Biography

I am a PhD professor of archaeology with specialties in the ancient Maya and underwater archaeology. While completing my degree in archaeology I spent several years on an improv comedy team, and I use the skills obtained on stage to bring archaeology to the general public in a lighthearted, approachable and funny manner. Past credits of mine include Secrets in the Jungle, History's Greatest Mysteries, Ancient Unexplained Files, and TMZ's Strange and Suspicious. You can hear me every other Wednesday as host of The Pseudo-Archaeology Podcast (which debunks common frauds and fakeries in archaeology including giants, aliens, and crystal skulls) or watch me talk about archaeology on my YouTube channel "Kinkella Teaches Archaeology."

My history in archaeology includes over 20 years of experience working in the Maya jungles of Belize. This work includes the discovery and excavation of multiple Maya sites, surveying for sites using machetes to cut through difficult jungle environments, sleeping in hammocks under mosquito nets while hoping the jaguar you just heard isn't coming any closer, and scuba diving the cenotes (natural water-filled sinkholes) in search of ancient Maya artifacts. I have also worked in Guatemala, Mexico, and Germany. At home in southern California, I am the director of the Moorpark College Archaeological Program (MCAP), which teaches archaeology through research at local California archaeological sites. I use my teaching position to enrich my student's lives through the joy and excitement of archaeology, and I have also recently published my first textbook, "Archaeology is Awesome."

- IMDb mini biography by: Andrew Kinkella