Sofia received a Bachelor of History from the Autonomous University of Madrid, a Master of Palaeontology from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master of Osteoarchaeology from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her research line addresses the study of human subsistence strategies through the analysis of fauna assemblages, mainly on Pleistocene-early Holocene periods. She is interested in applying taphonomic criteria and methods to study faunal assemblages to discern between non-human predators and human generated accumulations. She has a wide experience on the analysis of Neanderthal and AMH zooarchaeological assemblage. Additionally, she has experience on fieldwork recording techniques and post-fieldwork data processing (GIS). Her PhD research addresses the analysis of faunal remains from Wallacean Islands, mainly dominated by fish remains, reconstruction of human remains and the application of geometric morphometric techniques to the analysis of fish vertebrae. She is involved in Sue O’Connor ARC’s Laureate Project ‘From Sunda to Sahul: Understanding Modern Human Dispersal, Adaptation and Behaviour en route to Australia’

Hominid subsistence strategies; Taphonomy; Zooarchaeology; Island Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa archaeology; Faunal analysis; Neanderthals-AMH lifestyle; Geometric morphometric; GIS; Human behaviour; Bone tools; ZooMS

Please contact me if you are interesting in conducting taphonomic research on anthropogenic and natural bone accumulations from Indonesia and Timor Leste. Alternatively, specific projects available for HDR students are:

1) Analysis of zooarchaeological assemblages from Triabunna field schools

2) Analysis of environmental archaeology samples from Triabunna field schools

3) Taphonomic studies on large and small vertebrates

Masters

Christine Morgan (2018) Cutting Edge: Identifying Australian stone tools from experimental cut marks. Master of Archaeological Science (Advanced)

Tahlia Stewart (2017) Life and Death in the early Holocene: Biological skeletal analysis and burial practices from a child burial from Gua Makpan site (Alor Island, Indonesia). Master of Archaeological Science (Advanced)

Honours

Madeleine Lucas (2018) Butchery at the Barracks: Meals and Identity in Colonial Triabunna, Tasmania

Claire Sheridan (2018) Exploring a Palimpsest Layer in Fatu Aki Cave, Timor-Leste

SKULLBOOK: Creating a "bone library" to support student learning and research - in collaboration with the Centre for Digital Humanities Research (recipient of an ANU Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Enhancement Grant; primary applicant)