PhD in Technologies for Cultural Heritage - since XXXVI Cycle

Katerina Carlotta Koukzelas has completed her master's degree in Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Turin in 2021, and has obtained her diploma from the "Giorgio Gullini" School of Specialization in Archaeological Heritage in 2024. She has gained considerable experience in the field of bioarchaeology (human and animal remains) and biomolecular archaeology (lipids and proteins) through her work both on the archaeological field and in the ArchaeoBiomics laboratory. Her research primarily focuses on foodways and culinary practices in the Aegean during the Bronze Age, and their relation to social dynamics.

Doctoral Thesis Research Topic: "Life Before (and After) Katastrophé. Inferring social dynamics in Bronze Age Aegean using Bioarchaeology". The objective of the project is to inversigate diachronic changes in foodways in the lead-up and in the wake of the catastrophes - both natural disasters and deliberate destructions - that cyclically affected the island of Crete during the II millennium BC to understand how the society coped with dramatic events. The innovative aspect lies in the application of biomolecular archaeology to the study of animal bones from archaeological contexts, in order to have a precise identification of the species that were exploited for consumption. The research will focus specifically on three context from the city of Chania, ancient Kydonia, especially relevant in terms of stratification in habitation, evidence of catastrophes, and quality of materials.

Methodology: The project calls for the morphological study of the animal bones located in three plots within the Kydonian Palatial Centre: Merarchia, Sevach and Lionavi-Vlamaki. Biomolecular methodologies in the field of palaeoproteomics such as Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (ZooMS - Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) and Proteome Characterisation (LC-MS/MS - Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry) will be employed when morphological analysis does not suffice the taxonomic identification. Spatial data for the bones will be combined with published environmental data in a GIS (Geographic Information System) in order to detect specific intra-site patterns in household organisation.

Outcome: Expected outcomes regard the developement of foodways and social strategies specific to the Bronze Age Aegean in respionse to catastrophic events, especially looking at the relationship between human and non-human animals. A key outcome will regard explaining the translocation of exotic species in a time of great connection and exchange in the Mediterranean such as the II millennium. This latter objective of the research is connected to the ERC project AviArch - Avifauna in Archaeological Networks (P.I. Prof. Beatrice Demarchi).

Supervisor: Beatrice Demarchi, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology

PhD T4C courses (2023/2024):

• Trans-disciplinarity through the digital sciences, Coordinator Prof. Vincenzo Lombardo,
• Materiality, Coordinator Prof. Monica Gulmini
• Humans vs Geomorphological Environments: Concepts and Case studies, Coordinator Prof. Marco Giardino
• Condition assessment, analytical protocol and preservation strategies, Coordinators: Prof. Dominique Scalarone; Prof. Sergio Favero Longo
• Imaging techniques, Coordinators: Prof. Alessandro Re; Prof. Vito Messina
• Workshop: China and chinoiseries, Coordinator: Prof. Eliano Diana

Additional courses (2023/2024):

• Introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Archaeology and History, Coordinator: Prof. Alessio Palmisano, MA in Archaeology and Ancient History
• Archaeology of Human-Environment Interactions, Coordinators: Prof. Beatrice Demarchi, Prof. Alessio Palmisano, BA in Cultural Heritage

Periods abroad:

• Selection of materials and gathering of archaeological documentation in Chania, Crete, April 2024
• Zooarchaeological study of animal bones in Chania, Crete, July 2024
• Zooarchaeological study of animal bones in Chania, Crete, October 2024

• Koukzelas, K.C., Spiteri, C. & Scalarone D.M. (in press), Organic Residue Analysis, in Erimi Laonin tou Porakou. A Middle Bronze Age Community in Cyprus, Vol. II (ed. L. Bombardieri), Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, Astrom Editions
• Monaco, M. & Koukzelas, K.C. (in press), Human Remains, in Erimi Laonin tou Porakou. A Middle Bronze Age Community in Cyprus, Vol. II (ed. L. Bombardieri), Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, Astrom Editions

Conference organisation:

• ISBA11 (International Society for Biomolecular Archaeology) Organising Committee, 11th International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology, Turin, 26-29 August 2025

Conference talks:

• “Cooking and Consumption in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Preliminary Results from the Organic Residue Analysis of Cooking Pots from Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou”, PoCA (Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology), Athens, 1-3 December 2023

Teaching:

• Seminary and training on Organic Residue Analysis for first-year students of the "Giorgio Gullini" School of Specialization in Archaeological Heritage, “Metodologie della Ricerca Archeologica” course, Coordinator: Prof. Beatrice Demarchi

Public Engagement:

• "Le Archeo-molecole", UNIGHT – European Researchers’ Night 2024, Giardini Reali (Torino), Semptember 27, 2024