

about THE DIRECTOR
Rebecca Kinaston PhD
Kia ora, I am a dedicated Bioarchaeologist and Forensic Anthropologist with over 15 years of experience excavating and analyzing human skeletal remains in the Asia-Pacific region. I am passionate about using my skills to help with the repatriation and reburial of passed people.
I received my PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) and have held two Postdoctoral positions at the University of Otago and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Jena, Germany). Since 2008, I have assisted with the repatriation and reburial of kōiwi in Aotearoa. In 2018, I was hired as a Forensic Anthropologist for the New Zealand Defense Force operation Te Auraki (The Return). We successfully repatriated 36 New Zealand soldiers who died overseas between 1955 and 1971. I am currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago and an Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University. I maintain active research collaborations with national and international researchers.