About

Rowan K. Flad is the John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology at Harvard University, affiliated with the Department of Anthropology and the Peabody Museum. His research interests include Chinese archaeology, with a focus on the emergence and persistence of complex societies in the Sichuan Basin. He specializes in zooarchaeology, which involves the study of animal remains from archaeological sites to understand past human-animal interactions and societal developments. Dr. Flad's work contributes to the understanding of the historical development of regional societies in East Asia, particularly within China, through archaeological investigation and analysis.

Research topics

• Archaeology
• Geography
• Biology
• Ecology
• History
• Political Science
• Economics
• Ancient history
• Ethnology
• Forestry
• Economy

Selected publications

• Defining the CPAS Survey Area:

  2026-01-13

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS): Complete Activity Area Catalog (Chinese)

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-08

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This Chinese language document provides a comprehensive catalog of Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS) 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果 activity areas. The CPAS defined its activity areas (similar to “sites”) after data collection was complete. Though the survey was centered on known walled enclosures (the Gucheng and Yufucun sites), those known walled sites were not given precedence in the study of the data. Because the data from the CPAS used to make these areas is often drawn together from a large spread of collections and diffused through geomorphological conditions, the term activity areas was chosen because it is more general than the more defined and constrained “site”, and the discovery of the conventional elements of an archaeological site (structures, clearly defined scatter boundaries, topographic features) were a rare find on the CPAS. This catalog accompanies the published volume and online data publications: Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS): Results from 2005-2010 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果. Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey International Team 成都平原考古调查计划国际团队Cotsen Institute Press, 2025. Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS) 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果 https://opencontext.org/projects/968ea7e8-d521-4b4c-951c-01adcac7307f DOI: https://doi.org/10.6078/M7MS3QWC

  PublisherDOI

• Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing

  Current Anthropology · 2026-02-01

  article

  Disseminating research is a key component of scholarly labor, but the costs and benefits of the current structure of academic publishing are underexamined within anthropology. This paper brings together a range of authors from across archaeology and cultural anthropology to summarize current issues in archaeological publishing and offer potential interventions at multiple scales. The paper is divided into five core topics. “Ideology” discusses the relationship between publishing and academic history, gatekeeping, and the ideology of collaboration and coauthorship. “Publishing Dynamics in North America” covers intersections between identity, authorship, and citation practices, as well as gendered patterns in publishing. “Publishing Dynamics in Latin America” presents a case study of academic publishing in Brazil and Peru, highlighting the unique challenges for archaeologists based in the Global South. “Publishing Pathways” interrogates open science and data, standards for peer review and coauthorship, and the impact of different publishing models on individual researchers. Finally, “Media Coverage” investigates bias in popular media covering archaeological research and the monetization of scientific information. We conclude with a list of multiscalar interventions for authors, peer reviewers, editors, journals, departments, institutions, and granting agencies that will improve conditions for authors and readers, emphasizing strategies that lead to collaborative, reciprocal forms of knowledge production.

  PublisherDOI

• Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS): Complete Activity Area Catalog (Chinese)

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-08

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This Chinese language document provides a comprehensive catalog of Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS) 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果 activity areas. The CPAS defined its activity areas (similar to “sites”) after data collection was complete. Though the survey was centered on known walled enclosures (the Gucheng and Yufucun sites), those known walled sites were not given precedence in the study of the data. Because the data from the CPAS used to make these areas is often drawn together from a large spread of collections and diffused through geomorphological conditions, the term activity areas was chosen because it is more general than the more defined and constrained “site”, and the discovery of the conventional elements of an archaeological site (structures, clearly defined scatter boundaries, topographic features) were a rare find on the CPAS. This catalog accompanies the published volume and online data publications: Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS): Results from 2005-2010 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果. Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey International Team 成都平原考古调查计划国际团队Cotsen Institute Press, 2025. Chengdu Plain Archaeological Survey (CPAS) 成都平原考古调查: 2005-2010年成果 https://opencontext.org/projects/968ea7e8-d521-4b4c-951c-01adcac7307f DOI: https://doi.org/10.6078/M7MS3QWC

  PublisherDOI

• Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing Supplemental Materials

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-01-14

  articleOpen access

  These are the supplemental materials for Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing, to be published as a Forum on Public Anthropology in Current Anthropology in February 2026. Abstract: Disseminating research is a key component of scholarly labor, but the costs and benefits of the current structure of academic publishing are underexamined within anthropology. This paper brings together a range of authors from across archaeology and cultural anthropology to summarize current issues in archaeological publishing and offer potential interventions at multiple scales. The paper is divided into five core topics.“ Ideology” discusses the relationship between publishing and academic history, gatekeeping, and the ideology of collaboration and coauthorship.“ Publishing Dynamics in North America” covers intersections between identity, authorship, and citation practices, as well as gendered patterns in publishing. “Publishing Dynamics in Latin America” presents a case study of academic publishing in Brazil and Peru, highlighting the unique challenges for archaeologists based in the Global South. “Publishing Pathways” interrogates open science and data, standards for peer review and coauthorship, and the impact of different publishing models on individual researchers. Finally,“Media Coverage” investigates bias in popular media covering archaeological research and the monetization of scientific information. We conclude with a list of multiscalar interventions for authors, peer reviewers, editors, journals, departments, institutions, and granting agencies that will improve conditions for authors and readers, emphasizing strategies that lead to collaborative, reciprocal forms of knowledge production.

