Sharpe, Ashley E.

Fellowship Advisor Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute staff

Share Profile URI

0000-0003-3568-1734

Co-author Network Map of Science

Send Message

Sharpe, Ashley E.

Fellowship Advisor Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute staff

Positions

Research Archaeologist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 2016 -
Faunal Analyst , Florida Museum of Natural History 2009 - 2016

Background And Education

Education And Training

Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Florida , Anthropology 2016
M.A. in Anthropology, University of Florida , Anthropology 2011
B.A. in Archaeology, Boston University , Archaeology 2009

Awards And Honors

Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Award, conferred by Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Awards, 2020
Delores A. Auzenne Dissertation Award, 2016
Charles H. Fairbanks Award, 2016
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, 2014

Publications

Selected Publications

Article
- Saltonstall, Kristin, Collin, Rachel, Aguilar, Celestino, Alda, Fernando, Baldrich-Mora, Laura, Bravo, Victor, Castillo, María Fernanda, Castro, Sheril, De León, Luis F., Díaz-Ferguson, Edgardo, Garcés, Humberto A., Gómez, Eyda, González, Rigoberto G., González-Torres, Maribel A., Guzman, Hector M., Hiller, Alexandra, Ibáñez, Roberto, Jaramillo, César, Kaiser, Klara L., Kam, Yulang, Lemus Peralta, Mayra, Lopez, Oscar G., Madrid C., Maycol E., Miller, Matthew J., Ossa-Hernandez, Natalia et al. 2025. "A DNA Barcode Dataset for the Aquatic Fauna of the Panama Canal: Novel Resources for Detecting Faunal Change in the Neotropics." Data, 10, (7) 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/data10070108. 2025
- Pace, Veronica, Smith-Guzm´an, Nicole E., Cybulski, Jonathan D., and Sharpe, Ashley E. 2025. "Aproximación isotópica a las prácticas de lactancia y destete en tres sitios prehispánicos de Panamá." Revista Argentina de Antropología Biológica, 27, (2). https://doi.org/10.24215/18536387e111. 2025
- Cybulski, Jonathan D., Sharpe, Ashley E., Carvajal-Contreras, Diana Rocío, De Gracia, Brígida, Dillon, Erin M., García-Pérez, Irene, Isaza-Aizpurúa, Ilean I., Núñez-Cortés, Yahaira, Monge-Blanco, Susan, Smith-Guzmán, Nicole E., and O'Dea, Aaron. 2025. "Historical ecology of the Southern Central American Pacific coast." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 380, (1930). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0042. 2025
- Carvajal Contreras, Diana R. and Sharpe, Ashley E. 2025. "Introducción." Vinculos, 45, (1-2) 1â€“4. 2025
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Smith-Guzmán, Nicole E., Díaz Pérez, Claudia Patricia, Sánchez Herrera, Luis Alberto, Carvajal-Contreras, Diana, Curtis, Jason, Cybulski, Jonathan D., Desjardins, Benoit, Isaza-Aizpurúa, Ilean, Kamenov, George, and Núñez-Cortés, Yajaira. 2025. "Isotopic evidence of increased societal diversification in Pre-Columbian Panama." PLOS One, 20, (11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335678. 2025
- Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Vázquez López, Verónica A., García Hernández, Melina, Fernandez-Diaz, Juan, Sharpe, Ashley E., Alvarado, Claudia, Flores, Atasta, Ceballos, Xanti, Hanson, Kelsey E., Chen, Ran, Beach, Timothy, Omori, Takayuki, Nasu, Hiroo, Aoyama, Kazuo, Yamada, Keitaro, Kitaba, Ikuko, and Nakagawa, Takeshi. 2025. "Landscape-wide cosmogram built by the early community of Aguada Fénix in southeastern Mesoamerica." Science Advances, 11, (45). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea2037. 2025
- Rice, Prudence M., Sharpe, Ashley E., Duncan, William N., Kamenov, George D., and Krigbaum, John. 2025. "Postclassic political conflict and isotope analysis in the central Peten lakes area, Guatemala." Ancient Mesoamerica, 1â€“15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536125100618. 2025
- Sharpe, Ashley E. 2025. "Un cambio de paradigma de la arqueología de Panamá: historia e investigaciones pasadas y presentes en el sitio Cerro Juan Díaz." Vínculos, 45, (1-2) 35â€“52. 2025
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Manuel Palomo, Juan, Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Pinzón, Flory, Curtis, Jason, Emery, Kitty, Kamenov, George, Krigbaum, John, MacLellan, Jessica, and Paula Weihmüller, María. 2024. "An isotopic examination of Maya Preclassic and Classic animal and human diets at Ceibal, Guatemala." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104522. 2024
- Weihmüller, María Paula, Izeta, Andrés Darío, Sharpe, Ashley, Takigami, Mai, Costa, Thiago, and Cattáneo, Gabriela Roxana. 2024. "Assessing the diet of modern and archaeological guanacos from the Great Chaco in Córdoba, Argentina, through stable isotope analysis (δ ¹³ C, δ ¹⁵ N) of bone and dentin collagen Implications for paleoenvironmental and zooarchaeological studies." The Holocene, https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836241231457. 2024
