Research Interests:

I am an archaeologist who specializes in the Roman and Late Antique eastern Mediterranean (ca 100 BC - AD 650). My interests focus on aspects of social change and the transformation of civic life from the Classical World (civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome - ca 500 BC - AD 250) to the post-Classical World (ca AD 300-650). Because I am especially interested in the processes of daily life, much of my research has focused specifically on pottery. Why pottery? Since pottery was a ubiquitous item in the ancient world (used for food storage, transportation of goods such as olive oil and wine, cooking, serving, and eating among other things), the ceramic remains of the past can inform us of a wide range of daily activities and broader economic exchanges. Through archaeological excavation and the study of pottery we can learn about the habits, activities and concerns of the daily lives of everyday people. My current research focuses on the fine ceramic bowls, dishes and plates used for dining, connecting the everyday world of pottery to the high art of banqueting throughout the Roman world.

 

 

Education:

PhD. University of Minnesota, December 2006

    Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies - Ancient and Medieval Art and Archaeology

MA. University of Minnesota, May 2000

    Interdisciplinary Archaeological Studies

BA. University of California at Santa Cruz, June 1997

    History and Anthropology

 

 

 

Scholarly activities and publications:

“Three centuries of Late Roman Pottery,” Aphrodisias Papers 4, Christopher Ratté and R.R.R. Smith (eds), Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplement 70. Portsmouth: Rhode Island, 2008, 319-345.

“Khirbat el-Hawarit. A Ceramic Workshop on the Mount Hermon Slopes,” with Andrea Berlin and Moshe Hartal, ‘Atiqot 59 (2008), 131-155.

“Dining in Late

 Antiquity: An Analysis of Roman Dining Assemblages,” Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, Chicago IL, 1/6/2008.