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Russell Adams is an anthropological archaeologist with primary research interests in the emergence of complex societies and early states and the interface between the development of social complexity and the adoption and development of industrial processes and technology during prehistory. His current research focuses upon early metal producing communities in southern Jordan and understanding how the growth and spread of metal production impacted upon social organization, regional interaction and the environment. He has directed archaeological projects in Jordan since 1989, and specializes in archaeological method and theory, ancient technology and the archaeometric study ceramics and metals. He received his BA and MA (Near Eastern Archaeology) from Wilfrid Laurier University, and his PhD in Archaeology and Prehistory from Sheffield University. He has been a SSHRC post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University and has taught at universities in the UK, Canada and the United States.