author
James Schoenwetter
1935–2015
An archaeologist and palynologist, he spent decades studying how pollen and environmental evidence can illuminate the human past. He also wrote accessible science for general readers, including a short introduction to dating methods in archaeology.
1 Audiobook
How Old Is It? The Story of Dating in Archeaology
by James Schoenwetter
About the author
James Schoenwetter (January 2, 1935 – August 22, 2015) was an American anthropologist and archaeologist who became Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1967, joined the ASU faculty that same year after working at the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, and retired in 2000.
His research focused on prehistoric cultural ecology, pollen analysis in archaeology, and research methods. ASU and archaeological sources describe him as a specialist in palynology who directed the anthropology department’s palynology lab before retirement, and whose work helped reconstruct past environments through pollen records.
As an author, he wrote both scholarly work and accessible material for wider audiences. His best-known general book is How Old Is It? The Story of Dating in Archeaology, a concise explanation of how archaeologists estimate age and sequence in the past.