Cruz Ferro-Vázquez
Associated Researcher, ICArEHB
Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB)
FCHS, University of Algarve
Campus de Gambelas
8005-139 Faro
Portugal
Researcher
Department of Archaeology
University of York
King’s Manor
YO1 7EP York
United Kingdom
Institute of Heritage Sciences
Spanish National Research Council
Avda de Vigo s/n
15780 Santiago de Compostela
Spain
Research Interests
My research builds on my previous research experience in soil science, paleoenvironmental reconstruction and archaeology for understanding the utilization of natural resources by past societies and its concomitant landscape evolution in the long run. This overall aim is approached as three sublines of research: 1) the study of human driven soil formation processes, under a wide spectrum of human activities and environmental conditions, including from extensive, low-intensity use to intensive exploitation; 2) the multi-proxy study of land management and resources use by past societies – historic and prehistoric – and related environmental changes and landscape evolution; and 3) developing and refining soil science methodologies for their use in archaeological contexts.
Short Bio
I hold a BSc in Biology, an MSc in Natural Resources and a PhD in Soil Sciences (2010) from the University of Santiago de Compostela. As a graduate research fellow, I combined my PhD research at USC with work as a research technician in archaeological projects at the Institute for Heritage Sciences (Incipit) of the Spanish National Research Council. My postdoctoral career started at Incipit, as a JAE-Doc postdoctoral fellow (2011). During that period, I have been a member of the Incipit’s Scientific Board and Coordinator of the Geoarchaeology Unit. In 2014, I earned a Marie Curie Fellowship for working at the Department of Archaeology of the University of York (UK), where I was hired as an Associate Researcher in 2017.
From May 2019, I am part of FLAME project team at ICArEHB, for investigating fire technology evolution through its effects on soils and sediments, as a way for understanding patterns of resource use in Palaeolithic societies.