University of Exeter

Graduate Student, Archaeology

Other Affiliations: Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Antropologia

Research student

Humanities

Thesis Title: Spatial, Chronological and Cultural Frames Concerning the Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherers during the Early Lithic Stage: A Reassessment of the Pleistocene Human Occupation on Central-Northern Mexico

About

I am a Romanian born archaeologist who currently lives and does research in Mexico and who also studies a PhD in England. I started my carrier doing my undergrad studies at the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, first interested in Neolithic societies of Transylvania. But then I switched to Roman provincial archaeology under the leadership of my professors and took part for several seasons in the international project of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, Romania (1995-1998), the ancient capital of Roman Dacia. Later, in 1999, I went to Mexico, following an old obsession of mine, to study for my Master degree at the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, in Mexico City, degree completed in 2001. As I wanted to do more research on my own in Mexico, I got a temporary lecturer position at the University of Zacatecas in northern Mexico, which later turned into a permanent one. In 2003 I started my research on the Middle Candelaria River, southern Campeche, Yucatan Peninsula. During several seasons, till 2008, my team and I discovered, surveyed, mapped and excavated several new Mayan sites, mostly from Late and Terminal Classic times. The researched was terminated in 2008 and I decided to switch my interests again to a topic I had always loved and go for a European PhD. The peopling of America with its particular manifestations in central-northern Mexico, especially in the Northern Highlands (between the two parallel chains of Sierra Madre Mountains) became my research topic that I am currently dealing with under the supervision of my professors, Dr. Bruce Bradley and José Iriarte. This extremely important and pioneering research is going to commence its first field season by the end of the month of July 2010. I still keep my position at the University of Zacatecas for now, but I only dedicate myself to my PhD research at least till the first semester of the year 2013. 

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