STEPHEN B. ACABADO
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Los Angeles
375 Portola Plaza
341 Haines Hall, Box 951553
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Ph: 310-825-2261
Fax: 310-206-7833
acabado@anthro.ucla.edu
EDUCATION
Ph.D. 2010, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Research interests: Historical ecology, ecological anthropology, landscape archaeology, settlement patterns, emergent complexity, indigenous peoples, Southeast Asia, Philippines.
Dissertation: The Archaeology of the Ifugao Agricultural Terraces: Antiquity and Social Organization
M.A. Anthropology 2003, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
Thesis: Land Use and Agricultural Intensification: A GIS-Based Analysis of the Landscape of Ifugao, Northern Philippines.
B.A. Anthropology 1999, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
Focus: Four-field Anthropology
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
2023-Present. Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2022-Present. Chairperson, Archaeology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles
2021-Present. Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
2021-Present. Director, Program for Early Modern Southeast Asia, University of California, Los Angeles
2019-2023. Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2013-2019. Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2010-2013. Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU
2009-2010. Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
2003-2004. Visiting Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
1999-2001. Instructor, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
VISITING AND OTHER ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2024-Present. Professorial Chair Holder, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
2021-2023. Visiting Professorial Lecturer, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
2022-Present. Visiting Professorial Lecturer, National Chenchi University, Taiwan.
2019-Present. International Faculty Affiliate, Partido State University, Goa, Camarines Sur, Philippines.
2012-Present. Research Fellow, Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement, Inc.
2012-Present. National Museum of the Philippines Research Associate.
EDITORIAL AND ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTMENTS
2021-2022. GRI & NEH Scholar Selection Committee Member, Getty Scholars Program, Getty Research Institute.
2021-present. Member, Humans Editorial Board.
2021-present. Member, American Antiquity Editorial Board.
2021-present. Member, Saysay: Bicol Studies Journal Editorial Board.
2020-present. Member, Scientific Steering Committee, iHOPE (Integrated History and Future of the People on Earth).
2018-present. Member, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Engaged Grant Program Advisory Board.
2016-present. Member, Philippine Quarterly and Culture Editorial Board.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024. University of Hawaii-Manoa Subaward, Cambodia Closure Initiative.
2024. Philippine Studies Grant, Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
2023. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Belgium.
2023. Southeast Asian Studies Now, Convening of the LuceSEA Initiative Grantees, Henry Luce Foundation.
2023. Indigenous Communities in the Western Pacific: Strengthening Collaborations and Networks, Henry Luce Foundation.
2023. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Laos.
2022. US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center, UCLA Center for SoutheastAsian Studies, 2022-2026.
2022. US Department of Education Title VI Foreign Language Area Studies fellowships, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 2022-2026.
2022. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Belgium.
2022. Early Modern Period Transitions in Southeast Asia: Environmental Dynamics, Social Change. and Globalization. Henry Luce Foundation, Southeast Asia Initiative.
2022. Research Collaboration & Academic Exchange: a co-creation initiative between Partido State University and US-based institutions, Commission on Higher Education (Philippines), $100,000
2021. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development Overseas Science Research Center (TPILSC) Project with PI Min-Cheng Kou.
2021. UC Berkeley - UCLA Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies: National Research Center, US Department of Education.
2020. Webinar Series on the Future of Anthropology, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.
2020. Special Grant (Engaged Research Webinar Series), The Henry Luce Foundation.
2020. EU Marie Sklodovska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange 2020-2024 Grant: Probing the Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Ancient Seafarers in ISEA and Oceania, from Archaic Hominins to the Dispersal of the Malayo-Polynesian Language Family with PI Philipp Endicott.
2019. European Research Council Grant: PANTROPOCENE: Finding a pre-industrial, pan-tropical ‘Anthropocene’ with PI Patrick Roberts
2019. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology: The Challenge and Opportunity for Indigenous Areas under the National Spatial Planning Act: A Study on the Epistemology and Methodology of Indigenous Planning.
2019. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development Overseas Science Research Center (TPILSC) Project with PI Min-Cheng Kou.
2018. National Geographic Society-Committee for Research and Exploration.
2018. Whiting Foundation Mini-Grant for Public Engagement.
2018. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST): Dynamic Spatial Governance in the Mountain Social-ecological System: Case Study of the Tayal Communities in the Watershed of Shih-Men Reservoir, with PI Da-Wei Kuan
2018. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Academic Senate.
2018. Ahmanson Field Research Grant.
2017. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Academic Senate.
2016. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST): Dynamic Spatial Governance in the Mountain Social-ecological System: Case Study of the Tayal Communities in the Watershed of Shih-Men Reservoir, with PI Da-Wei Kuan.
