Glenn M. Schwartz

Glenn M. Schwartz is an American archaeologist specializing in the archaeology of ancient Syria and Iraq. He is known for directing excavations at sites such as Umm el-Marra and Kurd Qaburstan and his contributions to the study of early urbanism, state formation, and collapse in the ancient Near East. now-extinct royal equids, and evidence of the world's oldest alphabetic script.

Schwartz is the Whiting Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. and earned his B.A. in Archaeology from Yale University, graduating magna cum laude in 1976. His dissertation focused on ceramic periodization at the archaeological site of Tell Leilan in Syria.

Career Since 1987, Schwartz has held appointments at the Johns Hopkins University, including Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies from 2012 to 2018. Umm el-Marra, Syria (1994–2010), exploring mortuary practices and spatial organization of a Bronze Age urban complex, identified with ancient Tuba.

Research contributions Schwartz's early investigations focused on the excavation of Tell al-Raqa'i, a small, rural settlement dating to the third millennium BC, to explore the dynamics of rural-urban relationships in ancient Syrian communities. Emphasizing the importance of viewing these societies as existing along a continuum between urban and rural, the research highlighted the economic, political, and cultural integration of rural communities with those of local urban centers, as well as their involvement in broader regional networks. The research advanced the understanding of Early Bronze Age urbanism in Syria by focusing on a medium-sized city, offering a counterpoint to research at the largest contemporary cities such as Ebla, Mari, and Tell Brak. The overall findings are unparalleled in third-millennium BC Syrian archaeology and illuminate the roles of ancestor veneration, social memory, and animal symbolism in shaping early urban communities. Schwartz initiated a new project at Kurd Qaburstan, a 100-ha walled urban site dating to the second millennium BCE located on the Erbil Plain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Research conducted from 2013 to 2022 significantly advanced the understanding of Bronze Age urbanism in northern Mesopotamia. Key discoveries from the Middle Bronze Age include monumental architecture, a temple in the lower town, and a monumental high mound building featuring mudbrick walls preserved up to 1.5 meters high. Geophysical surveys identified a densely occupied urban layout, including a city wall with towers at regular intervals,

Selected publications Schwartz is the author and editor of numerous influential books and journal articles Sacred Killing: The Archaeology of Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East (2012), edited with Anne Porter. Rural Archaeology in Early Urban Northern Mesopotamia: Excavations at Tell al-Raqa'i, by Glenn Schwartz, with other contributors, winner of the 2017 ASOR G. Ernest Wright award. Animals and Ancestors: Ritual and Economy in the Ancient Near East (2022), by Glenn Schwartz, with other contributors, winner of the 2024 ASOR G. Ernest Wright award.

Awards and honors In addition to awards for his publications, Schwartz has received numerous grants and fellowships from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society.