Yuchao Zhao, PhD
Lecturer
Assistant Curator of Anthropology, The Field Museum
Anthropology, Archaeology
Pronouns: He/him
Email:
Related Sites:
About
I am an anthropological archaeologist specializing in hunter-gatherer societies. My research explores deep time human responses to challenging environments and climatic fluctuations, with a particular emphasis on East Asia. Chronologically, my work spans from Middle Pleistocene hominins (including Homo erectus and Denisovans) to late Holocene Homo sapiens.
My scholarship centers on how past environmental changes and cultural interactions influenced long-term economic and social trajectories of East Asian foragers living in extreme ecosystems. Geographically, my research focuses on marginal environments, including the arid Chinese Loess Plateau, the elevated Tibetan Plateau, and the high-latitude regions of Northeast Asia.
As curator at Field Museum, I oversee the East Asian Anthropology collection, which comprises nearly 48,000 objects, primarily from China, Japan, and Korea. In addition to my research and curatorial responsibilities, I serve as a lecturer and graduate advisor at the University of Illinois–Chicago, where I actively mentor students in archaeology and anthropological science.
Prospective students are welcome to reach out via email.
Education
PhD in Anthropology from University of Michigan, 2022
M.St. from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2015
BA in Archaeology from Jilin University, 2012