Arlen F. Chase

Arlen F. Chase (born 1953) is a Mesoamerican archaeologist and a faculty member in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Houston.

He previously served a variety of administrative roles (Departmental Chair for Anthropology; Associate Dean for the College of Sciences) at the University of Central Florida over the course of his 32 year stay at that institution.

After excavating at Grasshopper Pueblo in the American Southwest, his Mesoamerican fieldwork began with research stays at the site of Tancah in Mexico and at Ixtutz, Yaxha, and Tayasal in Guatemala.

He and his wife have together published many peer-reviewed articles and books on the subjects of hieroglyphics, settlement patterns, ancient cities and urbanism, and ceramic studies of the Maya.

Chase teamed with University of Central Florida biologist Dr John Weishampel to obtain a NASA Space Archaeology Program & UCF-UF Space Research Initiative grant to use lidar (light radar) sensors to detect changes in the rainforest canopy, reforestation patterns and modifications to archaeological sites.