James Osborne is an archaeologist who works in the eastern Mediterranean and ancient Near East focusing on the Bronze and Iron Ages. He concentrates especially on Anatolia, a region that is today within the Republic of Turkey, during the late second and early first millennium BCE. Most of James’ publications have concentrated on the intersection of space and power, using analysis of Anatolian monumental buildings, cities, and settlement patterns during the Iron Age as his primary subject matter. Methodologically, he incorporates quantitative methods like GIS, space syntax, and geochemical ceramic analysis with native historical and iconographic sources.

James has recently completed a monograph titled The Syro-Anatolian City-States: An Iron Age Culture. The book provides a synthetic overview of the Syro-Anatolian world by focusing on a number of relevant themes, including relations with Assyria and Mesopotamia, migration and cultural mobility, and conceptions of space and place. A general interest in spatial theory and its relationship with political authority has led to two edited volumes, one titled Approaching Monumentality in Archaeology (SUNY Press, 2014), and one titled Territoriality in Archaeology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), co-edited with Parker VanValkenburgh.

For more details on his research and publications, please visit his profile page at the University of Chicago.