Christian Peterson

Co-director

I am an archaeologist specialising in the comparative study of early complex societies - social formations that have sometimes been labeled "chiefdoms". I identify and analyse patterned variation in trajectories of societal growth and decline so as to better understand the dynamics of social change. I am 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; household artifact assemblage analysis; burials and public works investment; quantitative analysis, spatial analysis, and agent-based modeling. I conduct archaeological fieldwork in northeastern China and in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.