Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Peter Bogucki is an archaeologist (Ph.D. Harvard University, 1981) who serves as associate dean for undergraduate affairs of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University.    He studies the prehistoric societies of Europe and has a particular interest in the spread of farming and its consequences.  In addition to many visits to sites and museums throughout Europe, Bogucki has conducted excavations at Neolithic sites in Poland and participated in research that identified the earliest evidence for cheese production.  He has written several books, including Forest Farmers and Stockherders: Early Agriculture and its Consequences in North-Central Europe (Cambridge University Press, 1988), The Origins of Human Society (Blackwell, 1999), and Lost Civilizations: The Barbarians (Reaktion Books 2017), along with many articles and chapters in both scholarly and popular books and journals.  Lost Civilizations: The Barbarians was recognized with the 2018 Society for American Archaeology book prize in the Popular category and the 2021 Felicia A. Holton Award from the Archaeological Institute of America.   Bogucki is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.  As associate dean for undergraduate affairs, he has executive oversight of the academic progress and professional development of nearly 1,500 candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree.