Roderick B. Campbell

Roderick B. Campbell is a Professor of East Asian Archaeology and History at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) within New York University. His research focuses on the Chinese Bronze Age, particularly the Anyang period (ca. 1250-1050 BCE), exploring themes such as violence in early complex polities, historiography, visual culture, and ancient economies. He holds a dual PhD from Harvard University in Anthropology (Archaeology) and East Asian Languages and Civilizations (Chinese History).

Professor Campbell has held post-doctoral positions at ISAW (NYU), Brown University’s Joukowsky Institute, and Merton College (Oxford University). He has secured grants and fellowships from organizations including the Canadian Social Sciences and Research Council, Luce-ACLS, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, and the Wenner Gren Foundation.

His fieldwork involves collaborative archaeological projects in China focusing on reconstructing Shang political economy, with a current emphasis on zooarchaeology and bone-working practices. He serves on NYU’s PhD Admissions Committee and has authored or edited works such as Violence, Kinship and the Early Chinese State (2018) and Archaeology of the Chinese Bronze Age (2014).

His research spans interdisciplinary topics including Shang ontology, early Chinese economies, and comparative studies of complex societies. Campbell’s work bridges archaeological material analysis with historical interpretation to illuminate the socio-political dynamics of ancient East Asia.