Archaeology at Michigan

Research Interests

Topical/Theoretical

• Prehistoric Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean
• Food storage technologies
• Ethics of museum and archaeological practices
• Politics of archaeology in Modern Greece
• Public archaeology
• Archaeology as politcial action

Geographical

• Greece
• Mediterranean

Research Projects

• Ethnographic research at the island of Lemnos (N. Aegean) and in Thessaloniki, on emergent heritage, activism, alternative economic networks and community building during the Greek economic crisis
• Collaborative project with Prof. J. Foufopoulos (UM, School of Natural Resources and Environment). Interdisciplinary project on the impact of human interactions on the distributions of exotic species (non-domesticate/non-exploitable) in the Mediterranean basin and the Black Sea
• Co-director (with Lisa Nevett) of the survey/excavation project at the site of Olynthos (Chalkidiki, Northern Greece)

My research focuses on the emergence of complexity in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, specifically, on the so-called "tribes" of Northern Greece, state formations that co-existed with palatial kingdoms and later city states. I study the organization of agricultural production, focusing on changes in agricultural practices and food storage technologies in the Bronze and Iron Age, and their implications for changing political and social dynamics in the region.

I am also currently involved in an ethnographic study on emergent notions of Greek heritage in the context of the Greek crisis. I am directing an ethnographic project in the North Aegean island of Lemnos and in the city of Thessaloniki, working with activist and prankster groups organizing solidarity networks and practicing free seed exchange, barter economy, and art activism.