Monica L. Smith is an archaeologist who studies material culture, urbanism, and the long history of the human species. She is a professor in the anthropology department and in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, and she holds the Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair in Indian Studies. Smith’s books and articles include A Prehistory of Ordinary People, Cities: The First 6,000 Years, and Excavations at Sisupalgarh (with R.K. Mohanty). Follow her on Twitter @smithUCLA.