Laura Finsten, McMaster University Richard E. Blanton (born November 16, 1943)[3] is an American anthropologist, archaeologist, and academic.

He is most renowned for his archaeological field and theoretical research into the development of civilizations in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, particularly those from the central Mexican plateau and Valley of Oaxaca regions.

[5] Due to his interest in regional survey, Blanton helped to introduce methods of spatial analysis into archaeology.

In particular he took an application of graph theory used by architects evaluate movement through buildings and developed it into a method for analyzing prehistoric houses and communities.

In addition, Blanton's method was used to develop a measure of prehistoric warfare frequency that has proven useful in a number of settings.