Katheryn C. Twiss
Associate Professor
Ph.D.,University of California at Berkeley, 2003
Email: katheryn.twiss@stonybrook.edu
Teaching
Courses taught at Stony Brook include ANT 103 Archaeology for a Better World, ANT 104 Introduction to Archaeology, ANT 260 How We Eat, ANT 363/ ANT/DPA 515 Approaches in Archaeology, ANT 357/ ANT/DPA 513 Origins of Agriculture, ANT 359/ ANT/DPA 559 Archaeology of Food, and ANT 419/ ANT/DPA 519 Zooarchaeology.
Research Interests
My research focuses on social and economic practices in early agricultural and urban societies. As a zooarchaeologist, I use faunal remains to study past human-animal interactions. Current research foci include (a) the ecological and cultural ramifications of animal production for ancient cities, and (b) the political and ideological implications of differential animal consumption in "complex" societies.
I am particularly interested in the archaeology of food. I concentrate on the social aspects of food production and use: the organization of food production and preparation, the use of food to enact social structures, and the interrelationship of feasting and domestic consumption.
My geographic focus is southwest Asia. I previously conducted research at the Neolithic
site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. I am now working on Mesopotamian fauna from Ur and other
sites in southern Iraq.
Katheryn C. Twiss on ResearchGate