Dr. Jason Alik Ur

jasonur@fas.harvard.edu

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~anthro/ur/

 

 

 

Office:

Harvard University Department of Anthropology

11 Divinity Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

Phone: (617) 495-8920

Fax: (617) 496-8041

 

Education

 

University of Chicago, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations: Ph.D. in Mesopotamian Archaeology, awarded with honors, December 2004. [Abstract] [PDF]

University of Pennsylvania, Department of Anthropology: B.A. cum laude, Spring 1994

 

Academic Appointments

 

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University (July 2005-present). [website]

Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, SUNY Stony Brook (Jan 2004-July 2005).

 

Field Projects

 

Hirbemerdon Tepe Survey, Diyarbakır Province, Turkey.  Field Director (Summer 2007, 2008, 2009). [website]

Kavuşan Höyük Regional Survey, Diyarbakır Province, Turkey.  Gülriz Kozbe and Jason Ur, Project Directors (Summer 2009).

Tell Brak Project, Syria.  Suburban Survey Team Leader (Fall 2003, 2005, 2006), Survey Team Member (Fall 2002), Area TC J Supervisor (Spring 2002). [website]

Mughan Steppe Archaeological Project, Iran.  Survey Team Member (Winter 2004-2005). [website]

Syrian-American Hamoukar Expedition, Syria.  Survey Team Leader (Fall 1999, 2000), Area H Supervisor (Fall 2001). [website]

Syrian-British-Belgian Chagar Bazar Excavations, Syria.  Area B Supervisor (Spring 1999), Area G Supervisor (Spring 2000, 2001).

Syrian-European Tell Beydar Project, Syria.  Survey TeamSupervisor (Summer 1998). [website]

Oriental Institute Dhamar Project, Yemen.  Supervisor and Survey Assistant (Winter 1998).

Northwestern University Hacinebi Archaeological Excavation, Turkey.  Area C Operation 5 Asst. Supervisor (Summer 1997).

Giza Plateau Mapping Project, Egypt.  Square D14 Supervisor (Winter 1997).

Tell Madaba Project, Jordan.  Field A Supervisor (Summer 1996).        

University of Arizona Archaeological Field School.  Student (Summer 1993).

                                                                                                

publications (* Peer Reviewed)

 

Books

*Ur, J. A. in press.  Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria: The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999-2001.  Oriental Institute Publications series.  Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.  Submitted May 2008, accepted October 2008, revised December 2008.

 

Journal Articles Published

*Ur, J. A., and E. L. Hammer. 2009. Pastoral Nomads of the Second and Third Millennia AD on the Upper Tigris River, Turkey: Archaeological Evidence from the Hirbemerdon Tepe Survey. Journal of Field Archaeology 34:37-56.

Laneri, N., M. Schwartz, J. A. Ur, S. Valentini, A. D'Agostino, R. Berthon, and M. M. Halde. 2008. The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project 2006-2007: A Preliminary Report on the Middle Bronze Age ‘Architectural Complex’ and the Survey of the Site Catchment Area. Anatolica 34: 177-240. [abstract]

*Ur, J. A., P. Karsgaard, and J. Oates. 2007. Urban Development in the Ancient Near East. Science 317:1188. [abstract] [full text]

*Oates, J., A. McMahon, P. Karsgaard, S. al-Quntar, and J. Ur. 2007. Early Mesopotamian Urbanism: A New View from the North. Antiquity 81 (313): 585-600. [abstract]

*Alizadeh, K., and J. A. Ur. 2007. Formation and Destruction of Pastoral and Irrigation Landscapes on the Mughan Steppe, North-Western Iran. Antiquity 81 (311): 148-160. [abstract]

*Wilkinson, T. J., J. Christiansen, J. A. Ur, M. Widell, and M. Altaweel. 2007. Urbanization within a Dynamic Environment: Modelling Bronze Age Communities in Upper Mesopotamia. American Anthropologist 109:52-68. [abstract]

*Menze, B. H., J. A. Ur, and A. G. Sherratt. 2006. Detection of Ancient Settlement Mounds: Archaeological Survey Based on the SRTM Terrain Model. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 72:321-327. [PDF]

