Kirsten Nafziger

Professional Bio

Kirsten is a Native Illinoisan and PhD student in Anthropology at Penn State. Kirsten’s primary interest is the archaeology of the American Southeast, however her experience in archaeology has taken her to sites in Israel, Illinois, Florida, and Georgia. Her most recent experience has included excavation of shell middens on a barrier island in Georgia. During her time at Penn State, Kirsten will work in the Socio-ecological Histories of Estuarine Landscapes (SHEL) Lab and the Spatial Archaeology and Historical Network Dynamics (SAHND) Lab and plans to pursue zooarchaeology, working to identity, measure, and interpret faunal remains in the archaeological record. Kirsten will actively work to engage and collaborate with descendant communities who have been historically excluded from the archaeological process.