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Zhen Zhenxiang
Known as the “first lady of Chinese archaeology,” Zhen Zhenxiang graduated from Peking University in 1959. She went on to conduct much of her research in northeastern China. She became one of the leading experts on Shang Dynasty archaeology.. Her work involved developing dating techniques and conducting surveys using soil coring. These methods allowed her to locate previously unknown sites such as the discovery of the tomb of Lady Fu Hao, a bronze age priestess and general. -
Kent V. Flannery
His research focused on the origins of sedentary villages in the Near East, Mesoamerica, and Peru. As part of this work, he studies the process of sociopolitical evolution, including the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication, the transition from egalitarian societies to societies based on hereditary rank, and formation of states. Flannery is an expert in zooarchaeology, the analysis of animal remains, which he uses to help understand our ecological systems. -
Charles Stanish
Stanish researches the Titicaca region in Bolivia and Peru where he studies the roles that labor, trade, and war had on the evolution of human cooperation and complex societies. He also works with a sustainable development group to preserve global cultural heritage through a combination of micro-lending, direct community grants, and tourist infrastructure development. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. -
Anna M. Prentiss
Prentiss’ research focuses on the archaeology of the Pacific Northwest, Great Plains, and Arctic. She is interested in understanding the origins of villages and social inequality as well as the social systems that support hunter-gatherer mobility. She also researches stone tool technological organization and the cultural evolutionary process. Dr. Prentiss is also active in the Queer Archaeology Interest Group where she advocates for equity and inclusion of the LGBTQI in archaeology. -
Chapurukha M. Kusimba
His specialties include the archaeology of complex societies and the origins of inequality, ancient African chiefdoms and states, urbanism in Africa, Islam in Africa, and the African Diaspora in Asia and the Americas. He directs multiple anthropological research projects in East Africa and Madagascar. His current project based on the Kenyan Coast is investigating Ancient Trade Networks Between East Africa, South, Southeast and East Asia. -
Nelly Robles García
Through her excavations of ancient Zapotec sites in Oaxaca, Dr. Robles García has contributed to our understanding of Indigenous socio-political systems. She is a leader in the study and preservation of architecture and archaeological sites in Mexico where she served as the National Coordinator of Archaeology for the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Dr. Robles Garciá is an advocate for the protection of cultural heritage and the creation of community museums.