2015. National Science Foundation - Research Experience for Undergraduates, Ifugao Archaeological Project
2015. Hellman Fellowship: Highland Responses to Spanish Colonialism.
2015. Faculty Career Development Award, UCLA Diversity and Faculty Development.
2015. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Faculty Senate.
2013. National Museum of the Philippines, Grant to Study a National Cultural Treasure: Ifugao Archaeological Project.
2012. National Geographic Society-Committee for Research and Exploration Grant: The Ifugao Archaeological Project (IAP).
2011. National Parks Service. Cultural Landscape Inventory and Interim Treatment Plan for Asan and Agat Invasion Beaches.
2011. National Parks Service. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments on Known Archeological Sites at War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park.
2011. Archeological Site Condition Assessments and Cave Inventories at War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park.
2011. GeoEye Foundation Imagery Grant for San Remegio, Cebu Archaeological Project
2009. American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation Early Career Seminar, Tarrytown, New York.
2009. Graduate Student Organization Travel Award, University of Hawaii.
2009. Ligaya Fruto Scholarship, Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawaii.
2007-2008. Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Fellowship.
2007-2008. National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant: Landscapes and Self-Organizing Systems: The Archaeology of the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Northern Philippines.
2001-2006. Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (ACC), ACC New York and ACC Philippines.
2005. Dai Ho Chun Travel Grant, University of Hawai‘i.
2004-2007. Teaching Assistantship, University of Hawai‘i.
2004-2005. John F. Embree Scholarship, University of Hawai‘i Foundation.
2002, 2005, and 2007. Arts and Sciences Advisory Council Awards, University of Hawai‘i Foundation.
2001-2003. East West Center Degree Fellowship, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010-present. Assistant Professor, University of Guam: “Introduction to Anthropology”, “Introduction to Archaeology”, “Prehistory of the Pacific Basin", "Biological Anthropology", "Archaeological Field Methods", "Historical Ecology and Landscape Archaeology"
2009 (Spring and Fall), Part-time lecturer, Kapiolani Community College: “Anth 200: “Cultural Anthropology”
2009 (Fall), Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity: Introduction to human biological evolution and the archaeology of cultures in the world prior to AD 1500” (Online)
2009 (Summer) Lecturer, Kapiolani Community College: “Anth 200: “Cultural Anthropology” (Online)
2009 (Summer) Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 321: “World Archaeology I: Archaeology of human origins, early cultures, and origins of agriculture”
2009 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity: Introduction to human biological evolution and the archaeology of cultures in the world prior to AD 1500”
2008 (Fall), Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”; Anth 165: “Heritage Sites in Archaeology – Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Focus”.
2008 (Summer) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”; Anth 321: “World Archaeology I: Archaeology of human origins, early cultures, and origins of agriculture”.
2007 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 165: “Heritage Sites in Archaeology – Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Focus”.
2005 (Summer) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”.
2005 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 305: History of Anthropology”.
2004-2007, Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: Emerging Humanity”, Prof. Miriam T. Stark; “Anth 200: Cultural Anthropology”, Prof. Leslie Sponsel; “Anth 315: Sex and Gender”, Prof. Nancy Kleiber.
2003-2004, Part-Time Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines: “Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia”; “Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology”.
2003-2004, Part-Time Lecturer, Department of Asia-Pacific Studies, University of Asia and the Pacific, Pasig City, Philippines: “Introduction to Southeast Asian Studies”.
2000-2001, Instructor, Extension Program in Pampanga, University of the Philippines, 2000-2001: “Introduction to Social Sciences”; “Introduction to General Anthropology”.
1999-2000, Teaching Associate, Department of Anthropology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 1999-2000: “Introduction to General Anthropology”.
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2022. Astor Fellowship, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2013. Faculty Excellence in Research, University of Guam.
2013. Faculty Excellence in Service, University of Guam.
2012. Faculty Excellence in Research, University of Guam.
2009. Ligaya Fruto Award, Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawaii.
2004. John F. Embree Award for Southeast Asian Anthropology, CSEAS, University of Hawai‘i.
OTHER EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
2009-2010. Program Coordinator, Luce Asian Archaeology Program, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2005-2007. Anth 151 (Emerging Humanity) and Anth 152 (Cultural Anthropology) TA Coordinator, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i.
2004. Deputy Director for Programs, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines.
2003-2004. Curator/Consultant, Baray: Water in Khmer Arts and Life Exhibit, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines.