Alizadeh, K., and J. Ur. 2006. Mughan Steppe Archaeological Survey. Iranian Center for Archaeological Research Archaeological Reports 4:49-56 (In Farsi). [PDF]

Ur, J. A. 2005. Les imatges per satèllit i l’estructura dels paisatges antics: exemples del Pròxim Orient. Cota Zero 20:129-138. [PDF]

*Ur, J. A. 2005. Sennacherib's Northern Assyrian Canals: New Insights from Satellite Imagery and Aerial Photography. Iraq 67:317-345. [PDF]

*Wilkinson, T. J., E. Wilkinson, J. A. Ur, and M. Altaweel. 2005. Landscape and Settlement in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 340:23-56. [PDF]

*Ur, J. A. 2003. CORONA Satellite Photography and Ancient Road Networks: A Northern Mesopotamian Case Study. Antiquity 77:102-115. [abstract]

Ur, J. A. 2002. Settlement and Landscape in Northern Mesopotamia: The Tell Hamoukar Survey 2000-2001. Akkadica 123:57-88. [abstract] [PDF]

*Ur, J. A. 2002. Surface Collection and Offsite Studies at Tell Hamoukar, 1999. Iraq 64:15-44. [PDF]

 

Journal Articles In Preparation/In Press

*Ur, J. A. under review. Cycles of Civilization in Northern Mesopotamia, 4400-2000 BC. Journal of Archaeological Research.  Submitted February 2009.

*Wilkinson, T. J., C. French, J. A. Ur, and M. Semple. in preparation. The Geoarchaeology of Hollow Ways in and around Tell Brak, Northern Syria. Geoarchaeology 25.

Laneri, N., and J. A. Ur. in press. The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project 2007-2008: A Preliminary Report. 32. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı.

Ur, J. A. in press. " "المسح الاثري و دراسات المشهد الطبيعي في منطقة تل حموكار1999- 2001 Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syrienne.  Translated by S. al-Quntar.  Submitted January 2004. [PDF]

 

Book Chapters

Ur, J. A. in preparation. "Spatial Scale and Urban Evolution at Tell Brak and Hamoukar at the End of the 3rd Millennium BC," in Looking North: The Socio-Economic Dynamics of the Northern Mesopotamian and Anatolian Regions during the Late Third and Early Second Millennium BC, Studien zur Urbanisierung Nordmesopotamiens. Edited by N. Laneri, P. Pfälzner, and S. Valentini: Tübingen University.  Chapter submitted December 2008.

Colantoni, C., and J. A. Ur. in preparation. "Area H: The Architecture and Pottery of a Late 3rd Millennium BC Residential Quarter," in The Origins and Development of Urbanism in NE Syria: The 2001-2007 Seasons at Hamoukar, Oriental Institute Communications. Edited by C. Reichel. Chicago: Oriental Institute.  Chapter submitted August 2008.

*Ur, J. A. in press. "Urban Form at Tell Brak Across Three Millennia," in Preludes to Urbanism: Studies in the Late Chalcolithic of Mesopotamia in Honour of Joan Oates. Edited by H. Crawford, A. McMahon, and J. N. Postgate. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.  Submitted July 2008.

*Ur, J. A. in press. "Emergent Landscapes of Movement in Early Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia," in Landscapes of Movement: Paths, Trails, and Roads in Anthropological Perspective. Edited by J. E. Snead, C. Erickson, and W. A. Darling. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum Press.  Submitted May 2008, publication expected December 2009.

Ur, J. A., and K. Alizadeh. in press. "The Sasanian Colonization of the Mughan Steppe, Ardebil Province, Northwestern Iran," in Studies in Sasanian Archaeology: Economy, Industry, and Material Culture. Edited by St. J. Simpson. Leuven: Peeters.  Submitted November 2006.

