University of Oxford
School of Archaeology
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Dr Andrew Womack

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Postdoctoral Research Associate, China TRACER Project
andrew.womack@arch.ox.ac.uk

Andrew Womack is a postdoctoral research associate on the China TRACER Project at the University of Oxford. Since receiving his PhD from Yale University, Andrew has taught at the University of Toronto, McGill University, and Furman University, and held a postdoctoral research position at Stanford University. His research focuses on using survey, excavation, and ceramic analysis to explore economic and social organization in late Neolithic and Bronze Age northern China. 

As part of the Tao River Archaeological Project, Andrew led survey, excavation, and ceramic analysis of sites in northwestern China, revealing the tight-knit interaction networks and identities that likely contributed to the movement of goods and technologies along the proto-Silk Road. Expanding eastward, Andrew has undertaken research at the Bronze Age city of Shimao, the Shang Dynasty pottery production village of Guandimiao, and at Shang and Zhou Dynasty sites in Shandong Province. Results from these projects are published in PNAS, Archaeological Research in Asia, and the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports among other venues and have revealed complex traditions of ceramic production and interaction, shedding light on identity and economic organization across northern China. 

Most recently, Andrew has been working with Dr. Anke Hein on the Excavating Andersson Project, “re-excavating” early 20th century collections of Chinese materials held at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden. This work is not only providing insight into lifeways in early China but also making the collections accessible for researchers around the world. With the China TRACER Project, Andrew will build on his experience in China and Sweden with the goal of better understanding the complexities of social, political, and economic organization across Neolithic northern China.

Andrew’s publications are available here.