News and Achievements

The idea that human beings, and especially those in hunter-gather societies, have an intrinsic tendency toward equal sharing persists in science and popular culture.

An international research collaboration involving a Washington State University scientist has received a 2025 SAF Research Award from the Shanghai Archaeology Forum for its work uncovering the long-term global dynamics of inequality.

Erin Thornton’s career mission is to show the world just how interesting turkeys really are.

An archaeological researcher at Washington State University is blending geochemistry and Indigenous oral stories to reexamine how humans have interacted with their surrounding environment.

A career studying ancient Maya economics isn’t what most young people dream of pursuing. But for Rachel Horowitz, an assistant professor of anthropology at Washington State University, the fascination began early with a toy excavation kit that let her dig into a clay model of a Maya pyramid.

A new global study led by Tim Kohler, archaeologist and Regents Professor Emeritus, and co-edited by Amy Bogaard (Oxford University) reveals that wealth inequality began over 10,000 years ago, gradually increasing with the rise of agriculture, population growth, and hierarchical settlements.