Finsten Laura, Professor Emerita
Biography
My interests include archaeological and social theory, the political economy of agrarian states, settlement pattern analysis, regional and multiregional scales of analysis, and boundary processes. My research interests focus on long-term change in the complex societies of Mexico, especially in the southern highlands (Oaxaca).
Education
PhD Purdue, 1983
Teaching
Courses (2012-13)
Fall - 2RP3 - Religion and Power in the Past
Fall - 2VV3E - The Maya Before Columbus
Fall - 3AS3 - Archeology and Society
Winter - 2W03E - The Aztecs and Incas
Winter - 3EE3 - Special Topics in Archaeology II - Ancient Cities
Courses (2011-12)
Fall - Anthro 2VV3E - The Maya Before Columbus
Fall - Anthro 3AS3 - Archaeology and Society
Winter - Anthro 2RP3 - Religion and Power in the Past
Winter - Anthro 2W03E - Aztecs and Inca
Research
1996 Circular Architecture and Symbolic Boundaries in the Mixtec Sierra, Oaxaca. Ancient Mesoamerica.(forthcoming), (with S.A. Kowalewski, C.A. Smith, R.D. Garvin, M.D. Borland).
1996 Jalieza, Oaxaca: Activity Specialisation at a Hilltop Centre. Vanderbilt University Publications in Anthropology. No. 48. Nashville, TN.
1996 Periphery and Frontier in Southern Mexico: The Mixtec Sierra in Highland Oaxaca. In Pre-Columbian World Systems. P.N. Peregrine and G.M. Feinman (eds), pp 77-95. Prehistory Press, Madison, WI.
1993 Ancient Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Change on Three Regions. Cambridge University Press: 2nd ed. Rev. (with R.E. Blanton, S.A. Kowalewski, G.M. Feinman).