Professor Diane Gifford-Gonzalez has released a textbook, An Introduction to Zooarchaeology (c. Springer International Publishing AG, 2018). According to the publisher, this work is "A comprehensive, critical introduction to vertebrate zooarchaeology."
Gifford-Gonzalez, a distinguished research professor from the Department of Anthropology, was among the first cohort of archaeologists trained in faunal analysis and has gone on to perform decades of fieldwork and research focusing on California, Nevada, and New Mexico, the Netherlands, Kenya, and Tanzania. This foundational text, she says, "Was twenty-five years in the making." In addition to the actual text, she also contributed many illustrations to help summarize her findings.
Despite the years of her own work involved in the book, Gifford-Gonzalez was quick to share credit with others. "A lot of what I put in the last couple chapters," she says, "Really benefitted from the work of my Anthropology Department colleagues."
In addition to her widely-recognized research, her past teaching schedule and service as curator of the Archaeology Archives, Gifford-Gonzalez has made strides in opening her field to students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups, having created a scholarship for the purpose which was recognized by the Society for American Archaeology with its President's Award in 2013. Among many other awards and accolades, Gifford-Gonzalez is an elected member of the Committee of Honor, International Council of Archaeozoology (ICAZ).
