Izumi Shimada is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, with research interests in the archaeology of complex pre-Hispanic cultures in the Andes, the technology and organization of craft production (particularly ceramics, metals and shells), mortuary analysis, and ecology-culture interaction, among other topics. He has excavated at many sites including Pampa Grande, Pachacamac and Sicán and continues to direct two archaeological projects in Peru. He has authored or edited 16 books including Pampa Grande and the Mochica Culture (1994), Craft Production in Complex Societies (2007), andCultura Sicán: Esplendor Preinca de la Costa Norte (2013).