Jess Beck (PhD, University of Michigan, 2016), is the Visiting Scholar in the Center for Comparative Archaeology at the University of Pittsburgh for 2016-2017. She is an anthropological archaeologist and bioarchaeologist who studies human skeletal remains from archaeological sties in order to learn about social inequality in prehistory. Beck uses techniques like stable isotope analysis, radiocarbon dating, and mortuary archaeology to investigate relationships between health, diet, mobility, and social inequality in the past. She examines early complex societies in Late Prehistoric Europe, particularly the Copper Age and Early Bronze Age in Spain and Romania. Her work at the Center for Comparative Archaeology focuses on identifying quantitative signatures of different mortuary treatments, and analyzing the rise of large-scale villages in Copper Age Iberia through a bioarchaeological lens.
In conjunction with Professor Liz Arkush, Dr. Beck will coordinate the annual Seminar in Comparative Archaeology, beginning in the Fall of 2016. Stay tuned for more information!