Steven R. Simms
Anthropology
Professor Emeritus
Educational Background
1984, Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (Committee: J. F. O’Connell, K. Hawkes, E. L. Charnov).
1978, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1976, M.A. in Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno
1973, B.A. in Anthropology, Cum Laude. University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Emphasis
Archaeology of the American Desert West; archaeological method and theory; history and theory of anthropology; human evolutionary ecology; hunter-gatherers; pastoralists; ethnoarchaeology; food and culture; paleoecology; museums; fieldwork in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi; Southwest Asia (Jordan).
In retirement Professor Simms continues to write papers, serves as the Editor for the “Pioneers” section of the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, and serves on editorial boards. He is working on a second edition of his 2008 book, Ancient Peoples of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau.
Biography
Steven R. Simms is an emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Utah State University, Logan, Utah where he has taught from 1988 to 2018. He has done archaeological field work across the United States and in the Middle East for over 45 years. His areas of specialty are the prehistory of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, human behavioral ecology, and archaeological method and theory.
Simms has authored over 100 scientific publications, technical reports, and monographs. His books, Ancient Peoples of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau was published in 2008, and the award winning Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah was published in 2010. He has directed over 60 archaeological research projects, most in the context of Cultural Resource Management law and regulations. He served as President of the Great Basin Anthropological Association and editor of the journal Utah Archaeology, and is a Fellow of the Utah Professional Archaeological Council. He served on the Government Affairs Committee and as annual meeting Program Chair of the Society for American Archaeology. He is a member and an officer of the Register of Professional Archaeologists. He served on numerous government committees including the Utah Governors committee to draft the Utah version of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He served as an expert witness for the Bureau of Land Management in the case of Spirit Cave Man, Nevada.