International & Global Studies

Yoko Nishimura's primary research skills and teaching experience are in the archaeology, history, religions, and languages of ancient East Asia and the Near East, particularly those of ancient Japan and Turkey, with a focus on the material cultures of—and historical documents about—the peoples that have been in these regions since prehistoric time periods. Her research interest centers around domestic artifacts and everyday activities of, as well as economic inequality between, non-elite inhabitants in their dwelling and mortuary contexts within houses or residential neighborhoods.

Her recent investigations address how quotidian objects, such as body ornaments and household tools and utensils, were used in the houses and intramural graves of the third millennium settlements in Japan and Turkey. For archaeological research, Nishimura also advocates the use of "diaspora" artifact collections that are stored in museums that are located far away from the original excavation sites where these artifacts were unearthed.