Team

Inés Domingo

My current research projects aim at bridging the gap between scientific and heritage approaches to one of Europe’s most extraordinary bodies of rock art, awarded UNESCO Wolrd Heritage Status in 1998: Levantine rock art. Director of many projects, both national and international, she is currently PI of the ERC CoG LArcHer project (2018). The primary aim is to achieve an holistic view of this art by combining a multidisciplinary (Archaeology, Heritage Science, IT and Ethnoarchaeology) and a multiscale approach (from microanalysis to landscape perspectives). This research has led her to lead many survey campaigns, rock art recording and archaeological excavations, resulting in more than a hundred national and international publications.

Dídac Roman

CODIRECTOR

Throughout my career, I have directed many research projects focused both on the prehistoric settlement of the Mediterranean Iberia, and on the study and enhancement of various Levantine Rock Art sites. All these investigations have been reflected in more than 100 publications, both nationally and internationally, which have made it possible to put the Mediterranean Iberia in the spotlight of some of the main research topics of European Prehistory

Ana Macarulla

PREDOCTORAL UB
2020-

For my master´s final dissertation I was awarded with a scholarship Master+UB (2019-2020), financed by the UB and the SERP. For this project, I developed a stylistic approach of levantine suid representations, based on the application of statistical analysis of form variation. In my PhD thesis, I am exploring the possibilities of quantifying form variation in the studies of stylistic characterization of rock art.

Manuel Bea

POSTDOCTORAL UJI
2019-2020

His current research focuses on Post-Palaeolithic rock art in the Mediterranean Basin (especially Levantine rock art), application of new documentation techniques on cultural heritage as well as preservation and diffusion of rock art. Maestrazgo region and Albarracín mountain range (in Spain) and the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE) are the main territories where he carries on the most part of the studies.

An accurate definition for Levantine rock art (themes, stylistic phases, techniques, chrono-cultural affiliation and terminology used by scholars) is one of the principal aims on his research. He has published more than 140 scientific books, chapters or papers in national and international contexts, and co-directed (or co-directs) four PhD at the Universities of Zaragoza and Politécnica de Madrid.

Gemma Barreda Usó

POSTDOCTORAL UB
2019-2020

Doctora en Conservación y Restauración del Patrimonio Histórico-Artístico, y Licenciada en Bellas Artes, en las especialidades de Conservación y Restauración de Obras de Arte, y Dibujo, por la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Especialista Universitario en Conservación y Restauración del Patrimonio Histórico-Artístico. Mi línea de investigación se centra en la conservación y restauración de arte prehistórico, he publicado artículos y participado en congresos relacionados especialmente con la conservación de pintura rupestre. Inicié mi trayectoria en esta área en 2004, bajo la coordinación de la Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural Valenciano con las intervenciones de conservación-restauración de los grabados prehistóricos de la cueva “Les Meravelles” (Gandía-Valencia), a la que siguieron las pinturas rupestres de la “Cova Remígia”, “La covatina y La Volta Espessa“ (Castellón); “La Sarga” y “Pinos” (Alicante); o “Falfiguera” (Valencia). Asimismo, he participado en la conservación de distintos abrigos en territorio nacional como en: Andalucía bajo la dirección de la Consejería de Cultura en el “El Tajo de las Figuras” (Cádiz); en Murcia en los abrigos de “Los Grajos”, “La Serreta” (Cieza), o en Cataluña en la restauración de las pinturas rupestres de “La Roca dels Moros” de Calapatá en el Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (MAC). Así como en conservación de arte paleolítico en la “Grande Grotte de Arcy-sur Cure” (Francia).

También he trabajado en otras áreas de la conservación de patrimonio cultural como investigador en Proyectos I+D en la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia en las pinturas murales de San Nicolás Obispo y San Pedro Mártir (Valencia), y como técnico de paleontología en el Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVCR+i) en la recuperación de fósiles del yacimiento de “Sant Antoni de la Vespa” (Morella, Castellón).

Annalisa Chieli

POSTDOCTORAL UB
2019-

She obtained a PhD in chemical sciences following the curriculum Material and Methods for the Environment and Cultural Heritage Protection at the department of chemistry, biology and biotechnology of the University of Perugia (Italy), working on the understanding of the photophysical and photochemical processes causing the fading of three classes of fugitive pictorial pigments, namely Geranium lakes, Cadmium based pigments, and Prussian blue.

