University of Manitoba

Faculty Member, Anthropology

Professor

St. Paul's College

About

I am an anthropological archaeologist specializing in the evolution of Old World societies, from the beginning of early farming to the development of states and empires.

Regionally, my research centers on a transect of countries extending from Europe (Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Hungary, Poland and Romania), through the  Near East (Israel, Jordan and Turkey), down to South Africa.

My excavations focus on the homes and buildings of common folk in order to reconstruct changing economic, social and political relationship at the household, community and regional level.

My research and publishing focus on the nature of exploitation of domestic animals in early farming and early states, the nature of land use around sites, the evolution of metallurgy, and various economic processes.

I use a scientific positivist epistemological approach in my academic investigations. My theoretical orientation is based on a materialist interpretation of political economy. I find that I am very eclectic in my approach. I do not find much use in any single paradigmatic approach (e.g. processual, interpretivist, postmodern, or postprocessual). Each has something useful to offer, but do not capture the essence of the complexities of real life.

My most recent research is examining the relationship between households in ancient cities in the Near East. This will allow me to understand the manner in which the various neighbourhoods of ancient cities ancient cities evolved.

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