Recording Data at Dhra', Jordan Valley 2005

Archaeological chronology and luminescence dating; the establishment, use and abandonment of sites; excavation methods, research design and the management of archaeological datasets; the use of evolutionary theory in archaeology and anthropology; and the Neolithic of the Near East and Eastern Europe.

In its most basic form, the discipline of archaeology tries to understand what happened at certain times in certain places. Archaeologists seek to understand the behaviors responsible for the distribution of artifacts in time and space. In present-day Turkey, two aspects of the country's prehistory are poorly understood: time periods prior to the Bronze Age and occupations along the Black Sea coast (space). My dissertation research addresses this lack of understanding through the pursuit of two issues: the development of an absolute luminescence-based chronology for the Sinop Promontory along the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, while concomitantly working to refine luminescence dating protocols to improve the precision and resolution of resultant chronologies. This particular chronology will permit an evaluation of existing theories regarding the relationship of Black Sea settlement patterns to other cultural centers in the larger Near Eastern cultural network and will contribute to a more refined understanding of the processes of Neolithization in the area. The power of this chronology will be a product of the degree of precision made possible by improved luminescence dating protocols.

In addition to my dissertation research along the Turkish Black Sea Coast, I am also currently pursuing the following projects:

--> In Jordan, at El Hemmeh, where I am using luminescence to date house floors and architectural plaster,

--> In southern Germany, in the Federsee Valley, I am in the process of implementing a research design to date heat-treated flint. Link to a related project.

--> In Mongolia, I am using luminescence to date sediments from various archaeological deposits. Project link.

--> In Tuscany, at the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, I have served as Trench and Field Supervisor for parts of the last two seasons.