Furthermore, at the same department, during her first year of postdoc, she worked on the implementation of non-invasive VIS-NIR hyperspectral imaging technique in reflectance and emission for the analyses of painted surfaces at the Centre of Excellence on Scientific Methodologies Applied to Archaeology and Art (SMAArt).

During these years, she participated in several MOLAB trans-national accesses within the IPERIONCH.IT and IPERIONCH.EU projects, taking part in many non-invasive analytical spectroscopic campaigns around Europe among museums, private collections, etc., as a member of Perugia (Italy) MOLAB team.

She is currently involved in the ERC project “LArcHer: breaking barriers between Science and Heritage approaches to Levantine Rock Art through Archaeology, Heritage Science and IT”, dealing with the scientific research related to the multiple aspects involved in Levantine rock art production: identification of materials, pictorial recipes and techniques, and their conservation.

Gustau Aguilella Arzo

ARQUEÓLOGO SIAP

Since 1997 he is archaelogist of the Archaeological and Prehistoric Research Service (SIAP) of the Castellón Provincial Council, and Editorial Secretary of the magazine “Quaderns de Prehistòria i Arqueología de Castelló”.

His main lines of research focus on the Recent Prehistory of the regions of Castellón, from the Neolithic to the First Iron Age, having directed excavations in settlements from these periods, as well as the application of GIS in prehistoric research.

He has participated as a researcher in several R+D+i projects, with the University of Llèida, University of Barcelona, the CSIC History Institute of Madrid or the Jaume I University.

He is the author of numerous scientific papers on the recent prehistory of the Castellón counties, as well as scientific editor and co-author of some books.

Francisca Moya

PREDOCTORAL UB

Mª Antonia Zalbidea

PROFESORA UPV

Doctorada en Bellas Artes (2004), Tesis doctoral europea. Los centros vinculados; Università degli Studi di Udine (Italia) y la Universidad de Viena (Austria). Profesora Titular de Universidad (2010). Cuenta en la actualidad con 1 sexenio de investigación. Revisora en revistas científicas: Virtual Archaeology Review (2020); Science and Technology of Archaeological Research (2020); Revista de artes plásticas, estética, diseño e imagen (2019); Conservar Património (2016).

Ha dirigido 3 tesis doctorales, todas Cum Laude. Actualmente dirige dos tesis doctorales, a destacar: “Análisis y protocolo de intervención para la conservación de conjuntos levantinos de la provincia de Teruel” [becada con una FPU19/04493 (Departamento de Ciencias de la Antigüedad, UNIZAR)].

Ha impartido cursos en la Universidad de Valencia (Máster Propio en Análisis y Autentificación de Obras de Arte, , así como numerosas conferencias y estancias con la Scuola Superiore della Svizzera Italiana (SUPSI), el Instituto Nacional de BBAA de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR) de Uruguay, entre otros.

 Su actividad científica se ha centrado fundamentalmente en el estudio de los materiales pictóricos tanto murales-parietales que le han llevado a participar en las numerosas publicaciones y proyectos.

Joan Fullola Isern

PREDOCTORAL UJI

Nowadays he is a PhD Student from the University of Barcelona and a member of research group Pre-EINA – Estudis Interdisciplinaris i Noves Aplicacions en Prehistòria. He has been the coordinator of the lithic technology area of the project “La conducta de los Neandertales en el aprovisionamiento de recursos y su comparación con la de los humanos del Paleolítico superior (2) (HAR2016-76760-C3-3-P)”.

His field of research is the Upper Paleolithic lithic technology, including the chaîne opératoire approach and the projectile impact fractures in lithic armatures.

The main investigations have been carried out in the North-East of the Iberian Peninsula. The Upper Solutrean of l’Arbreda (Girona, Catalonia) was the subject of study during his master’s degree and the Epimagdalenian of the Valencian Country (Castelló) is nowadays the subject of his investigations.

The doctoral thesis focuses on the comparison between the Gravettian and the Epimagdalenian lithic production systems of projectile armatures. It also contemplates the lithic armatures use (impact fractures) and confection during these two different periods.

