Amy Hirshman

Amy Hirshman is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at West Virginia University's Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in the ancient Tarascan state of western Mesoamerica (AD 1350-1525) and has published in journals including Ancient Mesoamerica, Journal of Archaeological Science, and Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.

Her research examines state formation processes through household archaeology, craft production systems, and political economy frameworks. Current projects investigate regional ceramic production through ethnographic comparisons with contemporary potters and petrographic analysis of archaeological materials from the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin in Michoacán, México.

Hirshman teaches courses on Mesoamerican civilizations, ancient states, biological anthropology, and material culture studies. She played a pivotal role in developing anthropology as a standalone major at WVU and has contributed to pedagogical literature in Strategies in Teaching Anthropology.