Kimberly D. Williams

Kimberly D. Williams is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts. A bioarchaeologist and landscape archaeologist, she directs the Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project and has held a Fulbright Fellowship at Sultan Qaboos University.

Education

• Ph.D. Anthropology, The Ohio State University, 2005
• M.A. Anthropology, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 2001
• B.A. Anthropology, University of Delaware, 1998

Research Interests

Dr. Williams’ work sits at the intersection of mortuary archaeology, bioarchaeology, and geospatial science. She investigates prehistoric funerary landscapes, human skeletal biology, and the use of GIS/GPS technologies to model ancient mobility and social organization. Current fieldwork in Dhank and Dahwa, Oman, explores Bronze Age tomb construction, reuse, and associated ritual practices, integrating artifactual, osteological, and spatial datasets.

Complementing her Arabian research, she employs genetic epidemiology and quantitative methods to study childhood growth, bone quality, and physical activity in understudied populations, notably the Jirel ethnic group of eastern Nepal.

Scientific Awards & Honors

• Fulbright Scholar Program Fellowship, Sultan Qaboos University (2015–2016)
• NIH Loan Repayment Program Award for Pediatric Health Research (2007)
• Iris and Gene Rotberg Undergraduate Research Humanities Award, CHAT, Temple University (2010)

Grants & Collaborative Networks

Her fieldwork has been funded by the National Science Foundation and Temple University’s Center for the Humanities at Temple (CHAT). She maintains active collaborations with Sultan Qaboos University archaeologists N. S. Al-Jahwari and Khaled Douglas, and participates in interdisciplinary teams spanning bioarchaeology, geospatial modeling, and genetic epidemiology.

Laboratories & Teams

Dr. Williams heads the Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project, co-directing excavations and surveys with Omani and international colleagues. On campus, she mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers in the Department of Anthropology’s bioarchaeology and GIS laboratories.