Dr. Thomas Levy

Biography

Thomas Evan Levy is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate Division and the inaugural holder of the Norma Kershaw Chair in Archaeology at the Department of Anthropology at UC San Diego. He is the founder and co-director of the Center for Cyber-archaeology and Sustainability at the Qualcomm Institute, California Center of Telecommunications and Information Technology. Levy has published 15 books and over 250 scholarly articles and serves as the editor-in-chief of 'Approaches to Anthropological Archaeology.' Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he specializes in the role of technology in archaeology, particularly in early mining and metallurgy, the social evolution leading to sedentism, and the domestication of plants and animals during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. His research extends to human adaptation in coastal environments of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Holocene. A fellow of the Explorers Club, he received the 2011 Lowell Thomas Award for his contributions to archaeology. Levy has led various interdisciplinary archaeological field projects funded by significant institutions such as the National Geographic Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has a strong commitment to digital humanities and has received substantial grants for his projects, including the UC San Diego Koret Carmel Coast Israel Project. In collaboration with international institutions, he continues to advance archaeological research through innovative methodologies.

Research Interests