Department of Anthropology

Steven A. Weber

Position: Associate Professor
Office: VMMC 202M
Phone: 360-546-9734

Biographical sketch

I am an archaeologist and archaeobotonist working throughout the world. I received my B.S. and M.A. in anthropology from Northern Arizona University. After working several years as a consulting archaeologist, I returned to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania where I received my Ph.D. in 1989.

Research

The theme of my research has continued to be how and why people adopt new subsistence strategies, and how change in subsistence systems relates to change in material culture and settlement systems.

With a colleague, I co-founded the Society of Ethnobiology and the Journal of Ethnobiology in order to promote the interdisciplinary study of human interaction with the natural environment. I remain committed to promoting the creative fusion of biological and anthropological approaches to the study of humans and their surroundings. Since arriving at WSU-Vancouver in 1994, I have been involved in projects throughout Asia, including India, Pakistan, and Thailand. I maintain a special interest in paleoethnobotany, but regard myself first and foremost as a field-oriented archaeologist.

Courses

Anth 330 Origins of Culture and Civilization

Research projects

Selected publications

Books

— Weber SA and Belcher WR 2003. Indus Ethnobiology. Lexington Books.
— Weber SA 1991. Plants and Harappan Subsistence. Westview.

Articles

PDF Weber SA 2007. Millets and Their Role in Early Agriculture. Pragdhara.
PDF Fuller DQ and Weber SA 2005. Formation Processes and Paleoethnobotanical Interpretation in South Asia. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in History and Archaeology, 2, 93-115.
LNK Weber SA 1999. Seeds of urbanism: palaeoethnobotany and the Indus Civilization. Antiquity, 73, 813-826.
LNK Weber SA 1998. Out of Africa: The Initial Impact of Millets in South Asia. Current Anthropology, 39, 267-274.

Presentations

PDF Weber SA 2005. An Overview of Paleoethnobotany of the Indus Civilization.