Derek Kennet

Derek Kennet is the Howard E. Hallengren Professor in Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States Archaeology in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. His research areas include the rise of Islam, economic responses to arid environments, and the interactions between the Arabian peninsula and nearby societies. He was formerly the resident archaeologist at the National Museum of Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE and spent 25 years at Durham University in the UK before coming to Chicago. He completed his undergraduate studies at Institute of Archaeology in London and his PhD is from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He has coauthored several books, the most recent of which is Southeast Arabia at the dawn of the second millennium: The Bronze Age communal graves of Qarn al-Harf, Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) (December 2024). This book examines local responses to the 4.2kyr-event, as measured from the archaeological record.