Dr Fiona Kidd holds a BA Hons in Near Eastern Archaeology (Melbourne) and a PhD in Central Asian Archaeology (Sydney). Fiona specializes in the archaeology and art history of Central Asia, with primary research interests in rank and status, exchange mechanisms and nomadic-sedentary relations. Since 1999 she has been working at the site of Kazakl'i-yatkan in ancient Chorasmia as a member of the collaborative Karakalpak-Australian Expedition to Chorasmia. Fiona holds an ARC Post-Doctoral Fellowship to study the wall paintings from Kazakl'i-yatkan, which are among the earliest and best preserved in Central Asia. Fiona's PhD explored issues of status and identity in costume portrayed on pre-Islamic figurines from the Samarkand region of Sogdiana.
Fiona has excavated in Syria and is currently involved in fieldwork and GIS-based projects in Afghanistan (MJAP and ASAGE) and a museum-based project in the Ferghana Valley. Fiona teaches the Archaeology of Central Asia - an introductory course on this dynamic region, which lies at the crossroads of the Near East, East Asia, India and the Eurasian steppelands.