Margaret E. "Peggy" Leshikar-Denton is an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

specialising in

underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance h ...

, and director of the

Cayman Islands National Museum The Cayman Islands National Museum is a museum in the Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three isl ...

Education

Leshikar-Denton has a B.F.A. and an M.A. from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and a Ph.D. from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

where her thesis was on the

Wreck of the Ten Sail Wreck of the Ten Sail is a historic shipwreck event that occurred off the East End of Grand Cayman on 8 February 1794. Ten ships that were part of a convoy on its way from Jamaica to the United States and Britain wrecked on the surrounding reef. W ...

, a 1794 shipwreck off Cayman. Her thesis title was "The 1794 Wreck of the Ten Sail, Cayman Islands, British West Indies: A Historical Study and Archaeological Survey".

Career

Leshikar-Denton was appointed as director of the

in 2011, having first been appointed to a post in the museum in 1986. She has worked on archaeological sites in countries including

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Turks and Caicos The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. She is a research associate of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at

. She contributed the chapter "Caribbean Maritime Archaeology" to the ''Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology''. In 1998 and 1999, she was the UNESCO representative at meetings of the Latin American and Caribbean Technical Commission on Underwater Cultural Heritage, and in 2001, she worked on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage as a member of the

International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; ) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was fou ...

delegation. She is a past secretary of the International Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH) of the

(ICOMOS), and represents the Cayman Islands on the committee.

Recognition

In 2016 she was awarded the

Society for Historical Archaeology The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is a professional organization of scholars concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (15th century-present). Founded in 1967, the SHA promotes scholarly research and the dissemination of knowledg ...

's award of merit for her work on the protection of underwater cultural heritage.

Personal life

She has lived in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

since 1986, having first visited in 1980 with a team from the

Institute of Nautical Archaeology The Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) is an organization devoted to the study of humanity's interaction with the sea through the practice of archaeology. It is the world’s oldest organization devoted to the study of nautical archaeology. ...

(INA) at

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leshikar-Denton, Margaret Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Caymanian educators Women museum directors Texas A&M University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni American women archaeologists Underwater archaeologists Caymanian women