Justin P. Dunnavant

Biography

Dr. Justin Dunnavant holds the Joan Silsbee Chair of African Cultural Archaeology and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. His first book, Colonialism, Ecology and Slavery, under contract with Princeton University Press, investigates the relationship between ecology and enslavement in the former Danish West Indies. In addition to his archaeological research, Justin is co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists and an AAUS Scientific SCUBA Diver. In 2021, he was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and inducted into The Explorers Club as one of “Fifty People Changing the World that You Need to Know About.” In 2022, he was awarded the Stafford Ellison Wright Black Alumni Scholar-in-Residence at Occidental College. His research has been featured on Netflix’s “Explained,” Hulu’s “Your Attention Please” and in print in American Archaeology, Science Magazine, and National Geographic Magazine. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Aquatic Futures Foundation.