Dr. Matthew Bandy
How did early South American groups of people start a civilization? Who decided the early laws of the society and what role did religion play in shaping social values and mores? These are questions Dr. Matthew Bandy asks on a daily basis.
A former instructor at Stanford University and Santa Monica College, Bandy came to the Department of Anthropology as a short-term faculty member starting this fall. "I really liked the department; thought it was very solid and welcoming," said Bandy. He is working with approximately 30-40 undergraduate students on the archaeology of South America and with graduate students on early village life. "I focus mainly on early village society: when they first settled into agriculture with no laws or institutions and how they dealt with internal stress and conflict. Many used religious traditions to contain such conflict."
Bandy received his undergraduate degree from Stanford and his masters and doctoral degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. He recently published an article in the June 2004 issue of American Anthropologist. He and his wife, an archaeologist specializing in Peruvian anthropology, recently welcomed their first child, a son, to the family.
For more information, visit his Web site. |
