UMaine Student in National Geographic Live Chat

From an archaeological excavation site on the Peruvian coast, University of Maine interdisciplinary Ph.D. candidate Ana Mauricio participated in a Jan. 13 live chat with primatologist Jane Goodall and underwater explorer and discoverer of the Titanic Robert Ballard, among other explorers from seven continents, organized by the National Geographic Society to celebrate its 125th anniversary.

Mauricio came to UMaine in 2009 from Peru on a Fulbright fellowship to do a master’s in Quaternary and Climate Studies with Dan Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and climate studies and dean and associate provost for graduate studies. She defended her master’s thesis in 2012 and received a master’s last August. At the same time, Mauricio began an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quaternary archaeology.

She currently is excavating the early mound site of Los Morteros on the Peruvian coast, initially supported by the National Science Foundation and the Climate Change Institute’s Churchill Exploration Fund. Recently, Mauricio was awarded a National Geographic Society Waitt Foundation grant and a Beca Andina (Andean Fellowship) from the French Institute for Andean Studies.