Welcome to my Home Page...
I am an anthropologist studying how and why societies change and evolve. I do this by reconstructing the organization of ancient pre-Columbian societies to see how they arranged their economic, political, and religious institutions. My current research compares the roles that religion played in different populations to get a better sense of which facets of religious behavior are universal to all humans, and which result from the specific needs of each society.
I'm currently associate director of the Center for Comparative Archaeology of the University of Pittsburgh and faculty member of the Department of Anthropology of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Should you have any questions regarding my research, publications, or teaching please don't hesitate to contact me.
My research interests include:
- Evolution of religious, political and economic institutions.
- Comparative study of pre-Columbian societies with focus on the Andes, coastal South America, and the Intermediate Area.
- Regional settlement patterns and demographic reconstructions.
- Statistical data analysis.
- GIS and spatial analysis.