Tate Paulette is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at North Carolina State University. He holds an MA and PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Chicago and an MA in Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh. His research explores agricultural practices, state making, and the politics of food in Mesopotamia and the broader Near East. He also studies ancient alcohol, and he has spearheaded a collaborative effort to recreate Mesopotamian beer using authentic ingredients, equipment, and brewing techniques. He is currently working on a monograph dedicated to the history/archaeology of beer and brewing in Mesopotamia. Paulette has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Scotland, and the US, and he is currently co-directing an archaeological field project and field school at the site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia in western Cyprus.