Christian E. Peterson

I’m an anthropologically-trained archaeologist specializing in the comparative study of early complex societies. I identify and analyze patterned variation in trajectories of societal growth and decline so as to better understand the dynamics of social change. I’m especially interested in how different kinds and degrees of inequality contribute to these dynamics. Topics emphasized in my research include regional settlement distribution, community patterning, and demography; ritual landscapes; labor investment in public works; household artifact assemblage analysis and the identification of prestige, wealth, ritual, and productive differentiation within and between communities. I have a penchant for quantitative and spatial analytical methods (with a bent toward Exploratory Data Analysis [EDA] and the use of free and open-source software [FOSS]).

I currently co-direct multi-scalar archaeological fieldwork aimed at understanding the emergence and development of Early Iron Age (EIA) (CE 700-950) communities in the Letaba-Olifants Confluence Area of South Africa’s Kruger National Park. My previous research focused on better understanding the social dynamics of Middle Neolithic Hongshan period (4500-3000 BCE) societies in NE China’s Western Liao River Valley.

I’m also a husband, father, dog lover, inveterate cyclist, sci-fi aficionado, accomplished flintknapper, and would-be guitarist with blues, rock, jazz, and other roots-based musical influences.

I welcome inquires from prospective students interested in researching EIA societies in southern Africa. Unfortunately, I am not currently taking students with interests in Neolithic China.