I’m interested in developing new methodologies for the improvement of archaeological chronology and the synchronization of interdisciplinary evidence. Specifically the use of tree-rings and other proxies in combination with diverse cultural records to study global / regional ’events’ of significance for past human societies. In particular sudden onset climatic changes and / or volcanic events and the chronologies associated with these in the ancient Mediterranean. I’m also interested in developing new applications in dendrochemistry and geoarchaeological research.

Interdisciplinary Chronology of Civilizations Project (ICCP)

The ICCP will combine tree-ring chronologies and annual resolution radiocarbon analysis to accelerate chronological research in the wider Aegean region through an archaeologically informed, multi-proxy approach. A primary objective will be the creation of an annually-resolved radiocarbon calibration curve from c. 2500-1000 BC which will be used address key chronological issues for Aegean and Near Eastern archaeology. This work will represent the first stage of what we hope will be a longer duration project contributing to global efforts to enhance the precision and accuracy of radiocarbon analysis for a wide range of users.

Enhancing Shared Facilities for Archaeological Science at the University of Arizona

This is an NSF-funded project with collaborators in Anthropology, Arizona State Museum and LTRR.  It centers on the purchase of new XRF instrumentation and the development of cross-disciplinary applications in archaeological and conservation science, tree-ring research and outreach.

Mediterranean Dendroarchaeology Project

This is an ongoing continuation of the work of Peter Kuniholm’s “Aegean Dendrochronology Project”. Building on nearly 40 years research, our team’s aim is to construct a continuous, absolutely dated Mediterranean tree-ring sequence spanning more than 10,000 years. We are working on wood samples from a range of Archaeological sites to expand existing chronologies, provide new dates for excavators and synchronize regional tree-ring connections. We are also constructing chronologies of sub-fossil material from Bosnia and Croatia with a view to bridging gaps in the record and linking with longer, continuous sequences from Norther Europe.

The Center for Mediterranean Archaeology and the Environment (CMATE)

I’m Associate Director of CMATE – a UA Center designed to further interdisciplinary collaboration between leading scholars in anthropology, dendrochronology, radiocarbon analysis and geosciences at the University of Arizona. By combining our different perspectives and methodologies for reconstructing the past, we aim to gain a greater and more highly resolved picture of past human experience in the cradle of Old World civilizations.