John Millhauser

Bio

I’m an anthropologist who studies the material and cultural dimensions of economies past and present.

My research explores how people mobilize labor and resources at different scales, from individual households to expansive imperial economies. I focus particularly on central Mexico during the Aztec and Spanish Empires, examining how economic activities connected local producers, market systems, and state institutions. A key part of my work involves studying the production, distribution, and use of commodities such as cotton, obsidian, and salt—materials that played essential roles in Mesoamerican economies. Cotton functioned as both a raw material and a form of tribute, linking rural producers to imperial taxation systems and long-distance trade. Obsidian, a vital resource for making tools, reveals patterns of craft production, resource control, and exchange networks spanning vast regions. Salt, a fundamental dietary necessity and preservative, was produced in specialized locations and circulated widely, reflecting state efforts to regulate essential goods. By combining archaeology, historical records, and scientific methods, I investigate how people navigated economic structures, shaped their livelihoods, and contributed to broader economic networks through work, production, and exchange.

I also investigate the cultural and political dimensions of economies, exploring aspects such as debt, well-being, risk, and finance. My work on well-being in economic anthropology examines how economic systems shape people’s access to resources, social security, and overall quality of life. As a guest editor for a recent issue of Economic Anthropology on well-being and the common good, I assembled a collection of new research that showcases how different societies define and pursue well-being, balancing economic decision-making with social obligations, environmental stewardship, and collective care. I analyze how individuals and households navigate economic uncertainty, using archaeological and historical data to understand how communities build resilience in the face of economic stress. As a guest editor for the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, I curated an article collection on the archaeology of money, debt, and finance, examining how economic institutions shape social structures and influence power dynamics.

Additionally, I study how human societies interact with their environments and manage natural resources over time. By examining how past societies in Mesoamerica controlled land, water, and other resources, I draw connections to contemporary conservation issues. This interdisciplinary approach combines archaeology with ecology and conservation biology to highlight the long-term impacts of human activity on ecosystems and inform current efforts to address environmental challenges sustainably. My recent work on climate change and cultural landscapes builds on this foundation, particularly through a National Park Service-funded project, Cultural Landscapes Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments at Mid-Atlantic Battlefield Park Units. As a co-PI alongside Jelena Vukomanovic and Erin Seekamp in the College of Natural Resources, and Kofi Boone in the College of Design, I am contributing to the assessment of how climate change is affecting historically significant landscapes. This research ties economic history to contemporary environmental challenges, analyzing how resource management decisions—both past and present—shape the resilience of these landscapes in the face of climate change.

Beyond my work in Mesoamerica, I engage in community-based archaeology that connects economic anthropology to contemporary issues of heritage, memory, and social justice. Through my work with Friends of Oberlin Village and the Mordecai Historic Park, I examine how historical economic systems—including slavery, land ownership, and labor—have shaped modern communities and their access to resources. In these projects, I have participated as part of interdisciplinary teams including Dru McGill and Alicia McGill in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Del Bohnenstiehl in the College of Sciences. These projects highlight the persistence of economic inequality and the ways in which historical narratives influence present-day experiences of well-being, identity, and economic opportunity. By collaborating with local communities and public institutions, I work to uncover and interpret these histories in ways that foster resilience and inform policy in the face of contemporary challenges.

A key component of my research involves the application of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to the study of archaeological materials, particularly obsidian and ceramics. As a specialist in archaeometry, I use XRF to analyze the elemental composition of artifacts, providing insights into sourcing, trade networks, and technological practices. My work has contributed to numerous projects in Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States. Students have the opportunity to train in this technique and apply it to their own research in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology’s Archaeology Lab. I co-manage the XRF instrument in collaboration with Ethan Hyland in the College of Sciences, ensuring that this technology remains accessible for both research and student training. Through these efforts, I integrate scientific techniques with archaeological inquiry, fostering a methodological approach that enhances our understanding of past economies and material culture.

Inquiries about XRF analyses can be directed to me or the Paleo³ Research Group.

I am a series editor for Elements in Anthropological Archaeology in the 21st-Century published by Cambridge University Press. As part of the editorial team, I help to identify and support authors whose work touches on three themes: 1. new methods and technologies producing fresh understandings of the past; 2. theoretical approaches challenging basic concepts and offering new insights; 3. archaeological responses for the 21st century providing informed choices for the present. If you are interested contributing to this series, please feel free to write for more information.

Recent Publications

2024 Millhauser, John K. Producing Communities: Salt-Making in Late Postclassic and Early Colonial Mexico. World Archaeology, 1–17.

2024 Millhauser, John K. How are you, anthropology? Reflections on well-being and the common good. Economic Anthropology 11(2): 159–67.

2024 Millhauser, John K. and Joanne Baron. “Money and Metaphysics among the Maya and Aztec.” In J.J. Tinguely (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Money: Volume 1: Ancient and Medieval Thought. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 159–80.

2024 Millhauser, John K., Andrea Torvinen, Camilo Mireles, Verenice Heredia-Espinosa, and Ben Nelson. “Assembling Value in Mesoamerica.” In S. Hutson and C. Golden (eds.), Realizing Value in Mesoamerica: The Dynamics of Desire and Demand. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 109–37.

2023 Millhauser, John K. “Slow Violence and Vulnerability in the Basin of Mexico.” In C. Cordova and C. Morehart (eds.), The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico, University Press of Colorado, pp. 348–66.

2023 Bohnenstiehl, Del, Dru McGill, John K. Millhauser, Alicia McGill, Vincent Melomo, and John Wall. A geospatial and archaeological investigation of an African American cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. Archaeological Prospection.

2022 Millhauser, John K., and Timothy Earle. Biodiversity and the Human Past: Lessons for Decolonizing Conservation. Biological Conservation, 272: 109599.

2021 Baron, Joanne, and John Millhauser. A place for archaeology in the study of money, finance, and debt. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 62: 101278.

Recent Public Scholarship

2022 How Can Societies Decolonize Conservation? September 18. Sapiens, with Tim Earle.

2019 Landscapes of Care: Affect and Emotion in the 16th-Century Testimonies of the Congregation of Xaltocan. Engagement, a blog of the Anthropology and Environment Society.

Oberlin Village and Mordecai Historic Park

• Excavation at Mordecai Historic Park reveals Raleigh’s nuanced past (Technician, October 29, 2024)
• She works to make sure that Oberlin Village and its Raleigh legacy are never forgotten (News & Observer, April 24, 2024)
• Oberlin Village: A forgotten part of Raleigh’s Black History (CBS17, June 19, 2020)
• Volunteers Come Together to Clean Up Historic Oberlin Cemetery (Spectrum News, October 19, 2019)
• Oberlin Village Inches Closer to Becoming a Historic District (News & Observer, June 7, 2017)
• Black Lives Forum – Oberlin: Freedman’s Village (UNC TV, January 15, 2017)
• Revealing the Past at Oberlin Cemetery (NC State News, September 21, 2016)
• Community Brightens the Oberlin Cemetery. (NC State Technician, November 20, 2016)
• This work is also documented in John Wall’s StoryMap about the Oberlin Cemetery Project, hosted by ESRI.