Assistant Professor of Anthropology
LSA Anthropology Department profile
LSA Museum of Anthropological Archeology Department Profile
Ventresca Miller Collaboratory
Dr. Ventresca Miller applies biomolecular techniques to investigate how shifts in food production intersect with the emergence of complex societies. As part of a multi-species anthropological approach, she examines the mechanisms fueling urbanization including residential mobility, settlement provisioning, and the adoption of domesticates such as millet and livestock. Although focused on Central and Inner Asia, her work has global implications as it integrates science and anthropology to intercede in narratives that consider pastoralists inherently nomadic and lacking urbanization. Through novel isotopic and proteomic methods, her work provides nuanced interpretations of key transitions in human societies, including the adoption of cultigens, disease transmission, and the spread of dairying.
