David F. Lee

David Lee joined the BVAR Project in 1993 as a field school student from Trent University, participating in the ongoing excavations at the site of Cahal Pech. In 1994 and 1995, David returned to the field as a supervisor for the Trent University Belize Valley Preclassic Maya Project under the direction of Jaime Awe and Paul Healy.

In 1996 and 1997, concurrent with work on the BVAR project, David conducted an ethnographic study on cultural perceptions of archaeological tourism and archaeology in Belize.

David returned to a solely archaeological focus in 1998 and 1999 working again with BVAR and WBRCP whose surface excavations now focused on the site of Baking Pot. In 2000 BVAR returned to Cahal Pech where David supervised work in the D-group plaza of the site’s monumental core.

In 2001 David (together with Jennifer Piehl, Russell Turner, and William Poe) began consulting work under contract with the Tourism Development Project to prepare a long-term strategic plan for future archaeological site development in Belize. The Archaeological Development Strategy Plan was submitted to the Government of Belize in 2004.

David received a Bachelor’s degree in commerce and Economics in 1990 from Trent University. David Returned to Trent in 1992 and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 1995. In 2001, David began Ph.D. work under the supervision of Dr. David Freidel at Southern Methodist University and is currently conducting field research at the site of El Peru in Peten Guatemala. David’s research is focused upon the ancient royal palace complex at the site.