Jump to content

Aurore Didier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aurore Didier (born 1978) is a French archaeologist and researcher.[1] At the French National Center for Scientific Research, she is in charge of the ‘Indus-Balochistan programme’, and director of the French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin. Her primary interest is South Asian protohistory, specifically the Bronze Age in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands (3000 BCE) and the Indus Valley Civilization.[2][3]

Early life and education

[edit]

Didier was raised near Paris, alongside her older brother and her younger brother.[4] She was raised in an artistic environment, with her father being a professional musicians involved in the film industry. Didier spent 15 years doing ballet and other dance styles as an extracurricular.[4] She also became interested in archaeology at a young age, sparked by her mother taking her to museums every week.[4] By age 12, she had decided to pursue archaeology as a career.[4]

Didier attended Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University for her master's degree, during which she focused on the Indus Valley Civilization, and her PhD in archaeology, during which she specialized in pottery.[2][5] In 2007, she defended her PhD, based on her archaeological work in Makran, in Paris.[4][6]

Career

[edit]

Didier has worked at sites in Ladakh, India, Oman, and Turkmenistan.[2][5] For two years, she headed pottery studies at the French-Indian Archeological programme in Ladakh.[5]

In 2000, Didier began working in Pakistan as part of the Pakistan-French Archaeological Mission in Makran.[5] There, she worked at Shahi Tump, a site near Turbat, overseeing excavations alongside other archaeologists.[4][5] From 2001 until 2007, Didier spent four months each year (January to April) in Makran.[5] In the course of doing so, Didier learned Balochi through her interactions with local colleagues and residents.[4]

In 2012, Didier began working at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) as the head of the Indus-Balochistan program.[2][4]

In 2013, Didier became the director of the French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin.[2][7] The mission launched its first field programs in 2015.[4] As part of these programs, Didier has worked at Chanhudaro, a site in Sindh, Pakistan.[7][8][9]

In 2014, Didier was chosen by Catherine Jarrige to head the archaeological program at Mehrgarh in Pakistan.[5] That same year, she received a grant from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications at Harvard University.[2]

Publications

[edit]

Books and chapters

[edit]
  • Didier, Aurore (2013). La production céramique du Makran (Pakistan) à l'âge du Bronze ancien. Contribution à l'étude du peuplement ancien des régions indo-iraniennes (in French). De Boccard.
  • Didier, Aurore; Mutin, Benjamin; Bauvais, Sylvain; Cloquet, Christophe; Marin, Jérôme; Shalev, Sariel (2020). "Compositional Analyses of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Ceramics from the Indo-Iranian Borderlands and southern Central Asia: Preliminary Results and Interpretations". The Roxiana Project. Archaeological Researches on Metal and Pottery Assemblages from the Oxus Basin to the Indus Valley during Protohistory. Dietrich Reimer Verlag. Retrieved 2024-02-01.

Articles

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Didier, Aurore (1978-....)". IdRef - Identifiants et Référentiels (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Aurore Didier". whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  3. ^ Crellin, Forrest (2019-07-02). "France returns stolen ancient artifacts to Pakistan". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Khan, Sheeza (2015-12-20). "Tête-à-tête: Beyond stone and bone". Dawn (Newspaper). Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "A mission in Makran". The Express Tribune. 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  6. ^ Didier, Aurore (2007-01-01). Archéologie des confins indo-iraniens : étude de la production céramique du Kech-Makran (Pakistan) dans la première moitié du IIIe millénaire av. J.-C (These de doctorat thesis). Paris 1.
  7. ^ a b Khushik, Qurban Ali (2023-01-25). "Unesco experts join French excavation team at Chanhu Jo Daro". Dawn. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  8. ^ Bhutto, Ali (April 2017). "Unearthing History". Newsline. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  9. ^ "French team uncovers mysteries of Indus civilisation's 'industrial hub'". Dawn. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2024-01-02.