Search Website
Alec McLellan

Assistant Professor - Archaeology
PhD 2020 (University College London)
Office: Social Science Centre Rm #3331
I am an archaeologist who is interested in settlement patterns and spatial analysis, especially as they relate to space-time systematics, human/environment interactions, and early complex societies in the Americas. My geographic areas of expertise are in Mesoamerica, as part of an ongoing project to map and document Ancient Maya settlement in Northcentral Belize using Lidar and UAV-based photogrammetry and in Northeastern North America, where I spent many years in Culture Resource Management (CRM) surveying and excavating Indigenous and Euro-Canadian archaeological sites.
2026. A. McLellan, H.R. Haines, and J. Bacon Lidar, Hydrology and Wetland Management Strategies in the Periphery of Lamanai. Latin American Antiquity, 1–16.
2026. B. Britton, A. McLellan, and N. Dunning Maya Pottery Red: Hue as a Perceptual Prior for Object Detection in UAV-Based Areal Survey. Remote Sensing 18:1-29.
2026. C.G. Tremain, H. Herrick, and A. McLellan A Co-Created Approach for Community Heritage: A Case Study of Archaeological Engagement in Belize. Journal of Archaeology and Education 10(1):1-39.
2026. Oriol A Gali, Sarah E. Metcalfe, Elizabeth A.C. Rushton, Betsabé de la Barreda Bautista, Georgina H. Endfield, Sofia Márdero, Franziska Schrodt, and A. McLellan Historical Droughts in British Colonial Belize (1771-1981). Submitted to Climate of the Past 22 (1):25-47
2025. B. Britton, A. McLellan, J. Brewer, R. Beck, C. Carr, N. Dunning, and L. Liu Evaluating Deep Learning for Maya Settlement Detection in Lidar Data. Submitted to Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 33(15):1-38.
2024. A. McLellan and C. Woolsey Thematic Analysis of Indigenous Perspectives on Archaeology and Culture Resource Management Industries. American Antiquity 89(2):185-201.
2023. A. McLellan and H.R. Haines Equality in the Periphery of Lamanai: Assessing a Maya Community in the 10th and 11th Centuries. Journal of Field Archaeology 48(5):350-365.
Undergraduate Courses
ANTHRO 1022A/B – Introduction to Biological Anthropology and Archaeology
ANTHRO 2226A/B – Biological Anthropology
ANTHRO 2229F/G – Principles of Archaeology
ANTHRO 3308F/G – Archaeological Theory and Practice
ANTHRO 3395F/G – Landscape Archaeology