Jeffrey Fleisher (BA, MA, PhD, University of Virginia) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Rice University in Houston, Texas. His regional specialty is on the ancient Swahili coast of eastern Africa, focusing on the development of first and second millennium urban centers there. Past research has focused on the ancient settlements of rural and non-elite Swahili, and their connections and contributions to urban developments. Currently, he directs a long-term project at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Songo Mnara in southern Tanzania, focusing on the use of open and public space.
Neil Norman (BA, Flagler College; MA, University of South Carolina; PhD, University of Virginia) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. His specialties are the archaeology of social complexity and historical archaeology. At present, hedirects the Savi Countryside Archaeological Project (Republic of Benin), the Africatown Archaeological Project (Mobile, Alabama) and co-directs the Later Zanzibar Archaeological Project (Republic of Tanzania).