Dr. Cynthia Shelmerdine

Biography

Cynthia W. Shelmerdine is the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor Emerita in Classics at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research specialties include Aegean Bronze Age archaeology, language, history, and society, particularly Mycenaean Greece. Her extensive publications explore various aspects of history, culture, and art in prehistoric Greece, with significant contributions like the Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age (2008), where she served as editor and contributor. Notable papers include studies on Mycenaean furniture vessels and sealings. Shelmerdine has also participated in important archaeological projects, such as the Iklaina Archaeological Project and the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project. She received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College, B.A. and M.A. from the University of Cambridge, and Ph.D. from Harvard University, where she explored classical philology. Her expertise and extensive fieldwork make her a leading figure in her research areas.

Research Interests