Anabel Ford (born 22 December 1951) is an American archaeologist specializing in the study of Mesoamerica, with a focus on the lowland Maya[1] of Belize and Guatemala.

Her father, Joseph B. Ford, was a professor of Sociology at California State University, Northridge and spoke German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Japanese and could read and write in Latin.

[3][4][5] Ford's interest in Mesoamerican prehistory—Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, Chichen Itza—led her to choose a research career around the jungles that enveloped Maya sites.

In 1981, Ford received her PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara based on a settlement survey of the transect (La Brecha Anabel) she established between Tikal and Yaxha in the Peten of Guatemala.

The team has worked with Lidar since 2013, field protocol funded by National Geographic, which led to the discovery of The Citadel, a hilltop temple complex.

They argue that traditional Maya practices serve as solutions to contemporary problems, such as sustainability, climate change, and natural resource scarcity.

[13] Ford suggests that traditional Maya practices potentially serve as solutions to contemporary problems,[14] such as climate change and natural resource scarcity.