I received my Ph.D. in Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, with sojourns at Charles University, Prague and the (then) University of Leningrad, USSR. I came to the US as a _drained brain_, hired by Harvard University who did not give me tenure. But I found tenure and happiness at the University of California at Berkeley where I am currently Professor of Anthropology.
My research for the last 30 years has focused on the transformation of early agricultural (Neolithic) societies of Eastern Europe, where I have directed and published archaeological excavations in the former Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria. Since 1997, I have expanded this research interest to include Turkey, directing a team from UC Berkeley in the excavation of the 9000-year old site of Çatalhöyük. Current research focuses on the life-histories of buildings and the construction of place. Much of my recent practice of archaeology incorporates the utilization of digital, especially multimedia, technology in the presentation of the process of archaeological interpretation, for example in the Chimera Web, about the Neolithic site of Opovo, Yugoslavia and my current project about Çatalhöyük, Dead Women Do Tell Tales.
In 1998, I was awarded the Presidential Chair in Undergraduate Teaching for a plan to incorporate multimedia authoring into teaching regular courses in archaeology. I am now recognized internationally as one of the leaders of digital education and digital publishing in archaeology. In 2001 with my colleagues Meg Conkey and Rosemary Joyce, I was awarded the Educational Initiatives Award for the innovative development of digital education in the Multimedia Authoring Center for Teaching in Anthropology (MACTiA). This interest in multimedia grows out of a lifelong passion for music. For many years I have been a member of the Grammy-Award winning San Francisco Symphony Chorus. You can find me standing in the middle of the back row. In another life I would have been a stage designer. And one day I hope to keep bees.
There's more: http://www.ruthtringham.com
