Carl P. Lipo

Carl Lipo's (born April 24, 1965) interest in archaeology stems from his early fascination with the prehistoric earthen mounds that are scattered in and around his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. These monuments led him to focus in archaeology as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. From the Woodlands of Wisconsin, his interests expanded to include research in Greece, India and Pakistan. Later, he did my doctoral training at the University of Washington and began to explore scientific frameworks for explaining the historical events that comprise the archaeological record. His dissertation was completed in 2000 and focused on the emergence of social complexity through the study of cultural transmission among late prehistoric populations n the central Mississippi River valley. His research centers on the use of evolutionary theory to generate scientific explanations about human cultural change in the archaeological record. Lipo is a Professor of Anthropology at California State University Long Beach. His most recent work involved developing methods for studying patterns of change caused by cultural transmission and the process of natural selection in cultural systems. As part of this focus, Lipo began working in an area famously known for an archaeological record rich in these kinds of artifacts: Rapa Nui or Easter Island. In collaboration with Dr. Terry Hunt of the University of Hawai’i, he has documented the unique series of cultural events the led to the spectacular prehistory of this remarkable island.