Kimberly Foecke

Assistant Professor

Anthropology: Biological anthropology, analytical methods, stable isotopes, biogeochemistry, paleoecology

I earned my PhD in Human Paleobiology in 2022 from George Washington University after completing a BS in Archaeological Sciences and an MSc in Geosciences at Penn State. Prior to joining the faculty at GMU in 2024, I worked for two years in the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

My research focuses on questions surrounding dietary behavior, complex food systems, space use, and environmental change in hominin and archaeological modern human populations. My approach is highly interdisciplinary, incorporating methods and collaborations between academic institutions, museums, government laboratories, and industry professionals. I am engaged in method development research using light stable isotopes and trace element analysis to better understand the materials in the human fossil and archaeological record.

Selected Publications

2024 Kimberly K. Foecke, Alain Queffelec, Robyn Pickering. No Geoarchaeological Evidence for Deliberate Burial by Homo naledi – On Best Practice for Geochemical Studies in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology. PaleoAnthropology 2024. LINK

2024 Kimberly K. Foecke, Alison S. Brooks, Christine A. M. France. Experimental Assessment of the Impact of Food Processing on d15N Values in Dietary Meat – Implications for Paleodietary Reconstruction. Journal of Archaeological Science 169, 106024. LINK

2022 Kimberly K. Foecke, Ashley S. Hammond, Jay Kelley. pXRF Geochemical Sourcing of Miocene Primate Fossils from Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 170, 103234. LINK

2019 Ashley S. Hammond, Kimberly K. Foecke, Jay Kelley. Hominoid anterior teeth from the Late Oligocene site of Losodok, Kenya, Journal of Human Evolution 128, 59-75. LINK

2018 Alison S. Brooks, John E. Yellen, Richard Potts, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Alan L. Deino, David E. Leslie, Stanley Ambrose, Jeffrey Ferguson, Francesco d’Errico, Andrew M. Zipkin, Scott Whittaker, Jeffrey Post, Elizabeth G. Veatch, Kimberly Foecke, Jennifer B. Clark. Long distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age, SCIENCE 360(6384), 90-94. LINK

Courses Taught

ANTH 135-DL: Introduction to Biological Anthropology (Distance Learning)
ANTH 135: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
ANTH 366: Food and Human Evolution
ANTH 386 / 586: Quantitative Methods in Anthropology
ANTH 355: Human Origins
ANTH 121: World Prehistory

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Human Paleobiology
The George Washington University

Master of Science (MSc), Geosciences
The Pennsylvania State University

Bachelor of Science (BS), Archaeological Science
The Pennsylvania State University

In the Media

Did This Ancient Species Really Bury Its Dead Before Modern Humans?

George Mason researcher debunks popular narrative about ancient human ancestors

This scientist watches meat rot to decipher the Neandertal diet