Maxwell School News and Faculty Media, Opinion and Analysis

Fringe Archaeology: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Past

Christopher DeCorse

Christopher DeCorse, Distinguished Professor and chair of anthropology, has written a new book, “Fringe Archaeology: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Past” (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2024). The book explores the intertwining of archaeology and popular culture, as well as depictions of archaeology in film and fiction.

September 25, 2024

See related: Archaeology

History and Bioarchaeology

Alanna L. Warner-Smith, Shannon A. Novak

“History and Bioarchaeology,” co-authored by Professor of Anthropology Shannon Novak, was published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology.

July 29, 2024

See related: Archaeology

DeCorse Quoted in The Guardian Article on the First Archaeological Dig of São Tomé and Príncipe

“We have good insight into the big picture of slavery in São Tomé,” says Christopher DeCorse, professor of anthropology. But, “we don’t know how these plantations functioned. You have records of the number of people. You have dates. But the lifeways of people on a day-to-day basis are not so much. That reveals the grittiness.”

July 8, 2024

‘We Are Not a People of the Past’: Tenth Decade Project Builds Ties with Indigenous Community

A pair of Maxwell professors are helping to lead an effort to foster a reciprocal learning relationship with the peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

May 14, 2024

‘Unearthing Africa's Long Lost Past’: Maxwell Professor Unearths England’s First Outpost

The remarkable discovery of Fort Kormantine by archaeologist Christopher DeCorse illuminates a critical period in Atlantic history.

October 2, 2023

Doctoral Candidate Says Project Provided an ‘Extraordinary Opportunity’

Matthew O’Leary joined the team of archaeologists led by Maxwell Professor Christopher DeCorse in coastal Ghana this past summer.

October 2, 2023

BBC News Features DeCorse’s Field Work in Ghana, Discovery of ‘First English Slave Fort in Africa’

"We don't have that many details on exactly what these early outposts of the slave trade looked like, which is one of the things that make uncovering the foundations of Fort Kormantine interesting," says Christopher DeCorse, professor and chair of anthropology.

August 4, 2023

See related: Africa (Sub-Saharan), Archaeology

German Brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical Analysis Insights Into the Early Atlantic Trade

Tobias B. Skowronek , Christopher R. DeCorse, Rolf Denk, Stefan D. Birr, Sean Kingsley, Gregory D. Cook, Ana María Benito Dominguez, Brandon Clifford, Andrew Barker, José Suárez Otero, Vicente Caramés Moreira, Michael Bode, Moritz Jansen, Daniel Scholes

"German brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical analysis insights into the early Atlantic trade," co-authored by Professor and Chair of Anthropology Chris DeCorse, was published in PLOS ONE.

April 6, 2023

Art Museum Faculty Fellow Heather Law Pezzarossi Weaves Indigenous Baskets Into Lesson Plan

The assistant professor of anthropology has provided her students with a unique research opportunity.

April 4, 2023

Brass Working and Mforowa Manufacture Among the Akan of Coastal Ghana During the 17th–20th Centuries