2001. Coordinator, Ayta Studies Center, University of the Philippines Extension Program in Pampanga, Clark Field Pampanga.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE/PROJECTS
2020-Present. Taiwan Indigenous Landscape and History Project (Project Co-director)
2016-Present. Bicol Archaeological Project: Spanish Contact. Camarines Sur, Philippines (Project Director)
2012. Ifugao Landscape Archaeology (Field School and Research Program)
2012. Tayabas Archaeological Project
2012. Documentation of the Lopez Memorial Museum Archaeological Collection (with Cyril Calugay)
2011. Landscape and Historic Archaeology of San Remigio, Cebu, Philippines (J. Peterson, G. Barretto-Tesoro, and J. Bersales -- Co-PI)
2006-2007. Archaeology of the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines
2005-2006. Research Archaeologist, Garcia and Associates, Kailua, HI.
2003. Archaeology Consultant. Better Management Practices. Manila, Philippines.
2003. Lower Mekong Archaeological Project Reconnaissance Survey, Takeo Province, Southern Cambodia (crew chief), Supervisor: M. Stark.
2002. Highlands Archaeology of Thailand, Tham Lod, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand (crew member), Supervisor: R. Shocoondej.
PUBLICATIONS (*Peer Reviewed)
*2021. Ifugao Indigenous History. Filipinas Journal of the Philippine Studies Association, Inc. 2021: 26-46. (with M. Martin)
*2020. Decolonizing the Past, Empowering the Future: Community-led Heritage Conservation in Ifugao, Philippines. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage, 7(3):1-15 (with M. Martin)
*2019. The Short History of the Ifugao Rice Terraces: A Local Response to the Spanish Conquest. Journal of Field Archaeology 44(3): 195–214. (with J.M. Koller, C-h. Liu, A. Lauer, A. Farahani, G. Barretto-Tesoro, J.A. Martin, and J.A. Peterson)
*2018. Zones of Refuge: Resisting conquest in the northern Philippine highlands through environmental practice. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 52:180-195.
*2018. The Ifugao Archaeological Project, 2012-2017. Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 46(1-2): 1-14. (with M. Sanders, J.A. Peterson, M. Martin, and A. Lauer)
*2017. Agricultural intensification, status differentiation, and pottery production in precapitalist Kiyyangan, Ifugao, Philippines. Archaeological Research in Asia. (with G. Barretto-Tesoro and N. Amano)
*2017. Ifugao Archaeology: Collaborative and Indigenous Archaeology in the Northern Philippines. Advances in Archaeological Practice 5(1): 1-11.
(with M. Martin, and F. Datar.)
*2017. The Archaeology of Pericolonialism: Responses of the "Unconquered" to Spanish Conquest and Colonialism in Ifugao, Philippines. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 21(1): 1-26.
*2016. The Sacred and the Secular: Practical Applications of Water Rituals in the Ifugao Agricultural System. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia 4(2), 307-327. (with M. Martin)
2014. Rethinking history, conserving heritage: Archaeology and community engagement in Ifugao, Philippines. SAA Archaeological Record, 14(5): 12-17. (with M. Martin and A. Lauer)
*2013. Defining Ifugao Social Organization: “House”, Field, and Self-Organizing Principles in the Northern Philippines. Asian Perspectives 52(2): 161-189.
*2012. The Ifugao agricultural landscapes: Complementary systems and the intensification debate. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 43(3): 500-522.
*2012. Taro before rice terraces: Implications of radiocarbon determinations, ethnohistoric reconstructions, and ethnography in dating the Ifugao Terraces. In M. Spriggs, D. Addison, and P. J. Matthews (eds), Irrigated taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: Biological, Social and Historical Perspectives. Senri Ethnological Studies, Vol. (n.d.). National Museum of Ethnology: Osaka.
*2010. Landscapes and the Archaeology of the Ifugao Agricultural Terraces: Establishing Antiquity and Social Organisation. Hukay: Journal of the Archaeological Research in Asia and the Pacific, Oct 2010, University of the Philippines.
2010. The archaeology of the Ifugao agricultural terraces: Antiquity and social organization. PhD Dissertation, University of Hawaii.
*2009. A Bayesian approach to dating agricultural terraces: A case from the Philippines. Antiquity 83(2009):801-814.
2006. Water is sacred; water is power; water is life: Water in Khmer civilization. In Baray: Water in Khmer Arts and Life, edited by V. Manalo. Manila: Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
2003. Landscape and Agricultural Intensification: GIS-Based Analysis of the Ifugao Landscape, Northern Philippines. MA Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii.
