Research
My research focuses on the stone age colonization of North America. I have worked on archaeological excavations and extended experiments in Ohio, Colorado, Texas, the Republic of Georgia, Turkey, Tanzania, China, Ireland, England, Denmark, and soon, in France, India, and New Mexico (for details, see my CV).
A long term project of mine has been the analysis of the Paleo Crossing (33ME274) stone tool assemblage. Paleo Crossing is an important and enigmatic Paleoindian occupation in Medina County, Ohio. While some preliminary reports are available (see Publications), a monograph is planned which will present the entire assemblage in full, with ample illustrations. A good portion of work on Paleo Crossing was possible due to the generous funding of the Cleveland Archaeological Society (a chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, AIA) and their Internship Program.
I also enjoy studying stone age lithic technologies, and replicating them through flintknapping. Additionally I have done research and experimentation on the effects of abrupt climate change on late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, on the efficiency of Middle Paleolithic discoidal technology versus Upper Paleolithic blade technology, and the taphonomic effects of butchering on fish skeletal remains. Though by no means an artist, I also enjoy lithic illustration (though my inking certainly needs some work).
My research has benefited from the influence and help of many people, but the support of my family (Mustafa Eren, Kathleen Eren, and Nimet Eren) is paramount. Any success I have had or will have is due to their support and encouragement.
Biography
I'm not exactly sure what caused me to become interested in archaeology at a young age, but by 16 years old, I wanted to try it out. I was inspired by my high school biology and history teachers, Joseph Popelka and Father Lawrence Ober, S.J., to be passionate about my studies into science and history, and archaeology probably seemed like the most logical fit. I decided to go to an exotic location for my first excavation experience: Mesoamerica, Egypt, China. However, my mother wasn't too keen on that idea. So, it was lucky that she happened to notice an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about excavations in Northeast Ohio by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) Archaeology Department. She suggested that I try this out since it was "a bit closer to home." I approached Dr. Brian Redmond, Curator of Archaeology at CMNH, about the possibility of participating in the field school, and he welcomed me along that summer of 2000.
I had an absolute blast, and, in large part to Brian Redmond's (and others, mentioned below) teaching and help over the years, have not looked back since. Two other archaeologists at CMNH, Mark Kollecker and Jim Bowers, introduced me to the field of experimental archaeology and flintknapping - I can credit my fascination with lithic technologies to their initial instruction and advice.
I was fortunate to be accepted to Harvard College in 2001, and faced another fork in the road. I applied to and was accepted to both Prof. William Fash's Freshman Seminar on the Maya and Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef's Freshman Seminar on the Neolithic Revolution. After discussing my interests with Prof. Fash, he recommended that I take Prof. Bar-Yosef's class. With only 5 people in the seminar, I got to know Prof. Bar-Yosef well enough to ask him at the end of the semester if there were any undergraduate lab openings in the Anthropology Department. He looked at me and simply said, "You should work for me."
For the next four years, Prof. Bar-Yosef provided me with some incredible experiences organizing the Stone Age Laboratory collections, working in the field abroad, learning and experimenting with Paleolithic stone tool technologies and flintknapping, and helping me publish my first scientific articles. My four years in the Stone Age Laboratory are some of my fondest, and I made some great friends there. However, two key influences on my academic growth were Prof. Daniel Adler (University of Connecticut) and Prof. Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo (Complutense University). Prof. Adler gave countless hours to me, showing me all aspects of lithic technology (and reading/editing my entire 256 page senior thesis!) - his thorough approach to archaeological research and commitment to teaching is something I have tried to emulate. Prof. Doming-Rodrigo's kindness and "push-the-envelope" research attitude is an example I have also tried to follow. He and I spent many memorable nights at John Harvard's Pub and Herrell's Ice Cream (beer for dinner, ice-cream for dessert), and many weekends conducting experiments in Harvard's Flintknapping Lab, trying to figure out the Estimated Reduction Percentage (ERP, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science). He also provided me with an incredible trip to Tanzania to work on three excavations - I hope to run my own excavations in such a professional, efficient, and scientifically rigorous manner.
One day during the Spring of 2004 (my junior year), Prof. Bar-Yosef gave me a call to come to the Stone Age Laboratory immediately - Prof. David Meltzer (Southern Methodist University, SMU) was there! Since I was writing my senior thesis on Paleoindian unifacial scrapers, this was a perfect opportunity for me to discuss my research with a Paleoindian researcher and North American archaeologist. I had been sleeping when I received the phone call, and was a bit ill, but I ran to Lab in the rain. After getting some great feedback from Prof. Meltzer and exchanging contact information, he left Cambridge and I went back to sleep. Little did I know how important that meeting would turn out to be!
When it came time to apply to graduate schools, I was encouraged by numerous people to go to England. However, I had really enjoyed my discussions and subsequent contact with Prof. Meltzer, and thought highly of the way he approached archaeology. So, I called him and asked him if SMU would be a good fit - after talking for awhile, we both agreed it would be. SMU was the only graduate school I ended up applying to, and it has been a wonderful experience thus far. In addition to working with Prof. Meltzer, I was also able to learn much from the wisdom, advice, and teachings of Prof. C. Garth Sampson on all aspects of archaeology - from the science of the field to final publication. I was fortunate to win a National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, which I am using in part to go to the University of Exeter in England (2007-2008) for a second M.A. degree in Experimental Archaeology, under Prof. Bruce Bradley. My Exeter M.A. dissertation research is focusing on Levallois lithic reduction. After this, I will return to SMU and complete my PhD on Clovis and the Peopling of the New World.