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Dr. Melinda A. Zeder, Curator
Old World Archaeology and Archaeozoology
About
Melinda Zeder is a Senior Research Scientist and Curator of Old World Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Zeder received her PhD from the University of Michigan in 1985. She came to the Smithsonian in 1981 as a pre-doctoral fellow, and was a Smithsonian Research Associate from 1982 until 1989, during which time she headed her own independent consulting firm. She served as Deputy Chair of the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology from 1989 to 1992 when she assumed the position of a research scientist in the Archaeobiology Program, which she directed from 2002 to 2010.
Research
Zeder’s research interests include the domestication of animals, the social and environmental implications of early agriculture in the ancient Near East, and the development of specialized subsistence economies in early complex societies. She is also interested in the intersection of archaeology and genetics in documenting the domestication of plant and animal species. She has worked in Iran, Israel, Turkey, and most recently in Syria. … link to Zeder Research Page
Links—Recent Publications in PDF
- Zeder CV.
- Zeder, Melinda A.
2011 The Origins of Agriculture in the Near East. Current Anthropology 53: In The Origins of Agriculture: New Ideas and New data. Special Wenner Gren Symposium Issue.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2011 Pathways to Animal Domestication. In Harlan II: Biodiversity in Agriculture: Domestication, Evolution, & Sustainability, edited by A. Damania and P. Gepts, University of California, Davis.
Bar-Oz, Guy, Zeder, Melinda A., and Hole, Frank.
2011 Role of Mass-kill Hunting Strategies in the Extirpation of Persian Gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in the Northern Levant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 108:7345-7350
{and supplemental doc}
Zeder, Melinda A and Lapham Heather A.
2010 Assessing the Reliability of Criteria used to Post-cranial Bones in Sheep, Ovis, and Goats, Capra. Journal of Archaeological Science. (senior author with Heather Lapham) 37:2887-2905.
{and supplemental tables}
{supplemental figures}
Zeder, Melinda A. and Pilaar, Suzanne E.
2010 Assessing the Reliability of Criteria Used to Identify Mandibles and Mandibular Teeth in Sheep, Ovis, and Goats, Capra. Journal of Archaeological Science 37:225-242.
{and supplemental doc}
Zeder, Melinda A.
2009 Evolutionary Biology and the Emergence of Agriculture: The Value of Co-opted Models of Evolution in the Study of Culture Change. In: Macroevolution in Human Prehistory: Evolutionary Theory and Processual Archaeology, pp. 157-210. New York: Springer.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2009 The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and theStudy of Culture Change. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 17:1-63.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2008 Domestication and Early Agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, Diffusion, and Impact. PNAS 105:11597-11604.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2008 Animal Domestication in the Zagros: An Update and Directions for Future Research. In: E. Villa, L. Gourichon, A. Choyke, and H. Buitenhuis, eds. pp. 243-277.Archaeozoology in the Near East VIII, Archéorient, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon.
Zeder, Melinda A, Emshwiller, Eve, Smith, Bruce D.; and Bradley, Daniel G.
2006 Documenting Domestication: The Intersection of Genetics and Archaeology. Trends in Genetics. 22:139-155.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2006 Central Questions in the Domestication of Plants and Animals. Evolutionary Anthropology 15:105-117.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2006 Reconciling Rates of Long Bone Fusion and Tooth Eruption and Wear in Sheep (Ovis) and Goat (Capra). In: D. Ruscillo, ed. pp: 87-118. Ageing and Sexing Animals from Archaeological Sites. Oxford: Oxbow Press.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2005 A View From the Zagros: New Perspectives on Livestock Domestication in the Fertile Crescent , In: J.-D. Vigne, J. Peters, and D. Helmer, eds. pp. 125-147. The First Steps of Animal Domestication: New Archaeozoological Approaches. Oxford: Oxbow Press.
Zeder, Melinda A.
2001 A Metrical Analysis of a Collection of Modern Goats (Capra hircus aegargus and Capra hircus hircus) from Iran and Iraq: Implications for the Study of Caprine Domestication, Journal of Archaeological Science, 28:61-79.
Phone:
202-633-1886
Fax:
202-357-2208
E-mail: zederm@si.edu
Pages
Mailing Address:
Department of Anthropology, NHB 112
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Courier Delivery Address:
Smithsonian InstitutionNational Museum of Natural History
10th and Constitution Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20560-0112
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