DR. MARK D. VARIEN, BANQUET SPEAKER

Topic:  Update on Southwest Pueblo Archaeology

(Exact Title and Abstract to come)

Mark D. Varien is Vice President of Programs at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado. Varien joined the staff at Crow Canyon in 1987, where he contributes to the Center’s mission to conduct archaeological research, provide public education programs, and promote American Indian involvement in archaeological research and public education.

He has been a professional archaeologist since 1976, conducting fieldwork in Guatemala, New Zealand, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. He served as a crew chief for the Dolores Archaeological Project in southwestern Colorado and as a project director for the Zuni Archaeology Program, a Zuni Indian tribal enterprise in Zuni, New Mexico.

At Crow Canyon he directed the Sand Canyon Archaeological Project Site Testing Program, which led to numerous publications. He received a B.A. in Archaeological Studies (1976 University of Texas, Austin), a M. A. in Anthropology (1984 University of Texas, Austin), and a Ph.D. in Anthropology (1997 Arizona State University).

His current professional interests include the archaeology of the southwestern United States, site formation processes, household and community organization, patterns of sedentism and mobility, settlement patterns and the formation of cultural landscapes, human impact on the environment, social theory, public education programs about archaeology, and Native American involvement in archaeology.