Kurt Rademaker

I am an interdisciplinary archaeologist interested in human-environment dynamics, hunter-gatherer colonization of South America, adaptations in extreme environments, and foundations of complex societies. In the past 15 years I have carried out archaeological research primarily in the Peruvian Andes and quaternary studies in Peru and Scotland. I also have worked as an archaeologist in the Eastern Woodlands and Great Basin regions of the U.S., in Mexico, and in Chile. In Peru my team searches for and investigates hunter-gatherer sites from the Pacific coast to the high-elevation Andes. Ongoing collaborations with earth science colleagues are producing high-resolution paleoenvironmental records for comparison with cultural sequences. Other current collaborative research with physical anthropologists and paleogeneticists is focused on understanding how humans have adapted to live in high-elevation mountain regions, some of the most challenging environments on Earth. I encourage any interested students to contact me in advance of applying to the Michigan State University graduate program.