Stephen Douglas Houston ( ; born November 11, 1958) is an American anthropologist, archaeologist, epigrapher, and Mayanist scholar, who is particularly renowned for his research into the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. He is the author of a number of papers and books concerning topics such as the Maya script, the history, kingships and dynastic politics of the pre-Columbian Maya, and archaeological reports on several Maya archaeological sites, particularly Dos Pilas and El Zotz. In 2021, National Geographic noted that he participated in the correct cultural association assigned to a half-size replica discovered at the Tikal site of the six-story pyramid of the mighty Teotihuacan culture,<ref>Clynes, Tom, Archaeologists discover mysterious monument hidden in plain sight, National Geographic, April 16, 2021</ref> which replicated its Citadel that includes the original Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Houston is an endowed chair as the Dupee Family Professor of Social Science at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and is a professor in the department of anthropology at the university. Houston has collaborated with many of his students and colleagues on projects and publications. He has led investigations at Piedras Negras, Kaminaljuyu, and El Zotz, Guatemala. These projects have resulted in new information on the ancient cultures of Mesoamerica. Biography and career Stephen Douglas Houston was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and was graduated from Carlisle High School. In 1976, he commenced undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in anthropology. From 1978–79 he spent a year as an exchange student at Edinburgh University, Scotland, where he participated in his first field trips, excavating Mesolithic and Neolithic bog sites in Offaly and Mayo counties, Ireland, and at a Bronze Age henge near Strathallan, Scotland. Returning to Penn, Houston was graduated summa cum laude in 1980 with a B.A. in anthropology. He then entered the graduate studies program at Yale University, undertaking a Master of Philosophy (Anthropology) research degree, which was awarded in 1983. During this time he took a position of curatorial assistant at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, followed by a position as a teaching fellow at Yale. Specialising in archaeological and epigraphic Maya studies, Houston participated in several field trips recording Maya stelae and inscriptions in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico (Bonampak), and he held the first of various research fellowships. After completing his M.Phil., Houston worked toward completing his Ph.D in anthropology at Yale, which was awarded (with Distinction) in 1987. During this period he worked