J.R. Pournelle

J.R. (Jennifer) Pournelle is an archaeologist and anthropologist who reconstructs landscapes surrounding ancient cities. A Distinguished Research Professor Emerita of the University of South Carolina's Environment and Sustainability program, and past Mesopotamian Fellow of the American School of Oriental Research, her research in Turkey, Iraq, and the Caucasus has been featured in Science Magazine, The New York Times, on The Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Television Network, PBS-NOVA, Channel Four, and other media. In a former life, she received numerous decorations for service as a United States Army intelligence officer and arms control negotiator. Her first book of poetry, Excavations, A City Cycle, drew from that experience, and won the South Carolina Poetry Initiative Book Prize. She now resides in Lunigiana, Italy.