*Ur, J. A., and C. Colantoni. in press. "The Cycle of Production, Preparation, and Consumption in a Northern Mesopotamian City," in From Subsistence to Social Strategies: New Directions in the Study of Daily Meals and Feasting Events. Edited by E. Klarich. Boulder: University of Colorado Press.  Submitted June 2005.

Ur, J. A., and T. J. Wilkinson. 2008. "Settlement and Economic Landscapes of Tell Beydar and its Hinterland," in Beydar Studies I. Edited by M. Lebeau and A. Suleiman, pp. 305-327. Turnhout: Brepols. [PDF]

*Wilkinson, T. J., M. Gibson, J. Christiansen, M. Widell, D. Schloen, N. Kouchoukos, C. Woods, J. C. Sanders, K.-L. Simunich, M. Altaweel, J. A. Ur, C. Hritz, J. Lauinger, T. Paulette, and J. Tenney. 2007. "Modeling Settlement Systems in a Dynamic Environment: Case Studies from Mesopotamia," in The Model-Based Archaeology of Socionatural Systems. Edited by T. A. Kohler and S. van der Leeuw, pp. 175-208. Santa Fe: School of American Research.

Sallaberger, W., and J. A. Ur. 2004. "Tell Beydar/Nabada in its Regional Setting," in Third Millennium Cuneiform Texts from Tell Beydar (Seasons 1996-2002), Subartu 12. Edited by L. Milano, W. Sallaberger, P. Talon, and K. Van Lerberghe, pp. 51-71. Turnhout: Brepols. [PDF]

Wilkinson, T. J., J. A. Ur, and J. Casana. 2004. "From Nucleation to Dispersal: Trends in Settlement Pattern in the Northern Fertile Crescent," in Side-by-Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World. Edited by J. Cherry and S. Alcock, pp. 198-205. Oxford: Oxbow Books.

 

Book Reviews

Review of R. Matthews (ed.), Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Centre, 1994-1996, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 65 (2006): 313-315.

Review of J.N. Postgate (ed.), Artefacts of Complexity: Tracking the Uruk in the Near East, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 65 (2006): 127-128.

Review of C. Postgate et al., The Excavations at Tell al-Rimah: The Pottery, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 64 (2005): 65-68.

Review of D. Oates et al., Excavations at Tell Brak, Vol. 2., in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 63 (2004): 107-110.

 

Newsletters/Other

Ur, J. A. 2008. The Origins and Development of the First Cities in the Near East. Symbols Spring 2008: 9-10, 21.

Laneri, N., M. Schwartz, and J. A. Ur. 2008. The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project. Antiquity Project Gallery.

Ur, J. A. 2007. Agricultural and Pastoral Landscapes in the Near East: Case Studies using CORONA Satellite Photography. ArchAtlas, October 2007, 2.1 Edition.

Ur, J. A. 2006. Google Earth and Archaeology. The SAA Archaeological Record 6 (3): 35-38. [PDF]

Ur, J. A. 2004. CAMEL Laboratory Investigates the Landscape of Assyria from Space. Oriental Institute News & Notes Spring 2004:6-7. [PDF]

Ur, J. A. 2002. The Collapse of an Early Urban Center in Northern Mesopotamia: The Case of Tell Hamoukar. American Schools of Oriental Research Newsletter 52:8-9. [PDF]

 

Conference and Workshop Papers Presented

 

2009

“Extensive Settlements as Precursors to the Earliest Mesopotamian Cities.”  Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, April 23, 2009 (session organizer and chair).

“Nomadic Pastoralist Landscapes Along the Upper Tigris.”  Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, April 23, 2009 (Emily Hammer and Jason Ur).

“Spying on Antiquity: Declassified US Intelligence Satellite Imagery and Near Eastern Archaeology.”  Invited lecture to the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, March 23, 2009.

“Fresh Evidence on the Origins of Urbanism in Ancient Mesopotamia.”  Lecture presented at the Harvard Semitic Museum, Cambridge, MA, March 5, 2009.

“Spying on Antiquity: Declassified US Intelligence Satellite Imagery and Near Eastern Archaeology.”  Invited lecture to the Archaeological Institute of America Finger Lakes (Ithaca) Society at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, February 24, 2009.

