Aurore Didier

Aurore Didier (born 1978) is a French archaeologist and researcher. 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.

Early life and education
Didier was raised near Paris, alongside her older brother and her younger brother. 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. She also became interested in archaeology at a young age, sparked by her mother taking her to museums every week. By age 12, she had decided to pursue archaeology as a career.

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. In 2007, she defended her PhD, based on her archaeological work in Makran, in Paris.

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

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

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

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

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