Dr. Stephen Acabado

Dr. Stephen Acabado is an anthropological archaeologist whose research focuses on Southeast Asian agricultural systems. He received my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii-Manoa in 2010 and was hired by the University of Guam as an assistant professor at the same year. In 2013 he joined the Department of Anthropology, University of California at Los Angeles. He directs the Ifugao Archaeological Project (IAP).

Dr. Acabado’s research continues to engage archaeological issues that focus on colonialism, culture contact, and Indigenous empowerment. Although the bulk of this research has emphasized the unique responses of the Ifugao, he has recently expanded his investigations of Iberian colonialism in Asia by theorizing how Filipinos responded and coopted the colonial aims. This work contributes to a better understanding of the Early Modern Period (EMP) (1400-1820) in Southeast Asia (SEA), a region that played a major role in the rise of European mercantilism in the 17th century. Ironically, this time period in SEA is poorly understood.