Professor
Office:
ENV 210C
Highlights:
Dr. Nagaoka is a zooarchaeologist with a geographic focus in Polynesia and North America.
Her research interests include the application of evolutionary ecological foraging models to understand human subsistence patterns, the uses of zooarchaeological data in conservation biology, and the relationship between food availability and the development of pottery amongst hunter-gatherers.
Dr. Nagaoka teaches archaeology courses such as Zooarchaeology, Ethics in Archaeology, and Pacific Islands Archaeology, as well as Applied Geography (GEOG 4800). Future courses will include Biogeography and the new core class, Foundations of Geographic Research (GEOG 2110). Dr. Nagaoka advises graduate student research associated with her research projects. Their research includes examining butchery patterns of white-tailed deer to understand the importance of resource procurement in pottery development amongst the hunter-gatherers of south Texas and studying changes in animal exploitation related to the abandonment of the Mesa Verde region of the Southwest.