Dr. Jaime Awe was born in San Ignacio Town in the Cayo District of Belize.  A graduate of St. John’s Junior College in Belize City, he was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours, and a Masters Degree in Anthropology at Trent University in Ontario, Canada.  In 1992 he completed a Ph.D. in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London, England.  Between 1990 and 2000 he was a professor of Archaeology at Trent University in Canada, then at the University of New Hampshire. In the summer of 2000, he returned to Belize to direct major conservation projects at Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, Altun Ha, Cerros, Lubaantun and Lamanai.  Subsequently, between 2003 and 2014, he served as the first Director of the Belize Institute of Archaeology.  During his active career in archaeology, Dr. Awe has conducted important research at several sites in the Belize River Valley (Cahal Pech, Baking Pot, Lower Dover and several caves), he has published numerous articles in various books, journals, and magazines, and his research has been featured in several national and international television documentaries. Dr. Awe presently lives in Flagstaff, Arizona where he teaches in the Anthropology Department of Northern Arizona University, and he continues to conduct archaeological investigations in western Belize.