Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann, born and raised in İstanbul, was trained as an anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Her interest in the study of man ranges from prehistoric cultures to delineating living communities, particularly those on the margins of society. Her collaboration with Laurence Salzmann on projects in Mexico, Romania and Turkey reflect her attention to painstaking detail and keen observation of specific cultural/ethnic groups interacting as part of a larger community or nation.
Currently she is a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and co-director of its Gordion Archaeological Project.