  PublisherDOI

• Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing Supplemental Materials

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-01-14

  articleOpen access

  These are the supplemental materials for Changing the Landscape of Archaeological Publishing, to be published as a Forum on Public Anthropology in Current Anthropology in February 2026. Abstract: Disseminating research is a key component of scholarly labor, but the costs and benefits of the current structure of academic publishing are underexamined within anthropology. This paper brings together a range of authors from across archaeology and cultural anthropology to summarize current issues in archaeological publishing and offer potential interventions at multiple scales. The paper is divided into five core topics.“ Ideology” discusses the relationship between publishing and academic history, gatekeeping, and the ideology of collaboration and coauthorship.“ Publishing Dynamics in North America” covers intersections between identity, authorship, and citation practices, as well as gendered patterns in publishing. “Publishing Dynamics in Latin America” presents a case study of academic publishing in Brazil and Peru, highlighting the unique challenges for archaeologists based in the Global South. “Publishing Pathways” interrogates open science and data, standards for peer review and coauthorship, and the impact of different publishing models on individual researchers. Finally,“Media Coverage” investigates bias in popular media covering archaeological research and the monetization of scientific information. We conclude with a list of multiscalar interventions for authors, peer reviewers, editors, journals, departments, institutions, and granting agencies that will improve conditions for authors and readers, emphasizing strategies that lead to collaborative, reciprocal forms of knowledge production.

  PublisherDOI

• CPAS “Activity Area” Catalog:

  2026-01-13

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Pyrotechnology and Gender in a Medieval China Borderland: A Song Dynasty Tile Kiln at Qijiaping

  Cambridge Archaeological Journal · 2025-07-17

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Abstract During the 2016 and 2017 fieldwork seasons at the site of Qijiaping in Guanghe County, Gansu Province, China, the team of the Tao River Archaeology Project excavated a large intact kiln. The kiln is well preserved, and the first of its kind reported in an archaeological excavation in this region. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that this was a roof tile kiln used during the Song period ( ad 960–1279), possibly associated with the construction and maintenance of defensive facilities during the time of Northern Song ( ad 1079–1127) occupation of the region— an era of conflict with the Western Xia ( ad 982–1227). Inside the flues of the kiln were many objects disposed of when the kiln was put out of commission. Among these objects is a stone phallus, an object that reflects a gendered aspect of technology and manufacturing associated with this kiln or its decommissioning and more broadly the gendered social landscape of the Tao River valley during the Northern Song occupation of the region.

  PublisherDOI

• Regional disparities in US media coverage of archaeology research

  Science Advances · 2025-07-02 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Mass media represents a primary avenue for research to reach diverse publics, but relatively few peer-reviewed scientific papers become popular science news. Numerous gatekeepers determine which research manuscripts complete this dissemination pathway, and the resulting media landscape influences public understandings of scientific fields. Here, we compare scientific and popular publishing of archaeology about different geographic regions. Of 1155 archaeology papers in one specialist and six general science journals across 6 years, 32% were reported by at least one of 15 US news sources. Mixed-effects logistic regression models revealed variation across news sources, but overall papers about archaeology in United Kingdom, Israel/Palestine, and Australia were significantly more likely to receive coverage, compared to China/Taiwan. This disparity raises concerns as archaeology influences notions of identity and cultural achievement, and has been misappropriated by racist, nationalist ideologies. We recommend ways for actors in research dissemination to diversify archaeology coverage.

  PublisherDOI

• Japanese Oracle Bone Divinations during the Yayoi to Heian Periods: A Review of Studies of the Last Seventy Years

  Asian perspectives · 2024-07-01

  reviewSenior author

  Although often thought to be mostly relevant to Bronze Age China, oracle bone divination also has a rich history in Japan, primarily documented through literature and ethnographic records. In recent decades, the discovery of oracle bones spanning from the Early Yayoi (1000-400 B.C.) to Heian (A.D. 794-1185) periods has opened new avenues for research in pyro-osteomancy. These archaeological findings provide fresh perspectives on the social and cultural influences on oracle bone divination in Japan and East Asia more broadly. In this study, we review the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological studies of oracle bone divination in Japan, offering a comprehensive overview of divination practices and their broader significance.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Shuicheng Li

  Sichuan University

  53 shared

• Jade d’Alpoim Guedes

  University of Washington

  46 shared

• Timothy J. Horsley

  Northern Illinois University

  43 shared

• Jiang Zhanghua

  38 shared

• Pochan Chen

  Yale University

  37 shared

• Gwen Bennett

  37 shared

• Kunyu He

  Shaanxi Normal University

  36 shared

• Zhibin Sun

  Hebei Agricultural University

  14 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Anthropology

  University of California, Berkeley

  1997

• M.A., Anthropology

  University of California, Berkeley

  1993

• B.A., Anthropology

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1990