(in press). Antiquity, Archaeological Processes, and Highland Adaptation in the Northern Highland Philippines: The Ifugao Rice Terraces. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
(in press). Rice Pots or Not? Exploring Ancient Ifugao Foodways through Organic Residue Analysis and Palaeobotany. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with M. Eusenbio, J. Ceron, and J. Krigbaum).
(in press). Community Participation in the Ifugao Archaeological Project. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with M. Martin) (in press).
(in press). Infant Death and Burial Practices in Late Prehistoric Kiyyangan Village, Kiangan, Ifugao. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with A. Lauer).
(in press). Did the Little Ice Age contribute to the emergence of rice terrace farming in Ifugao, Philippines? National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with J.A. Peterson).
(forthcoming). Managing water, conserving heritage: the socio-ecological complex of the Ifugao rice terraces. In Water and Heritage, H. van Schaik and W. Willems (eds). Leiden: Sidestone Press.
BOOKS
Acabado S.B., C. Camposano, and D. Docot (editors). 2023. Philippine Studies: Plural Entaglements. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press
Acabado, S.B. and M. Martin. 2022. Indigenous Archaeology in the Philippines: Decolonizing Ifugao History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Acabado S.B. and D-w. Kuan (editors). 2021. Indigenous Peoples, Heritage and Landscape in the Asia Pacific: Knowledge Co-Production and Empowerment. Milton Park and New York: Routledge.
Acabado, S.B., K.C. Cordero, and A. Camacho. 2020. The Bahay Kubo: A Filipino Children’s Song (A Picture Book). Naga City, Philippines: KC Cordero Savage Mind Publishing House
Acabado, S.B. 2015. Antiquity, Archaeological Processes, and Highland Adaptation: The Ifugao Rice Terraces. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
PAPER PRESENTATIONS
"The Ifugao landscape: complementary relationship between swiddening and intensive rice cultivation", 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN, April 18-22, 2012.
“Taro before rice terraces: Implications of radiocarbon dates, ethnohistoric reconstructions, and ethnography in dating the Ifugao Terraces”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 19th Congress, Hanoi, Vietnam, November 29-December 5, 2009
“Landscapes and agricultural systems: Ethnohistory, ethnography, language and the archaeology of the Ifugao rice rerraces”, Occasional Seminar, Department of Linguistics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, August 7, 2009
“The archaeology of the Ifugao agricultural terraces”, American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation Early Career Seminar, Tarrytown, New York, June 2009
“Dating construction and use of the Ifugao rice terrace systems”, Center for Philippine Studies Spring 2009 Colloquium Series, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009.
“Fact, fiction, and imagination: Implications of the antiquity of the Ifugao rice terraces”, 8th International Graduate Student Conference, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009
“Landscape and social organization: The social organization of the Ifugao, northern Luzon, Philippines”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 2006 Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 2006.
“The Ifugao cultural landscape: Distribution of agricultural fields”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 2006 Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 2006.
“A GIS-Based Analysis of the Ifugao Landscape: Implications for Archaeological Studies of Agricultural Intensification”, 2nd National Cordillera Studies Conference, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio City, Philippines, Nov. 17-18, 2005.
“Land use and agricultural intensification: A GIS-based analysis of the Ifugao landscape, northern Philippines”, Archaeological Studies Program Brown Bag Seminar, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C., August 6, 2003.
“Preservation of the rice terraces: Problems and concerns”, Workshop on Southeast Asian Preservation, Imin Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, April 2002.
“Standardization and specialization: An aid to archaeological reconstruction”, UPEPSF Faculty Conference, Subic Bay, May 2001.
SESSIONS ORGANIZED
"Landscape Archaeology in Southeast Asia" 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN, April 18-22, 2012 (with Cy Calugay)
“Tremors of Change: Indigenous Peoples & Modernization”, 8th International Graduate Student Conference, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009 (Hungyu Ru, Kua-Hung Chen, and da-Wei Kuan, co-organizers)
“Trade, Social Interaction, and Political Economy in Southeast Asian Archaeology”, 18th Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 19-26, 2006 (Cy Calugay and Wannasarn Noonsuk, co-organizers)
JOURNAL REVIEWER
Hukay: Journal for Archaeological Research in Asia and the Pacific
Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society
Pacific Asia Inquiry
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society for American Archaeology
Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Katipunan Arkeologist ng Pilipinas, Inc. (Philippine Archaeology Guild)
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
Honorary Research Associate, National Museum of the Philippines
East West Center Alumni Association
Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement
Updated: 7/13/2012
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Los Angeles
375 Portola Plaza
341 Haines Hall, Box 951553
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Ph: 310-825-2261
Fax: 310-206-7833
acabado@anthro.ucla.edu
EDUCATION
Ph.D. 2010, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Research interests: Historical ecology, ecological anthropology, landscape archaeology, settlement patterns, emergent complexity, indigenous peoples, Southeast Asia, Philippines.
Dissertation: The Archaeology of the Ifugao Agricultural Terraces: Antiquity and Social Organization
M.A. Anthropology 2003, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
Thesis: Land Use and Agricultural Intensification: A GIS-Based Analysis of the Landscape of Ifugao, Northern Philippines.
B.A. Anthropology 1999, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
Focus: Four-field Anthropology
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
2023-Present. Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2022-Present. Chairperson, Archaeology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles
2021-Present. Director, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
2021-Present. Director, Program for Early Modern Southeast Asia, University of California, Los Angeles
2019-2023. Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2013-2019. Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
2010-2013. Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU
2009-2010. Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
2003-2004. Visiting Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
1999-2001. Instructor, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
VISITING AND OTHER ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2024-Present. Professorial Chair Holder, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
2021-2023. Visiting Professorial Lecturer, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
2022-Present. Visiting Professorial Lecturer, National Chenchi University, Taiwan.
2019-Present. International Faculty Affiliate, Partido State University, Goa, Camarines Sur, Philippines.
2012-Present. Research Fellow, Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement, Inc.
2012-Present. National Museum of the Philippines Research Associate.
EDITORIAL AND ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTMENTS
2021-2022. GRI & NEH Scholar Selection Committee Member, Getty Scholars Program, Getty Research Institute.
2021-present. Member, Humans Editorial Board.
2021-present. Member, American Antiquity Editorial Board.
2021-present. Member, Saysay: Bicol Studies Journal Editorial Board.
2020-present. Member, Scientific Steering Committee, iHOPE (Integrated History and Future of the People on Earth).
2018-present. Member, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Engaged Grant Program Advisory Board.
2016-present. Member, Philippine Quarterly and Culture Editorial Board.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024. University of Hawaii-Manoa Subaward, Cambodia Closure Initiative.
2024. Philippine Studies Grant, Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
2023. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Belgium.
2023. Southeast Asian Studies Now, Convening of the LuceSEA Initiative Grantees, Henry Luce Foundation.
2023. Indigenous Communities in the Western Pacific: Strengthening Collaborations and Networks, Henry Luce Foundation.
2023. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Laos.
2022. US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center, UCLA Center for SoutheastAsian Studies, 2022-2026.
2022. US Department of Education Title VI Foreign Language Area Studies fellowships, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 2022-2026.
2022. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Henry Jackson Foundation, Recovery Effort in Belgium.
2022. Early Modern Period Transitions in Southeast Asia: Environmental Dynamics, Social Change. and Globalization. Henry Luce Foundation, Southeast Asia Initiative.
2022. Research Collaboration & Academic Exchange: a co-creation initiative between Partido State University and US-based institutions, Commission on Higher Education (Philippines), $100,000
2021. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development Overseas Science Research Center (TPILSC) Project with PI Min-Cheng Kou.
2021. UC Berkeley - UCLA Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies: National Research Center, US Department of Education.
2020. Webinar Series on the Future of Anthropology, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.
2020. Special Grant (Engaged Research Webinar Series), The Henry Luce Foundation.
2020. EU Marie Sklodovska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange 2020-2024 Grant: Probing the Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Ancient Seafarers in ISEA and Oceania, from Archaic Hominins to the Dispersal of the Malayo-Polynesian Language Family with PI Philipp Endicott.
2019. European Research Council Grant: PANTROPOCENE: Finding a pre-industrial, pan-tropical ‘Anthropocene’ with PI Patrick Roberts
2019. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology: The Challenge and Opportunity for Indigenous Areas under the National Spatial Planning Act: A Study on the Epistemology and Methodology of Indigenous Planning.
2019. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, and Sustainable Development Overseas Science Research Center (TPILSC) Project with PI Min-Cheng Kou.
2018. National Geographic Society-Committee for Research and Exploration.
2018. Whiting Foundation Mini-Grant for Public Engagement.
2018. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST): Dynamic Spatial Governance in the Mountain Social-ecological System: Case Study of the Tayal Communities in the Watershed of Shih-Men Reservoir, with PI Da-Wei Kuan
2018. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Academic Senate.
2018. Ahmanson Field Research Grant.
2017. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Academic Senate.
2016. Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST): Dynamic Spatial Governance in the Mountain Social-ecological System: Case Study of the Tayal Communities in the Watershed of Shih-Men Reservoir, with PI Da-Wei Kuan.
2015. National Science Foundation - Research Experience for Undergraduates, Ifugao Archaeological Project
2015. Hellman Fellowship: Highland Responses to Spanish Colonialism.
2015. Faculty Career Development Award, UCLA Diversity and Faculty Development.
2015. Faculty Research Grant, UCLA Faculty Senate.
2013. National Museum of the Philippines, Grant to Study a National Cultural Treasure: Ifugao Archaeological Project.
2012. National Geographic Society-Committee for Research and Exploration Grant: The Ifugao Archaeological Project (IAP).
2011. National Parks Service. Cultural Landscape Inventory and Interim Treatment Plan for Asan and Agat Invasion Beaches.
2011. National Parks Service. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments on Known Archeological Sites at War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park.
2011. Archeological Site Condition Assessments and Cave Inventories at War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park.
2011. GeoEye Foundation Imagery Grant for San Remegio, Cebu Archaeological Project
2009. American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation Early Career Seminar, Tarrytown, New York.
2009. Graduate Student Organization Travel Award, University of Hawaii.
2009. Ligaya Fruto Scholarship, Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawaii.
2007-2008. Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Fellowship.
2007-2008. National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant: Landscapes and Self-Organizing Systems: The Archaeology of the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Northern Philippines.
2001-2006. Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (ACC), ACC New York and ACC Philippines.
2005. Dai Ho Chun Travel Grant, University of Hawai‘i.
2004-2007. Teaching Assistantship, University of Hawai‘i.
2004-2005. John F. Embree Scholarship, University of Hawai‘i Foundation.
2002, 2005, and 2007. Arts and Sciences Advisory Council Awards, University of Hawai‘i Foundation.
2001-2003. East West Center Degree Fellowship, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010-present. Assistant Professor, University of Guam: “Introduction to Anthropology”, “Introduction to Archaeology”, “Prehistory of the Pacific Basin", "Biological Anthropology", "Archaeological Field Methods", "Historical Ecology and Landscape Archaeology"
2009 (Spring and Fall), Part-time lecturer, Kapiolani Community College: “Anth 200: “Cultural Anthropology”
2009 (Fall), Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity: Introduction to human biological evolution and the archaeology of cultures in the world prior to AD 1500” (Online)
2009 (Summer) Lecturer, Kapiolani Community College: “Anth 200: “Cultural Anthropology” (Online)
2009 (Summer) Instructor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 321: “World Archaeology I: Archaeology of human origins, early cultures, and origins of agriculture”
2009 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity: Introduction to human biological evolution and the archaeology of cultures in the world prior to AD 1500”
2008 (Fall), Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”; Anth 165: “Heritage Sites in Archaeology – Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Focus”.
2008 (Summer) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”; Anth 321: “World Archaeology I: Archaeology of human origins, early cultures, and origins of agriculture”.
2007 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 165: “Heritage Sites in Archaeology – Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Focus”.
2005 (Summer) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: “Emerging Humanity”.
2005 (Spring) Part-time lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 305: History of Anthropology”.
2004-2007, Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i: “Anth 151: Emerging Humanity”, Prof. Miriam T. Stark; “Anth 200: Cultural Anthropology”, Prof. Leslie Sponsel; “Anth 315: Sex and Gender”, Prof. Nancy Kleiber.
2003-2004, Part-Time Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines: “Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia”; “Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology”.
2003-2004, Part-Time Lecturer, Department of Asia-Pacific Studies, University of Asia and the Pacific, Pasig City, Philippines: “Introduction to Southeast Asian Studies”.
2000-2001, Instructor, Extension Program in Pampanga, University of the Philippines, 2000-2001: “Introduction to Social Sciences”; “Introduction to General Anthropology”.
1999-2000, Teaching Associate, Department of Anthropology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 1999-2000: “Introduction to General Anthropology”.
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2022. Astor Fellowship, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2013. Faculty Excellence in Research, University of Guam.
2013. Faculty Excellence in Service, University of Guam.
2012. Faculty Excellence in Research, University of Guam.
2009. Ligaya Fruto Award, Center for Philippine Studies, University of Hawaii.
2004. John F. Embree Award for Southeast Asian Anthropology, CSEAS, University of Hawai‘i.
OTHER EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
2009-2010. Program Coordinator, Luce Asian Archaeology Program, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2005-2007. Anth 151 (Emerging Humanity) and Anth 152 (Cultural Anthropology) TA Coordinator, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i.
2004. Deputy Director for Programs, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines.
2003-2004. Curator/Consultant, Baray: Water in Khmer Arts and Life Exhibit, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines.
