and geospatial modeling of pre-Columbian networks.