 

2008

“Pastoral and Agricultural Landscapes on the Margins of the Upper Tigris River, SE Turkey.”  Paper delivered at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, Boston, November 22, 2008.

“Spying on Antiquity: Declassified US Intelligence Satellite Imagery and Near Eastern Archaeology.”  Invited lecture to the Archaeological Institute of America New Brunswick (Canada) Society at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton,  November 14, 2008.

“Spying on Antiquity: Declassified US Intelligence Satellite Imagery and Near Eastern Archaeology.”  Invited lecture to the Archaeological Institute of America Worcester, MA Society at the Worcester Art Museum,  November 12, 2008.

“New Research on the Origins of Urbanism in Ancient Mesopotamia.”  Lecture at the St. Augustine Archaeological Association, Flagler College, October 30, 2008.

“New Research on the Origins of Urbanism in Ancient Mesopotamia.”  Invited lecture to the Archaeological Institute of America Central Florida Society at the University of Florida, October 29, 2008.

“The Assyrians and their World.”  Lecture given at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in conjunction with the exhibition Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum, October 16, 2008.

“Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project 2007,” Nicola Laneri and Jason Ur.  Paper presented at the 30th International Symposium of Excavations, Surveys and Archaeometry, Ankara University (Turkey), May 28, 2008.

“Remote Sensing of Ancient Near Eastern Irrigation: Case Studies from Iraq and Iran.”  Invited lecture at Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), May 22, 2008.

“CORONA Satellite Photography and the Structure of Ancient Near Eastern Landscapes.”  Invited lecture delivered at the Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), May 12, 2008.

“Northern Mesopotamian Cities and their Hinterlands: Tell Brak and Hamoukar in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BC.”  Paper presented at the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Sapienza Università di Roma, May 7, 2008.

 “Cyclical Patterns of Landscape Transformation in the Near East.”  Paper read at the 109th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Chicago, Illinois, January 5, 2008.

 

2007

“CORONA Satellite Photography and the Structure of Ancient Near Eastern Landscapes.”  Paper presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin, Texas, April 26, 2007.

“Surveying and Mapping Near Eastern Settlement Mounds from Space,” Bjoern Menze, Simone Mühl, Jason Ur.  Paper presented at the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology annual meeting, Berlin, April 4, 2007.

“Classification of Multispectral ASTER Imagery in the Archaeological Survey for Settlement Sites of the Near East,” Bjoern Menze and Jason Ur.  Poster presented at the 10th International Symposium on Physical Measurements and Signatures in Remote Sensing, Davos, Switzerland, March 13, 2007.

“Agricultural and Pastoral Landscapes in the Near East: Case Studies using CORONA Satellite Photography.  Presentation at the workshop Mapping Human History From Space: Tells, Routes, and Archaeogeography in the Near East, University of Sheffield, March 3, 2007.

“State-Sponsored Irrigation around Sennacherib’s Nineveh: Interpretations from Royal Inscriptions and Landscape Archaeology.”  Presentation to the Ancient Near Eastern History and Historiography Workshop, Harvard University, February 21, 2007.

“Spying on the Ancient World: Archaeological Applications of Declassified US Intelligence Satellite Photography in the Near East.”  Presentation and poster at the Harvard University Center for Geographic Analysis’ Workshop on Remote Sensing, Cambridge, MA, February 16, 2007. [video] [slides] [poster PDF]

 

2006

“The Evolution of Settlement at Tell Brak: New Data on Urban Emergence.”  Paper presented  at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., November 16, 2006.  (Co-authored by Philip Karsgaard.)

“Emergent Landscapes of Movement in Early Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia.”  Paper contributed to the Penn International Research Conference Landscapes of Movement: Trails, Paths, and Roads in Anthropological Perspective, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 29-June 2, 2006.

“State-Sponsored Irrigation Systems in the Assyrian Heartland, 702-681 BC: Reconstructions Using Declassified Intelligence Satellite Imagery and Aerial Photography.”  Poster presented at the Harvard University Center for Geographic Analysis Launch Event, May 5, 2006. [poster PDF]

“Emergent Landscapes of Intensification in Early Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia.”  Paper presented at the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 29, 2006 (Session co-organizer).

