Rachel George is a PhD student in anthropology at the University of Chicago. Her research examines the contemporary use of rock art sites to construct identity through cultural revitalization movements. Her current work involves partnering with the Abasuba Community Peace Museum (ACPM), a community-based museum in Mfangano Kenya, to document and analyze rock art alongside community members. She also partners with heritage institutions, Fahari Yetu and the Iringa Bomas to locate and document the understudied rock art of the Tanzanian Southern Highlands. George uses archaeological, art historical, ethnographic, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and photography-based methodologies to document and interpret rock art. Her research emphasizes engaging local communities as co-producers of archaeological knowledge and creating sustainable conservation plans for rock art sites that rely on systems of local stewardship.

Rachel’s research and teaching interests include:

African archaeology, ancient art, the rock art of East, Central, and Southern Africa, the history of the African Great Lakes Region, the intersection of art historical and archaeological methods, rock art recording and archiving techniques, archaeological photography, community archaeology, and community-based conservation.

Rachel George’s research has been supported by funding from the Committee on African Studies and the Leiffer Fellowship. She earned a BA in Anthropology and Art History from Rice University in Houston Texas where she won: the Outstanding Graduate Anthropology Student of the Year Award, 1st Place at the Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium (RURS), the Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Enterprise Fellowship (SSURE), the Sayres Award for Excellence in Art History, and the Berry Award for Innovative Art History Research.