Fumiyasu Arakawa (Ph.D. Washington State University, 2006) is the Associate Director of Research at the Indiana University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology (IUMAA) and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. Fumi worked at Crow Canyon in a variety of positions, including a laboratory analyst and a member of the Village Ecodynamics Project (VEP). He incorporates Crow Canyon and VEP data into his ongoing research into settlement patterns in southeastern Utah.
Fumi’s background is primarily in geology and lithic analyses, with further expertise in pottery temper analysis and archaeological methods and theories. His published research addresses topics including cultural trajectory, gender division of labor, migration, and exchange systems in ancient societies. His research interests include the prehistoric American Southwest, lithic technological organization, pottery in the Mesa Verde and Mimbres-Mogollon regions, and sociopolitical organization in small-scale agricultural societies. He is also interested in the philosophy and anthropology of Japanese and East Asian cultures. He has been conducting field projects in the southeastern Utah region and the Gila Forks near the Mimbres Valley area in southern New Mexico.