Lawrence H. Keeley
Lawrence H. Keeley (August 24, 1948 – October 11, 2017) was an American archaeologist best known for pioneering the field of microwear analysis of lithics. He is also known for his 1996 book, War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage. Keeley worked as a professor of archaeology at the University of Illinois Chicago. Early life Keeley was born and raised in Cupertino, California, where he attended Cupertino High School. After high school, he went on to earn his B.A. in Anthropology from San José State University in 1970. Keeley initially pursued graduate education at the University of Oregon, but his professors encouraged him to enroll in a British university. After transferring, Keeley earned his Ph.D. in Archaeology at the University of Oxford in 1977. Career Keeley had a short postdoctoral appointment at Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale in 1977. He began his academic career at the University of Illinois Chicago the following year. Keeley was promoted to assistant professor in 1984, and reached full professor in 1991. He retained this position until his 2014 retirement. Microwear Analysis Keeley's most noted contribution to the fields of Paleolithic archaeology and experimental archaeology was his development and defense of microwear analysis