Ben Fitzhugh

Ben Fitzhugh is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington, part of the College of Arts & Sciences. He holds adjunct roles at the Burke Museum and affiliate positions in the Center for the Study of Demography and Ecology, Canadian Studies Center, Program on Climate Change, and Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. His research focuses on human-environmental dynamics, maritime hunter-gatherers in the North Pacific, and community-based archaeology in Kodiak, Alaska. He leads the Paleoecology of Subarctic Seas (PESAS) project and serves on the Oceans Past Initiative’s Governing Board.

Education: Ph.D. (1996), M.A. (1992), and B.A. (1989) in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and University of Washington respectively.

Research Interests: Arctic/Subarctic archaeology, climate change impacts, human demography, indigenous stewardship, and interdisciplinary paleoecological studies. His work integrates archaeology, paleoecology, and oral histories to explore resilience in coastal communities.

Notable Awards: Elsevier Endowed Professorship (2014–2021), JSPS Invitational Fellowship (2018), and Presidential Faculty Development Fellowship (2000–2001). His grants include NSF funding for the Kuril Biocomplexity Project and PESAS.

Grants & Advising: Supervised numerous doctoral students on topics like Aleutian-Kuril comparisons, Kodiak demography, and Okhotsk culture. Collaborates internationally on projects like the Old Harbor History and Archaeology Project.

Labs & Teams: Director of the Quaternary Research Center (2014–2021), co-leads the PESAS working group, and coordinates community archaeology initiatives with the Old Harbor Native Corporation.