Dr. Kantner is an anthropological archaeologist with a broad background in the social sciences. A native New Mexican, he has conducted both academic and cultural resource management archaeology in a variety of locations, from Costa Rica to Wyoming, and from California to Georgia, and his professional travels have taken him around the world. His doctoral degree in anthropology was earned at UC Santa Barbara, where he also gained extensive training in geography. After several years at Georgia State University, where he attained the position of Associate Professor, Dr. Kantner accepted an administrative faculty position at the renowned School for Advanced Research (formerly the School of American Research). At SAR, he continues his program of interdisciplinary research.

Human Decision-Making

Dr. Kantner's research is broadly focused on how cooperative and competitive behaviors stimulate increased sociopolitical complexity. Much of this work is derived from principles of evolutionary theory, especially through the specific areas of decision theory and human behavioral ecology, which look at processes of individual decision-making within group contexs. A particular interest of Dr. Kantner's is how biological evolution has shaped human decision-making to serve as an efficient proxy for natural selection, albeit, and most importantly, one that is easily distorted through cultural learning and readily manipulated by self-aware humans.

A particular arena of human activity that provides an excellent opportunity -- and fascinating challenge -- for applying these ideas is in the evolution of leadership. Considerations of social context, political behavior, and economic opportunities and limitations are all essential for understanding how the many different forms of leadership develop, making this research truly anthropological and interdisciplinary. Select the links at the left to learn more about this area of research.

Chaco Archaeology

To explore ideas about human behavior, the majority of Dr. Kantner's efforts are concentrated on understanding the development of the Chaco tradition of the American Southwest, which developed around the pilgrimage center of Chaco Canyon in what is now northwestern New Mexico. Dr. Kantner currently runs the Lobo Mesa Archaeological Project (LMAP), an extensive investigation of a 25,00-km2 area south of Chaco Canyon. LMAP is employing several different approaches -- including regional analysis and ceramic analysis -- to identify evidence of competition, leadership, and factionalism in Chaco-era Puebloan villages. Because many of the analytical approaches rely heavily on spatial information, LMAP takes advantage of the data management and analysis capabilities of Geographic Information Science. Select the links at the left to learn more about this area of research.