Scotty Moore

Scotty Brian Moore was born on July 15, 1977 in Oklahoma City, Okla. As a child, Scotty was interested in science and he also developed a love of the outdoors, including hiking, camping and exploring.

After graduating from high school in 1995, Scotty received an academic scholarship to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. While in college, Scotty was profoundly influenced by Hulon Madelay, an ex-professional wrestler turned geologist. Madelay ignited Scotty’s interest in geology and archaeology, both of which allowed Scotty to pursue his love of science and the outdoors. Scotty participated in his first archaeological excavation in 1996, when he helped discover the body of a young deformed child buried with an amazing array of wealth. This discovery convinced Scotty that archaeology, and the ability to tell the stories of people long since gone, was his true calling. Scotty graduated magna cum laude from SMU in 1999, having received numerous awards, including the Ivan and Peggy Fry Award for Outstanding Achievement in Anthropology.

Scotty left Texas to pursue a graduate education at the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 2001 he received his master’s in anthropology. In 2004, Scotty completed all of the coursework and examinations for his Ph.D. in archaeology, while instructing courses in archaeology at the University of Washington and consulting with Native American tribes at the Burke Museum in Seattle. During his time at UW, Scotty also helped organize and win a $1 million grant to conduct archaeological research in Russia and Japan.

In 2004, Scotty moved to Arizona with his wife, Kimberly, who began law school at Arizona State University. Scotty began working at a private archaeological consulting firm and was quickly promoted to director of analysis, a job that he continues to this day. Scotty also serves as an adjunct professor of archaeology at Mesa Community College in Arizona. In his spare time, he continues to work on his dissertation, which involves changing the way archaeologists determine where prehistoric populations obtained stone for their tools. In the past 10 years, Scotty has worked on archaeological projects in seven states and four countries, ranging from Lewis and Clark’s encampment at Fort Clatsop, Ore., to prehistoric hunter-gatherer sites in Siberia. In Arizona and New Mexico, Scotty has organized, developed, and supervised close to 100 projects of different sizes.