Neil Thomas Bockoven is an award-winning PhD geologist and journalist with 35 years of experience in minerals exploration.

He has been featured in: Geological Society of America Bulletin, Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Virginia Journal of Science, and many other scientific journals. He is a repeat guest on some of the largest radio talk shows in the country. Neil is a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Archaeological Conservancy, and is an Impact Member of the Center for Study of the First Americans.

Neil worked as a geologist for Exxon/ExxonMobil in Denver, Midland, Houston, New Orleans and Albuquerque. He coordinated dozens of joint ventures with oil and gas companies, including rights to the entire King Ranch in Texas.

Neil attended The College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the state champion swim team, and received a Bachelor of Arts. From there, he went on to The University of Texas at Austin, earning a masters and doctorate. He has published articles on topics as diverse as the geology of huge volcanic calderas of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico to sexual dimorphism in Astarte clams. His current interests center on the interaction between Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals during the Paleolithic Age, and the amazing related discoveries being made through archaeology and genetics.