Note: This is a hybrid event! We invite you to join us in-person at the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge, 150 Jewell Street Santa Cruz, 95060, or via Zoom (see below for Zoom registration form)!

Join SCAS for a presentation by Dr. Emily Smith on: “A Mouthful of Archaeology: Oral Health During the Early Bronze Age in Anatolias.”

DATE: Thursday, October 1, 2026

TIME: 7:30 – 8:30 PM (Pacific)

ZOOM REGISTRATION FORM: Meeting Registration – Zoom RSVP for Zoom by 6:30 PM on Thursday, October 1, 2026

The Early Bronze Age in Anatolia is recognized as a transformative period of increased social stratification, urbanization, and socioeconomic shifts. While substantial archaeological evidence traces these characteristics of the Early Bronze Age, there remains a deficit in bioarchaeological evidence supporting this discussion. Ms. Smith’s research seeks to fill this gap by investigating oral health. Her research demonstrates how dental anthropology is vital in understanding the relationships between diet, social structure, and complex cultural and economic changes during the Early Bronze Age in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor.

Emily Smith is the new Laboratory Operations and Facilities Manager for the Anthropology Department at UC Santa Cruz. She recently earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests focus on oral health disparities, where the majority of her work has looked at health variations during the rise of city-states in Anatolia, in modern day Turkey, during the Early Bronze Age.