Contributor

Brian Fagan

Brian Fagan is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his degrees at Cambridge University, then worked in Central and East Africa on early farming villages and became one of the pioneers of multidisciplinary African history. Since arriving in California in 1967, he has focused on communicating archaeology to general audiences. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading archaeological writers and lectures about the past, especially ancient climate change, all over the world. Fagan’s many books include seven university texts, also general books on the history of archaeology, ancient climate change, and, most recently, histories of water, ancient seafaring, rising sea levels, and the changing relationships between humans and animals. His latest books are Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization (Yale University Press, 2018) and, with Nadia Duranni, Bigger than History: Why Archaeology Matters (Thames and Hudson, 2018). Brian is an enthusiastic bicyclist and cruising sailor, who has sailed thousands of miles in different parts of the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife Lesley, 6 to 24 rabbits, three cats, 7 turtles, and some goldfish. brianfagan.com