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Laumbach, Karl, Wylde, Michael, Kamenov, George, Krigbaum, John, and Tawater, Art. 2024. "Isotopic Evidence Supports Existence of Late Holocene Bison Herds in West Central New Mexico." KIVA, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2024.2436267. 2024
- Estrada, Javier, Sharpe, Ashley E., Mendoza, Victor, and Chinchilla, Oswaldo. 2024. "Paleoambiente de la planicie costera del Pacífico de Guatemala: Una reconstrucción desde la evidencia arqueológica de Montana, Escuintla." The Mayanist, 5, (2) 41â€“62. 2024
- Ebert, Claire E., Hixon, Sean W., Buckley, Gina M., George, Richard J., Pacheco-Fores, Sof, Palomo, Juan Manuel, Sharpe, Ashley E., Solís-Torres, Óscar R., Davis, J. B., Fernandes, Ricardo, and Kennett, Douglas J. 2024. "The Caribbean and Mesoamerica Biogeochemical Isotope Overview (CAMBIO)." Scientific Data, 11, (349). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03167-6. 2024
- Harvey, Virginia L., LeFebvre, Michelle J., Sharpe, Ashley E., Toftgaard, Casper, deFrance, Susan D., Giovas, Christina M., Fitzpatrick, Scott M., and Buckley, Michael. 2022. "Collagen fingerprinting of Caribbean archaeological fish bones: Methodological implications for historical fisheries baselines and anthropogenic change." Journal of Archaeological Science, 145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105642. 2022
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Arroyo, Barbara, Wright, Lori E., Aju, Gloria, Estrada, Javier, Kamenov, George D., Serech, Emanuel, and Zavodny, Emily. 2022. "Comparison of human and faunal enamel isotopes reveals diverse paleodiet and exchange patterns at the highland Maya Site of Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala." Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 14, (1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01498-8. 2022
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Arroyo, Bárbara, Estrada, Javier, Ajú, Gloria, and Serech, Emanuel. 2022. "Dogs for the Gods, Fish for the Feast: The Ceremonial Role of Animals at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala." Latin American Antiquity, 33, (2) 221â€“241. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2021.81. 2022
- Inomata, Takeshi, Sharpe, Ashley E., Palomo, Juan Manuel, Pinzón, Flory, Nasu, Hiroo, Triadan, Daniela, Culleton, Brendan J., and Kennett, Douglas J. 2022. "Radiocarbon dates of burials from Ceibal and other Pasión Maya sites, Guatemala, and the examination of freshwater reservoir effect through diet reconstruction." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103506. 2022
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Smith-Guzmán, Nicole, Curtis, Jason, Isaza-Aizpurúa, Ilean, Kamenov, George D., Wake, Thomas A., and Cooke, Richard G. 2021. "A preliminary multi-isotope assessment of human mobility and diet in pre-Columbian Panama." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102876. 2021
- Scaffidi, Beth K., Kamenov, George D., Sharpe, Ashley E., and Krigbaum, John. 2021. "Non-Local Enemies or Local Subjects of Violence?: Using Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and Lead (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb) Isobiographies to Reconstruct Geographic Origins and Early Childhood Mobility of Decapitated Male Heads from the Majes Valley, Peru." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-021-09519-5. 2021
- Inomata, Takeshi, Fernandez-Diaz, Juan Carlos, Triadan, Daniela, Garcia Mollinedo, Miguel, Pinzon, Flory, Garcia Hernandez, Melina, Flores, Atasta, Sharpe, Ashley, Beach, Timothy, Hodgins, Gregory W. L., Duron Diaz, Juan Javier, Guerra Luna, Antonio, Guerrero Chavez, Luis, Hernandez Jimenez, Maria de Lourdes, and Moreno Diaz, Manuel. 2021. "Origins and spread of formal ceremonial complexes in the Olmec and Maya regions revealed by airborne lidar." Nature Human Behaviour, 5, (11) 1487. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01218-1. 2021
- Clarke, Mary E., Sharpe, Ashley E., Hannigan, Elizabeth M., Carden, Megan E., Luna, Gabriella Velásquez, Beltrán, Boris, and Hurst, Heather. 2021. "Revisiting the Past: Material Negotiations between the Classic Maya and an Entombed Sweat Bath at Xultun, Guatemala." Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 31, (1) 67–94. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774320000281. 2021
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Burham, Melissa, MacLellan, Jessica, Munson, Jessica, and Pinzón, Flory. 2020. "The Maya Preclassic to Classic transition observed through faunal trends from Ceibal, Guatemala." PLOS ONE, 15, (4) 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230892. 2020
