[1] Holliday's research interests include geoarchaeology, Paleoindian archaeology, soil-geomorphology as well as Quaternary landscape evolution and paleoenvironment with a current emphasis on the Southwestern United States and Northwest Mexico.
[1] Holliday currently serves as the Executive Director of the Argonaut Archaeological Research Fund (AARF) based in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona.
[2] His most recent research, outlined in a 2011 Journal of Field Archaeology article, has focused on understanding the Paleoindian occupation around large paleo-lakes in the Southern landscape at the end of the Pleistocene.
After graduating from Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas Holliday began his undergraduate education at a local junior college where he studied architecture.
He performed extensive field experience as an employee of the Texas Archeological Salvage Project[2] Holliday’s archaeological interests soon shifted to soils, landscapes and geoarchaeology.
[2] The theme of Holliday’s journal articles began to heavily focus on the soil and geologic make-up of the Lubbock Lake Site, based on his Ph.D. dissertation.
[10] Holliday found Lubbock Lake valuable for from the many lasting records of plant and animal communities, geology, climate and human activities available at the site.
[2] Holliday received several National Science Foundation grants to investigate aspects of the late Quaternary landscape evolution of the Southern High Plains.
Holliday has conducted research and field work in many locations across the southwest United States, Argentina and in the Don River Valley of Russia.
[1] While Holliday’s academic background is in Archaeology, Geology and Soil Science, he spent 17 years of his professional career focusing on Geography.
The combination of these intersecting interests and experiences has fostered a career devoted to reconstructing landscapes and environments where ancient human populations have lived.