Fall Semester

Dr. Marlon Escamilla has a Ph.D. in Archeology with a master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Social Anthropology and a bachelor’s degree in Archeology from Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador (UTEC).

Dr. Escamilla has served as National Director of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of El Salvador, as Curator of the University Museum of Anthropology of UTEC and was an editorial assistant for the academic journal Ancient Mesoamerica published by Cambridge University Press. He is currently the coordinator of the bachelor’s degree in Archeology at UTEC.

He has been recognized for his excellence in teaching, having received awards in both the United States and El Salvador as Outstanding Teaching Assistant in the Department of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University and Distinguished Teacher at the Technological University of El Salvador.

His academic interests include landscape archaeology, the anthropology of movement, migrations, underwater archeology, and the study of rock art. Since 2010 he has directed the Archaeological Project of Costa del Bálsamo, exploring the first migratory waves of the Nahua-Pipil groups during the Postclassic period. Dr. Escamilla has published in academic journals and has presented his research at conferences in the United States and Europe.

He is also the founder and current president of the Association of Archeology of El Salvador (ARQUES); founder of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-El Salvador); and a member of the Salvadoran Academy of History.

Dr. Escamilla is the 2024-25 Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Morgan Community College, a program sponsored by the U.S. Fulbright Commission that brings scholars from countries around the world to the colleges and universities in the United States. MCC is one of only two colleges in the Mountain West to have been awarded a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence.

At MCC, he will teach classes in Latin American history, work with faculty and instructors on internationalizing their curriculum, engage with student groups, and serve as a guest lecturer.

He will also collaborate with various community organizations in Morgan County, including local schools, the Fort Morgan Library and Museum, One Morgan County, and the United Way of Morgan County, among others. Dr. Escamilla is available for guest lectures in the community and is excited to experience life in Fort Morgan starting in early August.