MICHAEL JOHNSON

Mike Johnson began working at Tell Atchana, Alalakh Excavations during the summer of 2012 as part of the field team before starting his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His research at the site has focused on metal technologies deployed in the Area 4 workshop in the southern part of the tell, examining metal production, processing, and labor organization covering roughly the entire span of the Late Bronze Age. He has also run a series of experimental archaeology projects at the Tell Atchana dig house, focusing on methods of furnace construction based on archaeological remains and the smelting of ores from known ancient mines for comparison with archaeological samples. Since completing his Ph.D. in 2020, Mike continues to be involved with the Tell Atchana project while also expanding his purview to cover contexts in the Central Taurus, Central Anatolian Plateau, and historical mining in southern California. He is also currently working on the publication of legacy data from another well-known site in the Amuq Valley – Tell al-Judaidah.