Bio
Dr. Andrew D. Somerville is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University and Director of the Paleoecology Laboratory. His research explores the long-term relationships between humans, animals, plants, and environments, with a particular focus on ancient Mesoamerica. Using methods such as stable isotope analysis, osteology, radiocarbon dating, and geochemical sourcing, he investigates topics including the origins of agriculture, ancient diets, human mobility, environmental change, and the development of complex societies. He currently directs archaeological and paleoecological research projects in central Mexico and collaborates with colleagues, students, and international collaborators on interdisciplinary research spanning archaeology, ecology, and biological anthropology.
Courses Taught (Past & Present)
- Evolution of the Human Diet
- Biological Anthropology
- Human Origins
Research Areas
Selected Publications & Awards
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Somerville, Andrew D., Isabel Casar, Rocío Hernández-Flores, Francisco Otero, Edith Cienfuegos, Daniel Dalmas, Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales, Kent V. Flannery, Pedro Morales-Puente, and Laura E. Beramendi-Orosco. 2026. Multi-isotope analysis of mammal bones provides environmental context for the adoption of agriculture in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico. Science Advances, 12(10): eadw9222.
- Somerville, Andrew D. 2023. Human-Animal Interactions in the Pre-Colonial Americas: Insights from Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis. In Exploring Human Behavior through Isotope Analysis: Applications in Archaeological Research, edited by Melanie M. Beasley and Andrew D. Somerville, pp. 181–205. Springer, New York.
- Somerville, Andrew D., Ben A. Nelson, José Luis Punzo Díaz, and Margaret J. Schoeninger. 2022. Combining Indices and Isotopes to Explore Social-Environmental Change in Northwest Mesoamerica: A Multi-Method Study in Environmental Zooarchaeology. In Zooarchaeology and Isotopes, edited by Ashley Sharpe and John Krigbaum, pp. 44–68. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
- Somerville, Andrew D., Isabel Casar, and Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales. 2021. New AMS Radiocarbon Dates from the Lowest Levels of Coxcatlan Cave, Puebla, Mexico: A Pleistocene Occupation of the Tehuacan Valley? Latin American Antiquity, 32(3): 1–15. Somerville, Andrew D., and Nawa Sugiyama. 2021. Why Were New World Rabbits Not Domesticated? Animal Frontiers, 11(3): 62–68.
AWARDS
- 2026 – Lange Faculty Excellence Award, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University
- 2022 – Award for Early Achievements in Research, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University