Biography
Dr. Pierce was born and reared in Okahumpka, Florida. He received a B.A. in History from Clearwater Christian College, an MSc in Archaeological Information Systems the University of York, an MA in Biblical Studies (Archaeology concentration) from Wheaton College, and a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to commencing his doctoral work, Dr. Pierce served as research faculty at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel. Additionally, he is certified in architectural and mechanical drafting from the State of Florida. He has taught courses on ancient Near Eastern civilizations, Jewish history, and Jerusalem the Holy City at UCLA. Dr. Pierce has worked with archaeological excavations in Florida, Scotland, the West Bank, and Israel, including Tell Dothan, Tel Kabri, Ein Gedi, Beersheba, Jaffa, and the Philistine city of Ashkelon, in addition to excavating for the Israel Antiquities Authority. He is currently the lead architect and supervisor of the Geographic Information Systems team for the Tel Shimron Excavations in the Jezreel Valley, Israel. Dr. Pierce and his wife, Dr. Krystal Pierce, have two children – Victoria and George III.
Courses Taught: Book of Mormon (REL A 121 and 122), New Testament (REL A 211), and Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel (REL A 250), Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon (REL A 275), Old Testament (REL A 301 and 302), Jeremiah: Prophet of Judgment and Restoration (REL A 392R, Fall 2022), and A Survey of the Old Testament (REL A 392R, Winter 2023); NES 336 and NES 392 (BYU Jerusalem Center 2019-2020); ANES 403R (Topics in Near Eastern Studies - The Ancient Israelite World; Winter 2023), ANES 310 (History of Ancient Israel; Fall 2023)
Areas of Expertise: Archaeology of the southern Levant; computer applications in archaeology; Bronze and Iron Age Levantine ceramic typology and seriation; historical geography of the Holy Land
Areas of Research: Regional settlement patterns; digital data structure, creation, maintenance, and dissemination in archaeology; archaeological and geographic aspects of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament
Languages: Hebrew and related NW Semitic languages (reading); Akkadian (reading); Greek (reading); Middle Egyptian (reading); German (reading); French (reading)
Education
- PhD, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures , University of California, Los Angeles (2015)
- MA, Biblical Studies , Archaeology, Wheaton College (2005)
- MSc, Archaeological Information Systems , University of York (2004)
- BA, History , Biblical Studies, Clearwater Christian College (1999)