December 11, 2024

Congratulations to the individuals, projects, and publications that received AIA Awards. They will be formally recognized at the 2025 AIA Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the 126th Annual Meeting. We have contacted this year’s winners to gather insights about their projects, experiences, and what inspired them to pursue a career in archaeology.

Michael Galaty (University of Michigan)

Award: Anna Marguerite McCann Award for Fieldwork Reports

Project Description: Northern Albania is a region of key archaeological and historical importance, home to large castles and wealthy tombs. It is also a great place to study how and why human society in this part of the world shifted towards greater inequality through time.

What drew you to archaeology?

As a kid, I always wanted to be an archaeologist, without really knowing what that meant. Once in college, I majored in anthropology. I studied abroad in Greece and did a field school in Arizona. I loved the adventure that came with archaeology, but I also became more and more interested in what the past had to teach us about our present, about the origins of inequality, for example.

Tell us about your history with the AIA:

I have been an AIA member since the mid 1990s and have served on a number of AIA committees, including as chair of the program committee and as an academic trustee.

What’s next for you professionally?

I am currently directing the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology at Michigan, a post I have held since 2017. Once my term as director is over, I hope to get back to teaching and writing.

How did you get started on your project?

The PASH project began as a collaboration with my colleague Lorenc Bejko, from the University of Tirana, Albania. Shkodra, Albania is a fascinating archaeological region, and we wanted to survey it. It is home to numerous archaeological sites from all periods of the past, including impressive castles and wealthy tumulus burials, but these are all under threat as the city grows. It is also a perfect laboratory for studying changes in social complexity and inequality during the Bronze Age, which became a primary goal of the project.

I think it is worth emphasizing that the print field report is accompanied by an extensive online data archive. All of our data are available to anyone, open-access.

Questions? Learn more about AIA Awards here or reach out to awards@archaeological.org