— The Archaeology of the Donner Party

Donald L. Hardesty is professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also has been Foundation Professor, chair of the anthropology department, and acting dean of the Graduate School. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Oregon and did undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include historical archaeology, mining history, the archaeology of overland emigration, and human ecology. Hardesty has done archaeological fieldwork for nearly 40 years in southern Mexico, Guatemala, the southeastern United States, and the American West including Alaska. Hardesty is the author or editor of seven books or monographs, including The Archaeology of Mining and Miners, The Archaeology of the Donner Party, and, most recently, Evaluating Site Significance: A Handbook for Archaeologists and Historians (with Barbara Little), along with many articles in scholarly journals. He is a past president of the Society for Historical Archaeology, past president of the Mining History Association, and past president of the Register of Professional Archaeologists. He also is a past member of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) Directorate for Arid Lands Ecosystems and is currently editing the archaeology section of the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems.