Emily Johnson is a Mesoamerican paleoethnobotanist pursuing her Ph.D. in Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara. She has conducted excavations and/or analyses of archaeological sites in Turkey, Guatemala, Mexico, and throughout the United States. 

Emily received her B.A. in Archaeology in 2017 from Boston University under the mentorship of Dr. John "Mac" Marston, with whom she co-authored an article highlighting a way to directly identify the process of nixtamalization via starch spherulites.

Her current research with Dr. Amber VanDerwarker is focused on investigating the timing, spread, and development of the nixtamalization process throughout ancient Mesoamerica. 

When not reading about all things corn, Emily enjoys crafting and playing with her cat, Scout.