Lawrence Jackson, Ph.D., is one of the foremost Palaeo-Indian scholars and author of this first Paper in Our Lands Speak Occasional Papers in Ontario Archaeology series, Early PalaeoIndian Occupation in the Rice Lake, Otonabee River, and South Kawartha Lakes Watersheds, South-Central Ontario Research Since 1976. He trained as a graduate student in archaeology at Trent University, Ontario, and began field work in the 1970s on sites of diverse time periods— petroglyph sites in Nova Scotia, a contact period village in Simcoe County, subarctic caribou interception sites with the National Museum of Canada, and Early Palaeo-Indian research for the Royal Ontario Museum on the shores of glacial Lake Algonquin near modern Georgian Bay. Through the 1980s, Jackson co-directed winter research projects in Belize, Central America, and in 1994 earned his Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University, Dallas. While completing his Ph.D., he carried out original research in New Mexico on the history of the original Folsom site discovery and the palaeontologists who excavated it. Dr. Jackson continued research on the Palaeo-Indian occupations of the Rice Lake region from 1976 until today, with more recent work on Early to Middle Archaic and Middle Woodland period occupations of the region.

One of the founding members of our organization, Lawrence (Laurie) has served in various positions on Ontario Association of Professional Archaeologists Executive since 1990.  He lives near Rice Lake, Ontario, with his wife Donna, son Daniel, and six eclectic cats.