I have directed archaeological excavations in Iran, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia. In Iran, I excavated a site called Tepe Yahya, where I discovered very early writing. We uncovered a number of written tablets, cuneiform signs inscribed on clay that are referred to as Proto-Elamite. The Elamite culture inhabited the Iranian Plateau from the third millennium B.C.E. to the first millennium B.C.E. The Proto-Elamite texts that we discovered date back to 3000 B.C.E. and, together with the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian texts, are among the oldest in the world.

Working in the Near East it is necessary to avoid the hot temperatures of the summer. There have been times, however, in which we were doing our excavations in 100-degree temperatures. Our excavations usually begin around 5 in the morning and continue until 2 in the afternoon.

I became interested in archaeology as a college student and went to the University of Pennsylvania to do my graduate work. After almost 40 years as an active archaeologist, I continue to work in the field. This summer I am off to Pakistan where I plan to excavate a very large Bronze Age site called Panj Piye, meaning "Five Feet." The site promises to inform us about the nature of the earliest cities in a little-known part of Pakistan, Baluchistan. The life of an archaeologist is a most rewarding one and I encourage all who are interested in the past to explore this exciting field.