Diane Gifford-Gonzalez

Diane Gifford-Gonzalez is an American archaeologist who specializes in the field of zooarchaeology. Her research has included fieldwork near Lake Turkana, northwestern Kenya, and her research often touches on the question of animal domestication and the origins and development of African pastoralism. In 2024, Gifford-Gonzalez was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Biography Gifford-Gonzalez attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her B.A., M.A., and her Ph.D.

She has been the past President of both the Society for American Archaeology and the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, and has served on boards for the International Council of Archaeozoology (ICAZ), the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), and the Archaeology Division of the American Anthropological Association.

Research Gifford-Gonzalez's research at Lake Turkana on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya has put her at the forefront of scholars who study pastoralism in that area. Other livestock diseases affect humans as well, such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF), East Coast Fever (ECF), foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). Fishing has typically been associated with anatomically modern humans, Genetic data show that cattle from South Asia, Africa, and Europe are related.