2001. Coordinator, Ayta Studies Center, University of the Philippines Extension Program in Pampanga, Clark Field Pampanga.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE/PROJECTS
2020-Present. Taiwan Indigenous Landscape and History Project (Project Co-director)
2016-Present. Bicol Archaeological Project: Spanish Contact. Camarines Sur, Philippines (Project Director)
2012. Ifugao Landscape Archaeology (Field School and Research Program)
2012. Tayabas Archaeological Project
2012. Documentation of the Lopez Memorial Museum Archaeological Collection (with Cyril Calugay)
2011. Landscape and Historic Archaeology of San Remigio, Cebu, Philippines (J. Peterson, G. Barretto-Tesoro, and J. Bersales -- Co-PI)
2006-2007. Archaeology of the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines
2005-2006. Research Archaeologist, Garcia and Associates, Kailua, HI.
2003. Archaeology Consultant. Better Management Practices. Manila, Philippines.
2003. Lower Mekong Archaeological Project Reconnaissance Survey, Takeo Province, Southern Cambodia (crew chief), Supervisor: M. Stark.
2002. Highlands Archaeology of Thailand, Tham Lod, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand (crew member), Supervisor: R. Shocoondej.
PUBLICATIONS (*Peer Reviewed)
*2021. Ifugao Indigenous History. Filipinas Journal of the Philippine Studies Association, Inc. 2021: 26-46. (with M. Martin)
*2020. Decolonizing the Past, Empowering the Future: Community-led Heritage Conservation in Ifugao, Philippines. Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage, 7(3):1-15 (with M. Martin)
*2019. The Short History of the Ifugao Rice Terraces: A Local Response to the Spanish Conquest. Journal of Field Archaeology 44(3): 195–214. (with J.M. Koller, C-h. Liu, A. Lauer, A. Farahani, G. Barretto-Tesoro, J.A. Martin, and J.A. Peterson)
*2018. Zones of Refuge: Resisting conquest in the northern Philippine highlands through environmental practice. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 52:180-195.
*2018. The Ifugao Archaeological Project, 2012-2017. Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 46(1-2): 1-14. (with M. Sanders, J.A. Peterson, M. Martin, and A. Lauer)
*2017. Agricultural intensification, status differentiation, and pottery production in precapitalist Kiyyangan, Ifugao, Philippines. Archaeological Research in Asia. (with G. Barretto-Tesoro and N. Amano)
*2017. Ifugao Archaeology: Collaborative and Indigenous Archaeology in the Northern Philippines. Advances in Archaeological Practice 5(1): 1-11.
(with M. Martin, and F. Datar.)
*2017. The Archaeology of Pericolonialism: Responses of the "Unconquered" to Spanish Conquest and Colonialism in Ifugao, Philippines. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 21(1): 1-26.
*2016. The Sacred and the Secular: Practical Applications of Water Rituals in the Ifugao Agricultural System. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and National Studies of Southeast Asia 4(2), 307-327. (with M. Martin)
2014. Rethinking history, conserving heritage: Archaeology and community engagement in Ifugao, Philippines. SAA Archaeological Record, 14(5): 12-17. (with M. Martin and A. Lauer)
*2013. Defining Ifugao Social Organization: “House”, Field, and Self-Organizing Principles in the Northern Philippines. Asian Perspectives 52(2): 161-189.
*2012. The Ifugao agricultural landscapes: Complementary systems and the intensification debate. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 43(3): 500-522.
*2012. Taro before rice terraces: Implications of radiocarbon determinations, ethnohistoric reconstructions, and ethnography in dating the Ifugao Terraces. In M. Spriggs, D. Addison, and P. J. Matthews (eds), Irrigated taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: Biological, Social and Historical Perspectives. Senri Ethnological Studies, Vol. (n.d.). National Museum of Ethnology: Osaka.
*2010. Landscapes and the Archaeology of the Ifugao Agricultural Terraces: Establishing Antiquity and Social Organisation. Hukay: Journal of the Archaeological Research in Asia and the Pacific, Oct 2010, University of the Philippines.
2010. The archaeology of the Ifugao agricultural terraces: Antiquity and social organization. PhD Dissertation, University of Hawaii.
*2009. A Bayesian approach to dating agricultural terraces: A case from the Philippines. Antiquity 83(2009):801-814.
2006. Water is sacred; water is power; water is life: Water in Khmer civilization. In Baray: Water in Khmer Arts and Life, edited by V. Manalo. Manila: Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
2003. Landscape and Agricultural Intensification: GIS-Based Analysis of the Ifugao Landscape, Northern Philippines. MA Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii.
