Lisa Janz

Lisa Janz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, specializing in Archaeology with a focus on Central and North Asia, East Asia, and North America. Her research explores human-animal relationships, landscape palaeoecology, and technological evolution during the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age periods.

• PhD in Anthropology (University of Arizona, 2012)
• MA in Anthropology (University of Arizona, 2006)
• BA in Anthropology (McGill University, 2003)

Her work investigates long-term cultural trajectories among hunter-gatherers in northern latitudes and arid environments, particularly examining how climate change influenced transitions to sedentism and herding. Key themes include Holocene wetland utilization, aurochs management theories, and the role of ostrich eggshell in understanding megafaunal extinctions.

Recent publications highlight her contributions to Gobi Desert archaeology, including studies on desertification resilience, Neolithic plant exploitation techniques, and the global significance of prehistoric land use. She emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches combining zooarchaeology, lithics analysis, and palaeoecological modeling.

• SSHRC Grant
• Wenner-Gren Foundation Support
• National Geographic Funding
• American Philosophical Society Award
• ACLS/Henry Luce Fellowship

As co-founder of the Gobi-Steppe Neolithic research collective, she explores prehistoric interregional relations and social change in the Gobi Desert. Her laboratory collaborates with international researchers in Mongolia and Northeast China, examining how humans adapted to environmental shifts without agricultural systems.