Professor Dr. Deborah Olszewski

Biography

Deborah Olszewski is an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, which she earned in 1984. Her academic expertise focuses on prehistoric hunter-gatherer adaptations and the origins of agriculture, with extensive research covering various ancient civilizations. Olszewski has extensively studied Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and North African Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, and Neolithic periods, exploring topics such as chipped ground stone analyses in the American Southwest, as well as the European Paleolithic and Mesolithic eras. Additionally, she has conducted research on pre-Contact Hawai’i, contributing valuable insights into the cultural practices and evolutionary anthropology of these regions. Olszewski's expertise is not only confined to teaching; she also contributes to the academic community as a Consulting Scholar for the European Section at the Penn Museum and is a Fellow at the Penn Center Native American Studies, reflecting her commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and research in anthropology.

Research Interests

Courses