James E. Snead grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has been involved with Southwest archaeology since the 1980s. His research interests focus on the northern Rio Grande valley, where he has participated in and directed archaeological surveys in the Pajarito Plateau, Nambe, and Galisteo Basin regions. Ongoing projects include an examination of the relationship between migration and conflict in the 13th century Southwest, funded by the National Science Foundation, and a study of Ancestral Pueblo trail networks. Currently an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University, Snead is also a historian of archaeology, with a book on the subject (Ruins and Rivals: the Making of Southwest Archaeology) recently published by the University of Arizona Press.