(in press). Antiquity, Archaeological Processes, and Highland Adaptation in the Northern Highland Philippines: The Ifugao Rice Terraces. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
(in press). Rice Pots or Not? Exploring Ancient Ifugao Foodways through Organic Residue Analysis and Palaeobotany. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with M. Eusenbio, J. Ceron, and J. Krigbaum).
(in press). Community Participation in the Ifugao Archaeological Project. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with M. Martin) (in press).
(in press). Infant Death and Burial Practices in Late Prehistoric Kiyyangan Village, Kiangan, Ifugao. National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with A. Lauer).
(in press). Did the Little Ice Age contribute to the emergence of rice terrace farming in Ifugao, Philippines? National Museum Cultural Heritage Journal, 1:1 (with J.A. Peterson).
(forthcoming). Managing water, conserving heritage: the socio-ecological complex of the Ifugao rice terraces. In Water and Heritage, H. van Schaik and W. Willems (eds). Leiden: Sidestone Press.
BOOKS
Acabado S.B., C. Camposano, and D. Docot (editors). 2023. Philippine Studies: Plural Entaglements. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press
Acabado, S.B. and M. Martin. 2022. Indigenous Archaeology in the Philippines: Decolonizing Ifugao History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Acabado S.B. and D-w. Kuan (editors). 2021. Indigenous Peoples, Heritage and Landscape in the Asia Pacific: Knowledge Co-Production and Empowerment. Milton Park and New York: Routledge.
Acabado, S.B., K.C. Cordero, and A. Camacho. 2020. The Bahay Kubo: A Filipino Children’s Song (A Picture Book). Naga City, Philippines: KC Cordero Savage Mind Publishing House
Acabado, S.B. 2015. Antiquity, Archaeological Processes, and Highland Adaptation: The Ifugao Rice Terraces. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
PAPER PRESENTATIONS
"The Ifugao landscape: complementary relationship between swiddening and intensive rice cultivation", 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN, April 18-22, 2012.
“Taro before rice terraces: Implications of radiocarbon dates, ethnohistoric reconstructions, and ethnography in dating the Ifugao Terraces”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 19th Congress, Hanoi, Vietnam, November 29-December 5, 2009
“Landscapes and agricultural systems: Ethnohistory, ethnography, language and the archaeology of the Ifugao rice rerraces”, Occasional Seminar, Department of Linguistics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, August 7, 2009
“The archaeology of the Ifugao agricultural terraces”, American Council of Learned Societies/Henry Luce Foundation Early Career Seminar, Tarrytown, New York, June 2009
“Dating construction and use of the Ifugao rice terrace systems”, Center for Philippine Studies Spring 2009 Colloquium Series, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009.
“Fact, fiction, and imagination: Implications of the antiquity of the Ifugao rice terraces”, 8th International Graduate Student Conference, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009
“Landscape and social organization: The social organization of the Ifugao, northern Luzon, Philippines”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 2006 Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 2006.
“The Ifugao cultural landscape: Distribution of agricultural fields”, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 2006 Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 2006.
“A GIS-Based Analysis of the Ifugao Landscape: Implications for Archaeological Studies of Agricultural Intensification”, 2nd National Cordillera Studies Conference, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio City, Philippines, Nov. 17-18, 2005.
“Land use and agricultural intensification: A GIS-based analysis of the Ifugao landscape, northern Philippines”, Archaeological Studies Program Brown Bag Seminar, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C., August 6, 2003.
“Preservation of the rice terraces: Problems and concerns”, Workshop on Southeast Asian Preservation, Imin Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, April 2002.
“Standardization and specialization: An aid to archaeological reconstruction”, UPEPSF Faculty Conference, Subic Bay, May 2001.
SESSIONS ORGANIZED
"Landscape Archaeology in Southeast Asia" 77th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN, April 18-22, 2012 (with Cy Calugay)
“Tremors of Change: Indigenous Peoples & Modernization”, 8th International Graduate Student Conference, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2009 (Hungyu Ru, Kua-Hung Chen, and da-Wei Kuan, co-organizers)
“Trade, Social Interaction, and Political Economy in Southeast Asian Archaeology”, 18th Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Meeting, Manila, Philippines, March 19-26, 2006 (Cy Calugay and Wannasarn Noonsuk, co-organizers)
JOURNAL REVIEWER
Hukay: Journal for Archaeological Research in Asia and the Pacific
Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society
Pacific Asia Inquiry
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Society for American Archaeology
Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Katipunan Arkeologist ng Pilipinas, Inc. (Philippine Archaeology Guild)
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
Honorary Research Associate, National Museum of the Philippines
East West Center Alumni Association
Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement
Updated: 7/13/2012