Lehner, Joseph

UCLA

Research Topic: The Evolution of Metal Industries in Central Anatolia during the Bronze Age ca. 3000 – 1200 BC

Joseph (Seppi) Lehner did his BS in Anthropology and Geology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his PhD in Archaeology at the University of California – Los Angeles, finished just recently in June of 2015. Before coming to Koç, Seppi was an Alexander von Humboldt German Chancellor Fellow at the University of Tübingen and the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie. His dissertation, Cooperation, the Craft Economy, and Metal Technology during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Central Anatolia, examined the critical junctures of long distance trade and labor organization and how these develop alongside the evolution of regional centers. Seppi studied materials from two of the largest regional centers in central Anatolia, Boğazköy-Hattuša and Kerkenes Dağ, to better understand these processes here and how they compare to similar developments elsewhere in the ancient world. Dr.Lehner is also involved in the development of new archaeometric methods in microstructural, compositional, and isotopic analyses, in particular focusing on portable methods like pXRF, to help answer questions pertaining to human cultural evolution.