Gregory Zaro

Dr. Gregory Zaro is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Climate Change at the University of Maine's Department of Anthropology. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico (2005), an M.A. from the University of Chicago (1998), and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin (1994). His research focuses on historical ecology, subsistence economies, and long-term landscape change in Andean South America, Mesoamerica, and the eastern Adriatic region.

Zaro co-directs the Nadin-Gradina Archaeological Project (NGAP) in Croatia, collaborating with the University of Zadar to integrate archaeological, historical, and modern environmental data. His work addresses contemporary challenges like urbanization and climate change through interdisciplinary frameworks combining archaeological evidence with GIS analysis and ethnohistorical methods.

His publications analyze urban land use patterns, ritual engineering in Maya cities, and the interplay between human agency and environmental transformation. Zaro's research highlights how past societies managed risk in marginal environments, offering insights into sustainability and resilience in the Anthropocene.