Kimberley C. Patton

Kimberley C. Patton is a Professor of the Comparative and Historical Study of Religion at Harvard Divinity School, affiliated with Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Classics. She holds a PhD from Harvard University and specializes in ancient Greek religion, material religion, ritual studies, and the intersection of religion with ecology and indigenous studies.

Her research spans topics such as sacrifice, iconography, maternal mortality in Neolithic contexts, and the role of animals in religious traditions. Key publications include *Religion of the Gods* (2009), which won the American Academy of Religion Book Award, and *The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils* (2006), exploring environmental ethics through ancient and modern lenses.

Patton serves on Harvard’s Committee on Archaeology and Folklore and Mythology, advocating for indigenous representation in higher education. Her forthcoming work *Our Mothers’ Bones* (2026) examines childbirth and identity through archaeological and religious perspectives.