Claire Ebert (PhD, The Pennsylvania State University, 2017) is the Visiting Scholar in the Center for Comparative Archaeology at the University of Pittsburgh for 2017-2018. She is an anthropological archaeologist interested in the role of human-environment interactions in the emergence of cultural complexity. Her research integrates approaches from environmental archaeology, human ecology, and economic anthropology with radiocarbon dating, stable isotope geochemistry, and geochemical sourcing methods to understand local and regional trajectories of socio-economic development and the consequences of social inequality in the past. At the Center for Comparative Archaeology, Ebert’s work will focus on two projects in Belize and Croatia aimed at understanding the mechanisms driving growth of complexity among early agricultural communities. Her research in Belize examines the relationship between diet, climate change, and resilience among the ancient Maya through time. She will also be investigating the role of seasonal transhumance of livestock as a key economic development for Neolithic farming communities living on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.
In conjunction with Loukas Barton, Dr. Ebert will coordinate the annual Seminar in Comparative Archaeology, beginning in the Fall of 2017. Stay tuned for more information!