Riaz Malik

Riaz Ahmad Malik was a native of Pakistan and begin his archaeological career in 1976 at Monsura, an Early Islamic fortified town dating to the 8th century AD. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at the University of the Punjab in Lahore and his Master’s degree at the University of Karachi.

Riaz came to the United States as an exchange student in 1981 to work at the Mitchell Site in South Dakota. He became acquainted with Elden Johnson and then enrolled in the Doctoral program at the University of Minnesota. His focus in Pakistan and then later in Minnesota was on lithic artifacts (stone tools and the waste created to make them) and analysis of lithic assemblages.

Riaz’s research in Minnesota included the analysis of artifacts from the Mille Lacs area, the Malmo mounds and village, Grand Mound, McKinstry, and the Bradbury Brook site. In the early 1990s, Riaz and colleague Kent Bakken directed excavations at the Bradbury Brook site, which is a Late Paleoindian siltstone quarry with intact flintknapping stations. The photograph here is of Riaz at that excavation.

Riaz passed away in 1993. He was a good friend to many and is very missed. In honor of his memory, the Council for Minnesota Archaeology has created a grant to support research efforts in the state.

• The text above is primarily sourced from the Dedication in the 1996-1999 Omnibus Issue of The Minnesota Archaeologist written by David Mather and Stacy Allan.