Garth Bawden is a native of Cornwall, Great Britain. Following a career in physical medicine he began a second career in anthropology. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and is currently Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. He has worked extensively in Saudi Arabia and the Andean regions of South America. His interests include the evolution of social complexity and the role of ideology in the development of Andean civilizations.