Theo Chiang - Founder
Theo Chiang is a high school student in the Bay Area excited to expand the field of archaeology. He hopes to help others explore the field in the coming years through Excavation Nations. From working with the Stanford Earth Youth Investigators analyzing extinction trends in Paleozoic specimens to excavating Late Woodland era structures in rural Illinois, Theo loves seeing how all aspects of history intertwine to form the human story. His specific area of interest, however, is technology in early hominids. This includes lithic technologies, early diet, culture, and language. He is currently conducting independent research examining education in US archaeology, mentored by Dr. AJ White and Dr. Jason King. Outside of archaeology, he spends most of his time rowing with Norcal Crew or photographing antique automobiles. Contact Theo at theo@excavationnations.org to talk or request a CV. Happy excavating!
Oran Terra - technical officer
Oran Terra has been interested in history for many years along with Theo. He is particularly interested in the history of technology and loves looking at how humanity has learned to manipulate energy more and more efficiently over millennia. He has also investigated many ways in which technology has been applied to archaeology using techniques such as LiDar and magnetometry to analyze archaeological sites more comprehensively. Outside of history, Oran enjoys driving and working on his 1987 e25i bmw, undergoing woodworking projects, and running. Happy excavating!
Dhruv Chinmay - outreach supervisor
As of Fall 2021, Dhruv Chinmay is a junior at the Nueva School in San Mateo. He is passionate about all spheres of history, although he has spent the most time with Anglo-European history, especially during the viking age. The topography and cultural background of this region led the viking civilizations to become unique in comparison to European counterparts. With Theo, he has looked at many aspects of the vikings and contributed useful information for Theo's 3d modeling project on viking ships with Oran. In Dhruv's spare time, he has put together many lengthy papers about interactions of Northern European cultures. He also enjoys competing in swimming, building robots, learning about geography, soccer, and running my trivia club at school. Happy excavating!
Mentors
Dr. Christopher Lowman – Advisor
Christopher Lowman is a lecturer at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine. Since his first meeting with Theo discussing technological applications in archaeology and survey techniques, Dr. Lowman has been immensely helpful in allowing Excavation Nations to contribute more to the field of archaeology. In his individual work, he studies the asian diaspora and colonialism. He has worked at sites such as the Asian arboretum quarters at Stanford University. In his podcast episode with EN Cast, he discussed how the acknowledgement of communities could better the field of archaeology.Through their perspectives, discoveries are not only more inclusive, but also more efficient and factually accurate.
Christine Lee – Advisor
Christine Lee is a professor at Cal State. In her work, she specializes in osteoarchaeology and paleoarchaeology. She has worked in numerous sites globally, some of the most notable being located in Mongolia and China where she studies early asian ethnic groups. Through projects such as the analysis of ancient craniums and ancient diseases, she has rediscovered much of the region's ancestral history. Dr. Christine Lee is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and a TED Global Fellow. Listen to her podcast _ or her podcast episode on EN Cast to learn more about her!
Dr. John Rick – Advisor
Dr. John Rick is an emeritus professor at Stanford University in the anthropology department. He has dedicated his career to the world heritage site of Chavín de Huántar site in Peru. Here, he and his team study how an ancient civilization utilized clever engineering to manipulate light and sound to support a religion and create authority. Using modern technology, they are able to analyze Chavín de Huántar's unique acoustics and architectural characteristics. Dr. Rick has also done work in other sites such as in agricultural sites in the American southwest. He has many publications, many of which are included in Excavation Nations' recommended literature section under resources. Listen to his podcast episode with EN Cast on Spotify!
Nicolas Zwyns – Advisor
