April Watson completed both her undergraduate degree and her Master’s degree in anthropology with a focus in archaeology. Watson’s undergraduate research centered on south Florida prehistoric mound sites, particularly looking at the use of ceramics and shell tools. Her graduate studies focused on the coast of Cuba, where she created a predictive model of prehistoric archaeological sites. This involved extensive use of geographic information systems tools, including ArcMap and remote sensing applications. She also conducted analysis of artifacts recovered from the Guantanamo Bay area, including pottery sherds and lithic artifacts. After graduating, Dr. Watson worked throughout the Southeastern United States in cultural resources management as a Staff Archaeologist for an environmental engineering firm.

Watson finished her graduate education with a PhD in Geosciences from Florida Atlantic University. She continued her experiences with mapping and landscape analysis as well as her focus on the relationship between humans and their environment. She utilized trend analysis to explore landscape usage, as well as explored economic trends via social network analysis. Throughout her graduate studies, she worked as a teaching assistant, then as an Adjunct Professor at Florida Atlantic University and Broward College. She currently serves as the secretary for the Florida Archaeological Council, and works in conjunction with federal agencies in the area of archaeological and historical preservation. Watson’s current research interest include prehistoric ceramics’ usage, landscape utilization by past and present peoples of the Southeastern United States, environmental sustainability, GIS based map inquires, and mathematical modeling of human/environmental spatial relationships.