Producing the Dead Sea Scrolls: (Trans)national Heritage and the Politics of Popular Representation

DEDICATION To Mom, Dad, and Lauren, for your incredible support, always. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Producing a thesis bridging multiple sub-fields of anthropology involved careful negotiation of theory and method, and I am indebted to my committee for providing the necessary support. I would like to thank my advisor, Elizabeth Chilton, who consistently provided guidance, feedback and encouragement throughout the research and writing process. I thank Michael Sugerman who, in addition to providing helpful comments, invited me to participate as a graduate assistant on the UMass Archaeological Field School at Akko, Israel, during which time I was able to conduct the site visits central to this thesis. Jane Anderson provided invaluable direction in my theoretical framing, and helped me to productively ground this thesis about heritage and representation in one of the most important political debates of our time. I owe much to the professors in my undergraduate and graduate studies with whom I took courses that allowed me to develop some of the thoughts presented below: UMass Amherst for providing funds to present parts of this research at conferences, where I received many helpful comments and questions. and Palestine for their encouragement, patience, and love over the past three years. Thank you for the interest you showed in my work and the moral support to see it to its current stage. Any deficiencies in this thesis are my own.