Dr. John P. Walden is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Galen University and a Research Affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. Before joining Galen, he held a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University as part of the Ancient Maya Kinship Project. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. Walden’s research integrates ancient DNA, household archaeology, and regional settlement analysis to explore Classic Maya kinship, household organization, and the formation and dissolution of political authority in the upper Belize River Valley. He serves as Assistant Director of the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) Project, where he oversees investigations of the Classic Maya center of Lower Dover. In addition to this project, Walden also works on the Bladen Legacy and Roots projects in the Bladen Nature Reserve and the Las Cuevas Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve.
Walden’s work sits within several large collaborative initiatives, including the NSF-funded Ancient Maya Kinship Project, which brings together researchers from more than twenty institutions to examine patterns of biological relatedness, mobility, and political structure across the Classic Maya kingdoms of the Belize River Valley. His publications span journals such as Latin American Antiquity, Ancient Mesoamerica, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Archaeological Research in Asia, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, PLOS ONE, Environmental Archaeology, and Quaternary Science Advances, in addition to chapters in edited volumes and numerous technical monographs. In 2024, he co-edited the volume Neighborhood and District Integration in the Andes and Mesoamerica with G. Cervantes Quequezana. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Rust Family Foundation, and the American Philosophical Society.
In addition to his work on Classic Maya societies, Walden is developing a growing interest in historical archaeology, with a focus on colonial settlement, Indigenous and enslaved labor, and the timber and logging industries of western Belize. This research integrates archaeological survey, metal-detection, archival analysis, and community oral histories to illuminate the social dynamics of Belize’s colonial frontier and the experiences of groups often marginalized in the written record. Through this work, Walden aims to provide a clearer view of the structures of exploitation and resilience that shaped colonial Belize.
At Galen University, Dr. Walden is committed to experiential learning, community partnership, and building capacity in Belizean archaeology. He teaches courses across anthropology and archaeology, mentors undergraduate researchers, and works closely with national heritage organizations to promote broader public engagement with Belize’s ancient and historical past. His scholarship is grounded in ethical practice, collaborative research, and a sustained commitment to advancing Belizean-led heritage studies.
Selected Recent Publications:
Walden, J.P.*, C.E. Ebert, S.L. Fedick, J.J. Awe, L. Pawlowicz, B. Meyer, S.C.M. Hemsley, O.P. Ellis, T.B. Watkins, I. Chechushkov, P. Mullins, F.K. Tzib, M. Biggie, S.M. Montgomery, G.J. Micheletti, R.A. Guerra, and J.A. Hoggarth
2025 Classic Maya Landscape Adaptation, Agricultural Productivity, and Political Dynamics in the Upper Belize River Valley. Quaternary Science Advances 20: 100295.
Cervantes Quequezana, G. and J.P. Walden (Eds.)
2024 Neighborhood and District Integration in the Andes and Mesoamerica. University of Pittsburgh Center for Comparative Archaeology Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Walden, J.P.*
2023 The Political Roles of Inter-Hierarchical Agents in the Classic Maya Lowlands. The Mayanist 4(2): 21-44.
Walden, J.P.*, J.A. Hoggarth, C.E. Ebert, K. Shaw-Müller, W. Ran, Y. Qiu, O.P. Ellis, B. Meyer, M. Biggie, T.B. Watkins, R.A. Guerra, and J.J. Awe
2023 Patterns of Residential Inequality at Baking Pot and Lower Dover in the Belize River Valley. Ancient Mesoamerica 34(9), 1- 9 DOI: l 0.1 017/S095653612300007X.
Walden, J.P.*, J.A. Hoggarth, C.E. Ebert, S.L. Fedick, M. Biggie, B. Meyer, K. Shaw-Müller, Y. Qiu, W. Ran, O.P. Ellis, T.B. Watkins, J.B. Davis, R.A. Guerra, C. Helmke, and J.J. Awe
2023 Classic Maya Settlement Systems Reveal Differential Land Use Patterns in the Upper Belize River Valley. Land 12(2):1-34. DOI: 10.3390/land12020483