Professor of Anthropology
University of California
San Diego

Curator
Journey to the Copper Age: Archaeology in the Holy Land

Biography
Thomas Levy is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where he holds the Norma Kershaw Endowed Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and the Neighboring Lands. Formerly, assistant director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, Levy has had a distinguished career as a field archaeologist working in Israel and Jordan. Since joining the faculty at UCSD in 1992, he has served as the chair of the Department of Anthropology and director of the Judaic Studies Program. He is currently serving his second term as director of that program and is of the associate director of the UCSD’s Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). Author of over 150 research articles and 10 books, Levy was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

From Dr. Levy:
Having spent the past 16 years in the ‘ivory tower’ of a wonderful research university, the opportunity to work with our local anthropology museum – the Museum of Man – was very stimulating and exciting. The Museum of Man director, Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador provided a vision for her museum to highlight the research of local San Diego scholars and its contribution to both international scholarship and the local community. I had the honor of being the first local professor in San Diego to be able to share my research in this way. Working with the M of M design team, headed by David Mayo, was a new experience for me and a rare opportunity to make my scholarly research results understandable for the public. As my research is rooted in anthropological archaeology and social evolution, having the support of Waitt Institute fellow archaeologist and Executive Director, Dominique Rissolo was inspiring.