Donna M. Glowacki

Donna M. Glowacki is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, with concurrent affiliations as Research Associate at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Research Partner at Mesa Verde National Park, and Affiliated Faculty with Notre Dame's Environmental Change Initiative. Her 25+ years of archaeological research focuses on societal transformations among ancestral Pueblo peoples in the U.S. Southwest, particularly regional depopulation, migration patterns, and village formation dynamics.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology (2006), Arizona State University
• M.A. in Anthropology (1995), University of Missouri, Columbia
• B.A. in Anthropology and Zoology (1992), Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

Glowacki's research integrates ceramic and compositional analysis to examine socio-economic networks, sustainability practices, and settlement patterns in arid environments. She has conducted fieldwork at 89 major ancestral Pueblo sites in the Mesa Verde region, with current work analyzing ancient water management systems at Spruce Tree House and Far View Community (900-1290 CE) to understand adaptation strategies in high desert ecosystems. Her methodological approach bridges archaeological science with environmental anthropology.

Her book 'Living & Leaving: A Social History of Regional Depopulation in Thirteenth-century Mesa Verde' (University of Arizona Press) represents foundational scholarship in the field, while her 30+ peer-reviewed publications demonstrate sustained scholarly impact. Glowacki's research leadership includes directing the Mesa Verde Community Center survey (2009-2012) under the Village Ecodynamics Project and ongoing collaborations with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center on LiDAR mapping and community archaeology initiatives.