“Satellite Imagery and the Structure of Ancient Landscapes: Case Studies from the Near East.”  Invited paper presented to the Columbia Seminar on the Ancient Near East, Columbia University, April 6, 2006.

 

2005

“Irrigation Landscapes of Ancient Empires: An Assyrian Case Study.”  Paper presented at the 4th Biennial International Water History Association, Paris, December 3, 2005.

“Landscapes of Irrigation and Pastoralism in Northwestern Iran.”  Paper read at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November 19, 2005 (co-authored by Karim Alizadeh).

“Irrigation and Pastoralism on the Mughan Steppe, Northwestern Iran.”  Lecture presented at the Harvard University Department of Anthropology Lunch Seminar Series, November 9, 2005.

“Recent Fieldwork on Ancient Landscapes in Syria and Iran.”  Lecture presented at the 2005 East Coast Marching and Chowder Society meeting, Philadelpia, October 29, 2005.

"The Classification of Urban Settlement Systems in Northern Mesopotamia in the Fifth to First Millennia BC."  Paper presented at the 51st Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Chicago, July 21, 2005 (Landscape Archaeology Workshop organizer).

 

2004

"The Evolution of Settlement at Tell Brak, Syria: Preliminary Results of the 2003 Surface Collection." Paper delivered at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, San Antonio, November 20, 2004. (Co-authored with Philip Karsgaard.)

"Urbanism and Landscape in Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia."  Lecture delivered at Harvard University, Anthropology Department, November 4, 2004 (invited lecture).

"The Social Context of Food Consumption in Early Urban Northern Mesopotamia." Paper presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Montreal, Canada, April 3, 2004.

 

2003

"Urbanism and Social Complexity in Early Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia."  Paper delivered at the Sixth Biennial Meeting of the Complex Societies Group, UCLA, November 8, 2003 (Invited Presenter).

"A GIS-Based Reassessment of the Waters of Nineveh."  Paper delivered at the 49th Annual Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, London, July 8, 2003.

"Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in the Study of North Mesopotamian Road Networks."  Paper delivered at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 12, 2003.

"The Use of Site Area and Cultivated Territory to Provide Cross Checks on Ancient Population Estimates," T.J. Wilkinson and Jason Ur. Paper delivered at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 10, 2003

"Recent Survey and Landscape Archaeology in the Upper Khabur Basin."  University of Chicago Workshop on Archaeological Survey, January 31, 2003.

 

2002

"Third Millennium Road Systems in Upper Mesopotamia."  Paper delivered at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, Toronto, November 21, 2002.

"Settlement and Landscape in Northern Mesopotamia: The Tell Hamoukar Survey 1999-2001."  Paper delivered at the 3rd International Conference on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Université de Paris I, April 17, 2002.

"Remote Sensing and GIS in Archaeological Field Methodology: Applications to Site Survey and Landscape Archaeology in the Upper Khabur Basin."  Remote Sensing and GIS Methods and Applications in Southwest Asia Workshop, University of Chicago, February 23, 2002.

 

2001

"Urbanization and its Impact on the Landscape of the 3rd Millennium B.C. Upper Khabur Plain, Northeastern Syria."  Paper presented at the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual meeting, Denver, November 16, 2001.

"Settlement and Landscape Reconstruction in the Upper Khabur Basin, Northeast Syria."  Lecture presented for the University of Chicago Committee on Archaeological Studies' Interdisciplinary Archaeology Workshop, February 22, 2001.

 

2000

"Looking at Ancient Cities from Space: Using Satellite Images to Study Early Urbanism in Northern Mesopotamia."  Lecture presented to the South Suburban Archaeological Society, July 20, 2000.

"Ancient Route Systems and Urbanism in the 3rd Millennium BC Upper Khabur Basin."  Paper delivered at the 2nd International Conference on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, University of Copenhagen, May 23, 2000.

