Emanuela Cristiani

Emanuela Cristiani is an archaeologist interested in the dietary strategies and technology of ancient hunter-gatherer societies of southern Europe and the Near East, which she investigates by analysing use-wear traces and residues on material culture and human teeth. She is also interested in reconstructing ancient forager cultural traditions and symbolism through the analysis of personal ornaments. She received her PhD at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she is currently an Associate Professor in Prehistoric Archaeology. In Rome, Emanuela Cristiani is also director of the DANTE - Diet and ANcient TEchnology laboratory. This interdisciplinary facility, funded by the European Research Council, fosters research on ancient material culture and bioarchaeological remains (e.g. dental calculus) through cutting-edge methodologies for reconstructing ancient material and human biographies. Before joining the Sapienza University of Rome, Emanuela Cristiani was a Marie Maria Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Cambridge (2011-2013) and fellow at Columbia University's Italian Academy (fall 2013). Since 2014 she has been PI of the ERC Starting Grant "HIDDEN FOODS. Plant foods in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies of south-eastern Europe and Italy". Currently, Emanuela Cristiani collaborates on different research projects in Italy, Israel, Portugal, the Balkans and the Caribbeans.