David Byers

Old Main 245C
(435) 797-1178
david.byers@usu.edu

David Byers, (Ph.D in Anthropology, University of Utah).  Assistant Professor.  Dr. Byers earned his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wyoming.  He has been previously employed as adjunct faculty at the University of Utah and as a senior archaeologist at several archaeological consulting firms.  He has formal training as a zooarchaeologist -- a specialist in animal remains from archaeological contexts, but is also knowledgable in lithic analysis, geoarchaeology, Quaternary paleontology, and paleoecology. 

Current and recent projects include a stable isotope study of human subsistence in the Aleutian Islands, taphonomic investigations of Great Basin faunal assemblages, and research into the role of extinct elephants in the diets of ancient foragers.  David has also been investigating the impact of Holocene climate change on large game population histories and the ways that trends in prey availability condition the strategies used by ancient foragers to butcher and process animal prey.  David is also currently conducting fieldwork at the Dawson Site in central Utah.  This site contains the largest single collection of early Paleoindian artifacts in the state of Utah and likely represents several late Pleistocene occupations at an ancient spring and associated wetland.
Vita for Dr. Byers