Roger Alcàntara Fors

POSTDOCTORAL UJI

During my training period, I acquired the necessary knowledge to do complete archaeozoological analysis (both in fieldwork and laboratory), and develop consistent sampling strategies for specialised analysis of aDNA, stable isotopes, ZooMS, and thin-sections. I’ve also participated and directed several archaeological excavations and surveys in Catalunya and Iraq (Gómez-Bach et al. 2019).

My research has focused on the study of animal use and mobility during the Neolithic by combining traditional archaeozoological analysis, biomechanics, bone microstructure and 2D geometric morphometrics. These provided me with a unique background to develop (Alcàntara et al. 2021, Saña et al. 2020) and supervise (Tonda 2019) multidisciplinary and integrated archaeozoological research.

Abigail Jiménez-Franco

POSTDOCTORAL UB

She gets a PhD in mineral deposits at the Natural Resources and Environment program at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Working on the metallogenic processes of conventional and critical elements based on mapping, mineralogy, geochemistry and isotopic characterization.

From 2018 to 2020 she got a postdoctoral position at the Faculty of Geology and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the University of Barcelona. Implementing a new methodology for the study of critical element-bearing minerals in the micro- and nanoscale, by mean of HRTEM/FIB/PED crystallographic techniques. During these years, she participated in several international cooperation projects between different universities in Bolivia, Mexico, and Europe.

She also worked in the European Horizon 2020 GeMex project for the prospection of mercury in geothermal areas, with non-destructive spectrometry, in the air, rock and soils.

Currently, she collaborates in the ERC project LArcHer, dealing with scientific research related to the multiple aspects involved in the Levantine rock art: natural framework, rock art-bedrock interaction, mineralogy involved and conservation.

Alfredo Sanchez Hernandez

Predoctoral UJI 2022-2024

During his undergraduate years, he received training in different fields of the discipline, participating in archaeological interventions from different historical periods. In 2018 he participated in the project “Rock art and Archaeology in the Almadenes (Cieza, Murcia)” as a research technician in the digital documentation of the schematic art of the Almadenes canyon.

Between 2019 and 2021 he has worked at the International Institute for Prehistoric Research of Cantabria (IIIPC) as a scholar in the LITOTECA project (2019-2020) and as PDI in R & D & I MICINN: Neandscapes (2020-2021). He has specialized in the application of GIS tools to the macrospatial and microspatial study of the Palaeolithic. His line of research has focused on the earliest periods of the Middle Palaeolithic and the influence of palaeoclimatic changes on Neanderthal populations.

UB 2022-2024

PREDOCTORAL UB 2022-2024

In 2021, she has been a member of scientific dissemination projects such as «PALEOART-3D: back to the past», selected in the III Call for grants for scientific, technological and innovative dissemination of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Salamanca.

Currently, she is part of the ERC project team «LArcHer» as a Predoctoral Researcher in Training, in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Barcelona, under the direction of Dr. Inés Domingo.

POSTDOCTORAL UB 2022-2024

Irina Ponomareva’s research interests include rock art and archaeology of Central and North Asia, ethnography of Siberian peoples, cultural anthropology, gender archaeology and Australian Aboriginal archaeology and rock art. She has rich field experience since 2009 both in archaeological excavations and rock art studies and research experience since 2008 when she started working as a research assistant in The Archive of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg branch. In 2013-2016 Irina Ponomareva was affiliated with Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Department of America. In 2014-2015, she participated in the Research project “Petroglyphs of the Lower Amur River and the Ussuri river: historical and cultural context and condition of preservation” funded by Russian Humanitarian Science Fund. In 2015, Irina Ponomareva received the Young Explorers Grant from the National Geographic Society for the project “Pictures on Rocks in the Heart of Siberia”. In 2016-2019, she conducted a PhD project in Griffith University where she also was a Resident Adjunct in 2020-2022. In 2019-2022, Irina Ponomareva gained substantial archaeological experience in Australia working as consulting archaeologist for Aboriginal communities in New South Wales and Queensland.

Currently Irina Ponomareva is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona working for the ERC project “LArcHer” on the theme “Transitions in Australian rock art” under the direction of Dr. Ines Domingo.