 

1999

"Ancient Route Systems and Satellite Photography in Northeast Syria."  Lecture presented for the University of Chicago Committee on Archaeological Studies' Interdisciplinary Archaeology Workshop, February 4, 1999.

 

1998

"Seal Inheritance and Iconography in the Kassite Administration of Nippur."  Paper delivered at the 45th Annual Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Harvard University, July 5-8, 1998.

 

Conference and Workshop Sessions Organized/Chaired

 

2009

Settlement and Society in the Ancient Near East.  American Schools of Oriental Research 2009 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November 18-21, 2009 (Jesse Casana and Jason Ur, co-organizers and chairs).  Two sessions, 10 papers planned.

Recent Research in Mesopotamian Urbanism: Origins, Structure, Economy.  Society for American Archaeology 2009 Annual Meeting, Atlanta, April 22-26, 2009.  9 papers.

 

2008

Settlement and Society in the Ancient Near East.  American Schools of Oriental Research 2008 Annual Meeting, Boston, November 22, 2008 (Jason Ur and Jesse Casana, co-organizers and chairs).  6 papers.

 

2007

Spying on the Past: Archaeological Applications of Declassified Intelligence Satellite Photography.  Session at the Society for American Archaeology 2007 Annual Meeting, Austin, April 2007.  7 papers.

 

2006

Landscapes of Intensification.  Session at the Society for American Archaeology 2006 Annual Meeting, San Juan, April 29, 2006 (Jason Ur and Verónica Pérez Rodríguez, co-organizers).  11 papers.

 

2005

Landscape Archaeology Workshop.  Session at the 51st Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Chicago, July 18-22, 2005. 

 

 

Grants, Fellowships, Honors

 

2008-2009 Kershaw Lecturer, Archaeological Institute of America

2008 Harvard University Tozier Fund, $5,950 (for Ancient Landscapes of the Near East, Viewed from Space)

2003-2004 Mrs. Giles Whiting Fellow

2003 Ben Cullen Prize (awarded by the Trustees of Antiquity for best contribution by a junior scholar)

2002 University of Chicago Walsh Award (for computing in the Humanities Division)

2001 Dorot Travel Grant (ASOR)

2000-2001 American Schools of Oriental Research Mesopotamian Fellowship

2000-2001 University of Chicago Ryerson Fellowship

1996-2002 University of Chicago Oriental Institute Helen Rich Travel Fund awards

 

Professional Associations and Activities

 

Society for American Archaeology (SAA)

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)

American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR); member of the Damascus Committee; member of the Committee on Mesopotamian Civilization (effective July 1, 2009)

British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI, formerly British School of Archaeology in Iraq)

The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII); Institutional representative, Harvard University

British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS)

Manuscript reviewer, Antiquity, Science, Journal of Archaeological Science, Geoarchaeology, Journal of Archaeological Research, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Irrigation and Drainage, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of Arizona Press

Grant Application Reviewer, National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society

Editorial Board member, Water History, journal of the International Water History Association

Book reviewer for Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Bibliotheca Orientalia, Journal of Field Archaeology, Archiv für Orientforschung

 

Harvard University Service

 

Undergraduate Courses Taught:

Anthropology 1010: Introduction to Archaeology (Fall 2005 and 2008 with R. Flad, 2006 with N. Tuross)

Anthropology 1045: Ancient Settlement Systems (Spring 2007)

Anthropology 1155: Before Baghdad: Cities of Ancient Mesopotamia (Spring 2009)

 

Undergraduate Senior Theses Supervised:

Pritchett, Allyson, “Ancient Suburbia? A GIS Analysis of Tiwanaku Settlement Patterns” (Applied Mathematics, Spring 2007)

 

Graduate Courses Taught:

Anthropology 2020: GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology (formerly Anthropology 1065; Spring 2006, 2007, 2009)

Anthropology 2063: Ancient Landscapes (Spring 2006)

Anthropology 2065: Complex Societies of Northern Mesopotamia (Spring 2008)

Anthropology 3000: Reading Course on the Archaeology of Anatolia (Fall 2008)

 

Graduate Student Advisory Committees:

Alizadeh, Karim (G1, primary advisor)

Hammer, Emily (G3, primary advisor)

Koons, Michele (G3, secondary advisor)

Santini, Lauren (G2, primary advisor)

Stack, Adam (G1, secondary advisor)

 

PhD Dissertation Committees:

Aja, Adam (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), “Philistine Domestic Architecture of the Early Iron Age.”

Osborne, James (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), “Power and Space in an Iron Age Kingdom: Spatial Analysis and Authority in the Iron II Kingdom of Patina.”

Park, Seong Hyun (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), “Ashkelon in Iron Age IIB: Pottery and Stratigraphy in the Assessment of Its Settlement and Culture.”

VanValkenburgh, Parker (Anthropology)

 

Anthropology Departmental Service:

2008-2009 Coordinator of Student-Faculty Seminars and Archaeology Wing Wednesday Lunch Seminars

2008 Member, Archaeology Wing Vision Statement Committee

 

University Service:

2009- present Member, Standing Committee on Archaeology [website]

2008-2009 Freshman Faculty Advisor (4 students)

2008-present Member, Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) Steering Committee

2006-2007 Member, CGA Remote Sensing Workshop Advisory Committee

2006-2007 Member, Howard T. Fisher Prize in Geographic Information Science selection committee

2006 Member, CGA Director/Professor of Engineering Search Committee

 

Selected Media Coverage of Research

 

“Googling Discoveries.”  National Pubic Radio’s Here and Now, October 23, 2008. [web]

“Armchair archaeology.”  The Economist, September 4, 2008. [web]

Lawler, Andrew, “66. Great Ancient City Unearthed in Syria,” in “Top 100 Science Stories of 2007,” Discover Magazine January 2008. [web]

Gleason, Paul, “Outside-In Ur-banism.”  Harvard Magazine, May-June 2008, pp. 12-13. [web] [PDF] [web extra]

Pringle, Heather, “Tell Brak, Syria,” in “Top Ten Discoveries of 2008.”  Archaeology Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 25. [web]

Maugh, Thomas, “Outskirts may have preceded early city.”  Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2007, p. A-13. [web]

Lavoie, Amy, “New research challenges previous knowledge about the origins of urbanization.”  Harvard University Gazette Online, August 31, 2007. [web]

Powell, Alvin, “Investigating Canals Across Time, from Space.” Harvard University Gazette, March16, 2006. [web]

Wilford, John Noble, “Satellites Uncover Ancient Mideast Road Networks.” New York Times, January 28, 2003, p. D3. [web]

Robbins, Michael, “Cold War Spy Photos Reveal Bronze Age Roads," in "100 Top Science Stories of 2003," Discover Magazine January 2004, p. 65. [web]

Curry, Andrew, “Spying on the Ancients.” Archaeology March-April 2003, p. 13. [web]

Kreiter, Marcella, “Archaeologists Find Ancient Road.” United Press International, January 28, 2003.

Moffett, Nancy, “Cold War Spy Photos Detail Ancient Roads.” Chicago Sun-Times, January 28, 2003.

“Spy Photos Reveal Ancient Middle East Road Network.” Reuters News Agency, January 27, 2003.

Lathrop, Stacy, “Ancient Mideast Road System.”  Anthropology News 44(3):27, March 2003.

Cecilia, Lorella, “Un satellite per l'antica Mesopotamica.”  Archeo 19(3): 12-13, March 2003.

Harms, William, “Satellite images lead to ancient 'highways.'” University of Chicago Chronicle Vol. 22 no. 9 (6 February 2003).  pp. 1, 8.

“Satellite Photos Reveal Ancient Roads.”  Archaeology Odyssey, May/June 2003, p. 20.

“Un satellite militaire perce des secrets de l'Antiquité.”  Science et Vie 1028 (May 2003), p. 18.

“Casus Uydular.”  Atlas (March 2003), p. 24.

[Also appearances on Discovery Channel Canada's "Daily Planet" program, BBC East Asia Service and BBC Radio Four, 29-30 January 2003.]