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Jeffrey Blomster

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs

Hortense Amsterdam H 301
2110 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20052

Phone: (202) 994-4880
Fax: (202) 994-6097
E-mail: blomster@gwu.edu

Education:

Ph.D., Yale University

Expertise:

Emergence of social complexity; political change; ritual and political economy, ceramic analysis, archaeology of Mesoamerica, gender, organization of production, Oaxaca (especially the Mixteca Alta), the Olmec

Background:

Jeffrey Blomster is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in social complexity, interregional interaction and approaches to style, ritual and ideology. His regional and spatial research interests lie primarily in Mesoamerica, where he has focused on Mixtec, Zapotec and Olmec cultures. He received undergraduate training in anthropology and political science at Washington and Lee University, and graduate training in anthropology and archaeology at Yale University.

For nearly a year, Professor Blomster conducted archaeological fieldwork in the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca, Mexico. This fieldwork, and subsequent laboratory analysis in Oaxaca, examines the emergence of social complexity in the Nochixtlan Valley, and explores the impact of interregional interaction in this area. His academic writings have focused on manipulation and movement of style, looking at both traditional stylistic analyses as well as chemical approaches. He is interested in the movement of cults and ideology in Latin America, with regional interests beyond Oaxaca.

Courses Taught:

Anth 180 Power and Violence in New World Societies
Anth 185 Archaeology of Mesoamerica
Anth 186 The State and Urban Society
Anth 189 The Olmecs and Their Neighbors
Anth 189 The Inca and Their Ancestors

Last update: 01.30.07