Jelmer Eerkens
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Professor of Anthropology at UC Davis

I currently serve as Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Davis. In the past, I have taught classes on World Prehistory, the Origins of Agriculture, Prehistoric Technologies, Archaeometry, Andean Prehistory, the Archaeology of California and the Great Basin, and Introductory Archaeology. I run the archaeometry lab in 306 Young Hall.

My research interests include Hunter-Gatherer adaptations to different environmental and social conditions, the origins and transmission of technologies, especially lithic and pottery technologies, the development of incipient leadership, and land tenure and resource ownership among hunter-gatherers. I have employed various analytical techniques, including Stable Isotope Analysis, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), X-Ray Flourescence (XRF), Electron Microprobe (EM), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to address these topics. I have conducted fieldwork in Western North America, Southern Peru, and Northwestern Europe.
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I also currently edit the longstanding book series, Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, published through Springer. If you are interested in having your manuscript or edited collection of papers considered for the series please contact me (email or phone are best). We are always looking for new and innovative books for the series.

Pictures

Tree at the top of the Sierra Nevada's next to meandering stream.
Monitor Pass, as you cross the Sierra's and drop into Long Valley.
Spot in central Nevada.
Owens Valley sunset, looking east.
Excavations at a site in Owens Valley in progress. Kevin Vaughn and company.
Exposure of 1400 year old house floor in Owens Valley, California. Photo shows plan view.
Exposure of 1400 year old house floor in Owens Valley, California. Photo shows cross section after excavation.
Whole pot collected in Owens Valley, California. Pottery was adopted about 600 years ago in this region, largely for cooking seed resources which were becoming increasingly important in local diets. This pot is curated at the Eastern California Museum in Independence, California.
1200 year-old rock-lined formal hearth from Mojave Desert. Probably used for roasting roots or bulbs.
Two 250 year-old rock rings from Shewin Summit, Owens Valley. Such rock rings were probably used to cache green (unripened) pinyon cones. Nuts were retrieved at a later date by Paiute.
Two 250 year-old rock rings from Shewin Summit, Owens Valley. Such rock rings were probably used to cache green (unripened) pinyon cones. Nuts were retrieved at a later date by Paiute.
Excavations at a 250 year-old semi-subterranean house floor in southern Owens Valley, near Owens Lake. Photo shows a 6 meter trench excavated across center of house pit.

Pictures of Fieldwork in Peru

Yup, it's dirty work digging in ancient midden... With Kevin Vaughn at Upanca.
Archaeologists Kevin Vaugh, Moises Linares Grados, and company standing in front of a modern mine near the Ingenio Valley.
A looted tomb with human bone near Pirca, Peru.
Our trustworthy 4x4 near Pirca, 2007.
Excavations at the mining base camp of La Ballena in Quebrada Pongo off the Aja River.
Some Nasca lines in the Pampa of the Ingenio Valley.
At the site of Pataraya in the Tierras Blancas Valley.
Looking up the Tierras Blancas Valley from Upanca. That's not mist. That's dust from the dynamite explosions while workers are extending the road.
Upanca, 2002. Field crew behind area of site with archaic component.
Mmmmm... Fried rodent (cui).
This is what happens to your truck when you work in the middle of nowhere...
Modern mine in Pongo Quebrada, Nasca, Peru.
Our fancy flotation system in Nasca.
Mina Primavera Excavations, 2010.

Some family photos. Life outside work...

Contact Me

Jelmer W. Eerkens
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616

Office: 306 Young Hall 
Office #: (530) 752-1348 
E-mail: jweerkens@ucdavis.edu

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