Personal Information
Education: Cornell University:
A.B., (with "Distinction" and magna cum laude in Anthropology), 1971
M.A., (Anthropology), 1975
Ph.D., (Anthropology), 1976
SUNY at Oswego - Stephen Saraydar, Professor - Office 307A Mahar Hall
Telephone - (315) 312-4190 - Email: stephen.saraydar@oswego.edu
             
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Memberships
American Anthropological Association (Fellow); Society for American Archaeology; Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Xi; Phi Kappa Phi; Lambda Alpha

Research Experience.
My early work was primarily in experimental archaeology, where I used indirect calorimetry to measure the operational efficiency of prehistoric tools and subsistence systems and developed scale-model analyses to investigate the thermal properties of prehistoric houses. I spent three seasons in eastern Arizona with the Southwest Expedition of the Field Museum of Natural History - the first as a student and the second two as a staff member and instructor. I've also worked on smaller-scale projects in prehistoric and historic archaeology in southwest Connecticut and central New York.
 
I wrote a book on experimental archaeology:
Replicating the Past: The Art and Science of the Archaeological Experiment (Waveland Press, 2008).

I've devoted a great deal of time and effort to the study of religion and philosophy in small-scale societies. I started by focusing on Native North American societies and then branched out to other parts of the world.

Current Interests
Ancient Egyptian drilling technology.
Design of archaeological experiments and laboratory exercises for undergraduate instruction.
Human interaction with the environment from the Upper Paleolithic to the present, with particular attention to issues related to population growth and sustainability.

Current Writing Projects.
I am writing an article on my experiments with a replica of a Third Dynasty Egyptian stone drilling/boring device in which I challenge recent assertions about its possible modes of operation.

 

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 Last Updated 1/1/11