- Pfeiffer, John M., Atkinson, Carla L., Sharpe, Ashley E., Capps, Krista A., Emery, Kitty F., and Page, Lawrence M. 2019. "Phylogeny of Mesoamerican freshwater mussels and a revised tribe-level classification of the Ambleminae." Zoologica Scripta, 48, (1) 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12322. 2019
- Sharpe, Ashley E. 2019. "The Ancient Shell Collectors: Two Millennia of Marine Shell Exchange at Ceibal, Guatemala." Ancient Mesoamerica, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536118000366. 2019
- Pfeiffer, John M., Sharpe, Ashley E., Johnson, Nathan A., Emery, Kitty F., and Page, Lawrence M. 2018. "Correction to: Molecular phylogeny of the Nearctic and Mesoamerican freshwater mussel genus Megalonaias." Hydrobiologia, 811, (1) 153–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3459-x. 2018
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Emery, Kitty F., Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Kamenov, George D., and Krigbaum, John. 2018. "Earliest isotopic evidence in the Maya region for animal management and long-distance trade at the site of Ceibal, Guatemala." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115, (14) 3605–3610. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713880115. 2018
- Pfeiffer, John M., Sharpe, Ashley E., Johnson, Nathan A., Emery, Kitty F., and Page, Lawrence M. 2018. "Molecular phylogeny of the Nearctic and Mesoamerican freshwater mussel genus Megalonaias." Hydrobiologia, 811, (1) 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3441-7. 2018
- Aoyama, Kazuo, Inomata, Takeshi, Triadan, Daniela, Pinzón, Flory, Palomo, Juan Manuel, MacLellan, Jessica, and Sharpe, Ashley. 2017. "Early Maya Ritual Practices and Craft Production: Late Middle Preclassic Ritual Deposits Containing Obsidian Artifacts at Ceibal, Guatemala." Journal of Field Archaeology, 42, (5) 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2017.1355769. 2017
- Inomata, Takeshi, Pinzón, Flory, Palomo, Juan Manuel, Sharpe, Ashley, Ortíz, Raúl, Méndez, María Belén, and Román, Otto. 2017. "Public Ritual and Interregional Interactions: Excavations of the Central Plaza of Group A, Ceibal." Ancient Mesoamerica, 28, (1) 203–232. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536117000025. 2017
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Kamenov, George D., Gilli, Adrian, Hodell, David A., Emery, Kitty F., Brenner, Mark, and Krigbaum, John. 2016. "Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region." PLOS ONE, 11, (11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164871. 2016
Chapter
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Kamenov, George, and Krigbaum, John. 2022. "Assessing the Applicability of Lead Isotope Data from Animal Teeth in the Maya Region." In Isotope Research in Zooarchaeology: Methods, Applications, and Advances. Sharpe, Ashley E. and Krigbaum, John, editors. 149â€“174. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2022
- Sharpe, Ashley E. and Krigbaum, John. 2022. "Introduction: Applications of Isotope Research in Zooarchaeology." In Isotope Research in Zooarchaeology: Methods, Applications, and Advances. Sharpe, Ashley E. and Krigbaum, John, editors. 1â€“12. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2022
- Isaza-Aizpurúa, Ileana, Jiménez-Acosta, Máximo, Smith-Guzmán, Nicole E., Sharpe, Ashley, Martín, Juan G., and Cooke, Richard G. 2022. "Pre-Columbian Lifeways at Three Estuarine and Two Platform Island Sites in Pacific Panama." In Underwater and Coastal Archaeology in Latin America. Elkin, Dolores and Delaere, Christophe, editors. 71–84. University Press of Florida. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9780813069821.003.0006. 2022
- Cunningham-Smith, Petra, Sharpe, Ashley E., Thornton, Erin Kennedy, Boileau, Arianne, and Emery, Kitty F. 2020. "Food, Friend, or Offering: Exploring the Role of Maya Dogs in the Zooarchaeological Record." In ‘Her Cup for Sweet Cacao’: The Social Uses of Food in Ancient Maya Society. Ardren, Traci, editor. 161â€“187. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://doi.org/10.7560/321645-007. 2020
- LeFebvre, Michelle J. and Sharpe, Ashley E. 2018. "Contemporary Challenges in Zooarchaeological Specimen Identification." In Zooarchaeology in Practice. 35–57. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64763-0_3. 2018
- Sharpe, Ashley E., Kamenov, George D., and Krigbaum, John. 2018. "Mobility and Lead Isotopes." In The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences. 1–3. American Cancer Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119188230.saseas0385. 2018