Susan Pollock is Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University, with a specialty in archaeology of the Middle East. She has conducted fieldwork in Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. Her research contributes to studies of political economy, ideology and representation, and archaeology in the media.

Reinhard Bernbeck is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University. His specialty is the archaeology of the ancient Near East. He has directed and participated in field projects in Syria, Jordan, Turkey, and Iran. He is interested in historiography and theories of praxis and also remains committed to a historical materialist view of the past.