Authors

Denise Schmandt-Besserat (“Stone Age Death Masks”), a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of How Writing Came About (The University of Texas, 1996). She has also written columns for Archaeology Odyssey on the origins of writing (“Signs of Life,” Origins, AO 05:01) and counting (“One, Two … Three,” Origins, AO 05:05). We are happy to welcome Professor Schmandt-Besserat as a new member of Archaeology Odyssey’s Editorial Advisory Board.

As a writer of fiction, Francine Prose (“Ferocious Elegance: The Mosaics of Sicily’s Villa Romana del Casale”) is the author of 10 novels—most recently Blue Angel (1997), a National Book Award finalist—and two collections of short stories. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s and The New Yorker.