Gary O. Rollefson (born August 2, 1942) is a Near Eastern prehistoric

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Biography

Gary O. Rollefson was born in Forest City, Iowa. He was the oldest of three boys. In 1957, the Rollefson family moved to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

where he completed high school. He attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and graduated in 1965 receiving a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. After serving as a translator in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, he went on to study anthropology at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, where he was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1972 and a Ph.D. in 1978.Whitman College Anthropology Department – Gary Rollefson
/ref> Rollefson spent five years working at cave sites in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

while working toward his dissertation entitled, ''A Quantitative and Qualitative Typological Analysis of Bifaces from the Tabun Excavations, 1967-1972''. In 1978 Rollefson went to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

on a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship, working at archaeological sites outside

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, and in 1985 made a significant discovery of 8,000-year-old plaster figurines at the ancient settlement of 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan. 'Ain Ghazal is one of the largest known Neolithic agricultural settlements in the Near East. Rollefson continues to do work in the region today. He has lectured and published extensively. His articles have appeared in a number of journals including ''

American Antiquity ''American Antiquity'' is a professional journal published by Cambridge University Press for the Society for American Archaeology, an organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas. The journal is considered to be the flagship jour ...

'', ''

Current Anthropology ''Current Anthropology'' is a peer-reviewed anthropology academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press for the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Founded in 1959 by the anthropologist Sol Tax1907-1995. ''Curren ...

'', ''

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research The ''Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research (BASOR)'', formerly the ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', is one of three academic journals published by the American Society of Overseas Research. It began as t ...

'', '' Journal of Anthropological Archaeology'' and ''

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

''. He has held various teaching positions throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

since 1970. Currently, he is professor emeritus of Anthropology at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

, and professor emeritus of Anthropology at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

Selected works

*''The History of Ancient Palestine from the Palaeolithic Period to Alexander's Conquest'' with Goska W. Ahlstrom and Diana Edelman (JSOT Press. 1992)

Archaeological Tours

He leads educational journeys to Jordan fo
Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural trips

References

External links

Whitman College profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollefson, Gary O. 1942 births University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Arizona alumni American anthropologists Whitman College faculty Living people American people of Norwegian descent People from Forest City, Iowa Archaeologists of the Near East

Biography

Selected works

See also

Archaeological Tours

References

External links