Dr. Steve Nash is an archaeologist, columnist, historian of science, and stand-up comedian. He is currently studying the Mogollon archaeology of southwestern New Mexico, Indian peace medals in the Museum’s Crane Collection, and the enchanting Russian gem carving sculptures of Vasily Konovalenko. He has written and edited seven books and dozens of peer-reviewed articles on subjects ranging from Neanderthal stone tools to tree-ring dates, the history of museums to Southwestern archaeology. He has published nearly 40 Curiosities columns for the SAPIENS online magazine, on topics ranging from ancient Roman hygiene to Leonardo da Vinci, and from the Huey helicopter to the use of GPS systems. He has been at the Museum for 13 years; prior to this he served as head of collections in the Department of Anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago. Eons ago, he served as a tour guide and lecturer at the Museum of Science and Industry.
Featured Publications
Lee, L.J.; Nash, S.E. 2022. Indian peace medals and other medals at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Denver Museum of Nature & Science Annals 9: 1–147. DOI: 10.55485/KRTH5393
Nash, Stephen E., Hagadorn, James W., Muntian, Tatiana. Stories in Stone: The Enchanted Gem Carvings of Vasily Konovalenko. 2016. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
Nash, Stephen E. Time, Trees, and Prehistory: Tree-Ring Dating and the Development of North American Archaeology 1914-1950. 1999. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press.
Nash, Stephen E. “John Beach Rinaldo: Quintessential Culture Historian.” American Antiquity, vol. 80, no. 3, 2015, pp. 571–589. DOI: 10.7183/0002-7316.80.3.571
Underhill, Ruth M. An Anthropologist’s Arrival: A Memoir. Edited by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh and Stephen E. Nash, University of Arizona Press, 2014.
Creative Mornings: The Mystery Is Us
Science Riot: Steve Nash
Scientists in Action: Steve Nash
Vingango Repatriation
Join Senior Curator of Archaeology Steve Nash for a brief discussion about the Museum's decade-long and ultimately successful effort to repatriate sacred grave posts to the Mijikenda of Kenya.
The Konovalenko Chronicles
One of the Museum's unique collections is the Konovalenko gem carving sculptures. Join Senior Curator of Archaeology Steve Nash for a fantastic, colorful, whimsical summary of recent work on a documentary film on the artist and his work.