World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Social Sciences and Humanities

D-Index
60
Citations
12754
World Ranking
1479
National Ranking
706

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2005 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

Gary M. Feinman is affiliated with the Field Museum of Natural History in the United States. Their research primarily spans social sciences and earth and planetary sciences, with a notable focus on paleontology, sociology and political science, archeology, anthropology, and economics and econometrics.

The main topics of Feinman's work include archaeology and ancient environmental studies, culture, economy, and development studies, Latin American history and culture, historical economic and social studies, archaeology and rock art studies, Pacific and Southeast Asian studies, and evolutionary game theory and cooperation.

Feinman has published extensively in several academic venues. Frequent publication outlets include:

  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
  • Frontiers in Political Science
  • Frontiers in Human Dynamics
  • Archaeological Research in Asia

Among recent papers authored or co-authored by Feinman are:

  • "Navigating polycrisis: long-run socio-cultural factors shape response to changing climate," 2023, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
  • "Excising culture history from contemporary archaeology," 2020, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
  • "Disentangling the evolutionary drivers of social complexity: A comprehensive test of hypotheses," 2022, Science Advances
  • "Rise of the war machines: Charting the evolution of military technologies from the Neolithic to the Industrial Revolution," 2021, PLoS ONE
  • "Assessing Classic Maya multi-scalar household inequality in southern Belize," 2021, PLoS ONE

Feinman's frequent collaborators include Linda M. Nicholas, Richard E. Blanton, Stephen A. Kowalewski, Amy E. Thompson, and Adam S. Green.

In addition to journal articles, Feinman has published several books primarily with Cambridge University Press and BAR Publishing eBooks. Titles published with Cambridge University Press include:

  • Collective Action and the Reframing of Early Mesoamerica, 2024
  • Power from Below in Premodern Societies, 2021
  • Power and Regions in Ancient States, 2022
  • Ancient Oaxaca, 2022

Books published with BAR Publishing eBooks include:

  • Beyond Death, 2022
  • Domestic Multicrafting for Exchange at Prehispanic Ejutla, Oaxaca, Mexico, 2024

Feinman received recognition as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2005.

Best Publications

  • A Dual-Processual Theory for the Evolution of Mesoamerican Civilization

    Richard E. Blanton;Gary M. Feinman;Stephen A. Kowalewski;Peter N. Peregrine

  • Ancient Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Change in Three Regions

    Richard E. Blanton;Stephen A. Kowalewski;Gary Feinman;Jill Aappel

  • Archaeological assessment reveals Earth’s early transformation through land use

    Lucas Stephens;Dorian Fuller;Nicole Boivin;Torben Rick

  • 2 – Too Many Types: An Overview of Sedentary Prestate Societies in the Americas

    Gary Feinman;Jill Neitzel

  • The Mesoamerican World System

    Richard Blanton;Gary Feinman

  • Greater post-Neolithic wealth disparities in Eurasia than in North America and Mesoamerica

    Timothy A. Kohler;Timothy A. Kohler;Timothy A. Kohler;Michael E. Smith;Amy Bogaard;Amy Bogaard;Gary M. Feinman

  • Quantitative historical analysis uncovers a single dimension of complexity that structures global variation in human social organization.

    Peter Turchin;Thomas E. Currie;Harvey Whitehouse;Pieter François

  • Cooperation and Collective Action in the Cultural Evolution of Complex Societies

    David M. Carballo;Paul Roscoe;Gary M. Feinman

  • Foundations of social inequality

    T. Douglas Price;Gary M. Feinman

  • The Emergence of Inequality A Focus on Strategies and Processes

    Gary M. Feinman

  • Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period

    Gary M. Feinman

  • Monte Alban's Hinterland, Part I: The Prehispanic Settlement Patterns of the Central and Southern Parts of the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

    Richard E. Blanton;Stephen A. Kowalewski;Gary Feinman;Jill Appel

  • Preindustrial Markets and Marketing: Archaeological Perspectives

    Gary M. Feinman;Christopher P. Garraty

  • The Emergence of Inequality

    Gary M. Feinman

  • Social Differentiation and Leadership Development in Early Pithouse Villages in the Mogollon Region of the American Southwest

    Kent G. Lightfoot;Gary M. Feinman

  • Monumentality and the Rise of Religious Authority in Precontact Hawai'i [and Comments and Reply]

    Michael J. Kolb;Ross Cordy;Timothy Earle;Gary Feinman

  • Complexities of collapse: the evidence of Maya obsidian as revealed by social network graphical analysis

    Mark Golitko;James Meierhoff;Gary M. Feinman;Patrick Ryan Williams

  • Political Hierarchies and Organizational Strategies in the Puebloan Southwest

    Gary M. Feinman;Kent G. Lightfoot;Steadman Upham

  • Archaeology at the Millennium: A Sourcebook

    Gary M. Feinman;T. Douglas Price

  • Ancient Oaxaca: The Monte Alban State

    Richard E. Blanton;Gary M. Feinman;Stephen A. Kowalewski;Linda M. Nicholas

  • Archaeological perspectives on political economies

    Gary M. Feinman;Linda M. Nicholas

  • Pottery and people : a dynamic interaction

    James M. Skibo;Gary M. Feinman

Frequent Co-Authors

T. Douglas Price
T. Douglas Price University of Wisconsin–Madison
Michael E. Smith
Michael E. Smith Arizona State University
Amy Bogaard
Amy Bogaard University of Oxford
Timothy Earle
Timothy Earle Northwestern University
Kent V. Flannery
Kent V. Flannery University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Joyce Marcus
Joyce Marcus University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Harvey Whitehouse
Harvey Whitehouse University of Oxford
Ian Hodder
Ian Hodder Stanford University
Kees Klein Goldewijk
Kees Klein Goldewijk Utrecht University
Torben C. Rick
Torben C. Rick National Museum of Natural History

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Social Sciences and Humanities can open doors to diverse and rewarding careers. The rise of online education makes it easier than ever to pursue specialized degrees while balancing work and family commitments. If you're interested in helping individuals and communities, a degree in counseling is a popular choice. Many students now opt for cacrep accredited online masters counseling programs to gain the credentials required for licensure and professional success.

For those focused on supporting couples and families, online marriage and family therapy graduate programs provide a flexible pathway to this growing field. Similarly, pursuing a psychology online degree prepares students for a variety of roles in research, advocacy, and mental health services.

Social work continues to have a significant impact in communities, and accessible msw online programs enable more students to enter the profession. Whether you're just starting out or seeking to advance your career, online degrees in these areas can offer the flexibility and accreditation you need to succeed.

Best Scientists Citing Gary M. Feinman

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles