• Office: WRI B115
• Phone: 702 895 3912
• Fax: 702 895 4823
• Email (simmonsa@unlv.nevada.edu)
• Ph. D. : Southern Methodist University, 1980
• Curriculum Vitae
• Near East Archaeology Lab

Interests: Archaeology, arid lands adaptations, cultural resource management, paleo-economy, multidisciplinary research, Near Eastern and Mediterranean, Southwest, Great Basin.

Around 10,000 years ago, a momentous change occurred in society that has irreversibly affected the human condition. This was the transition from hunting and gathering economies to ones based on food production — the so-called Neolithic Revolution. While this apparently first occurred in the Near East, domestic economies developed independently at different times in other parts of the world as well. This was not only an economic transition, but a social one. With usually reliable food sources ensured, many cultures became more complex, ultimately leading to urban societies. The results of the Neolithic Revolution have shaped the modern world, both for better and for worse. Through the interdisciplinary study of the processes leading to food production, we not only obtain a better understanding of why this happened in the past, but also gain valuable insight into the present.