Dr Ana Polo-Diaz

School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow

Dr Ana Polo-Diaz
Profile picture of Dr Ana Polo-Diaz
Profile

I graduated in History with a focus in Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), where I also completed a M.A. in Environment and cultural adaptations during Prehistory, followed by a PhD in Geoarchaeology that explored the occupation modes of rock-shelter sites by early farming groups in Northern Iberia.

Between 2011 and 2012 I was granted a postdoctoral position at Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling (UK) by the Basque Government. Thereafter I returned to the University of the Basque Country as a Postdoctoral Fellow and geoarchaeologist.

In early 2017 I joined the Institut Catal脿 de Paleoecologia Humana i Evoluci贸 Social (IPHES) in Tarragona as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Geoarchaeology Coordinator in the Project PALEODEM (ERC-2015- CoG 鈥 GA 683018, PI: Javier Fern谩ndez L贸pez de Pablo).

In 2019 I was awarded a Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie fellowship (MSCA-IF) at the University of 91直播, where I currently work with Professor Paul Halstead.

Research interests

I investigate the anthropic and natural dynamics involved in the accumulation, alteration and preservation of sediments in archaeological deposits. I use geoarchaeology as a methodological approach and micromorphology and thin section analysis as a core tool to provide direct evidence of behaviour, settlement patterns and palaeoenvironments of prehistoric groups.

The end goal of my work is the reconstruction of human activities and the understanding of how past climates impacted cultural adaptation and transitions. The main geographical focus of my work is the Iberian Peninsula, although I also maintain research interests and collaborations in the Near East.

I have conducted fieldwork and investigated the formation processes of a wide range of Late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological contexts including Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Palaeolithic sites as well as Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age deposits.

My research activity in 91直播 revolves around the project : The scale and significance of early animal husbandry in SW Europe: development of an interdisciplinary high-resolution approach to the investigation of livestock diets and herding practices.

This work examines herding practices, management of natural resources and the relative importance of crops and livestock in early farming through the integration of archaeological, ethnographic and experimental data for recognition of fodder and the assessment of the preservation degree of different plant types.

Selected Publications
  • Burguet-Coca, A., Polo-D铆az A., Mart铆nez-Moreno, J; Benito-Calvo, A., Allu茅, E., Mora, R., Cabanes, D., 2020. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 12, 148.
  • Mora, R., Mart铆nez-Moreno, J., Roy Sunyer, M., Benito Calvo, A., Polo-D铆az, A., Samper Carro, S., 2018. . Quaternary International 474, 30-43.
  • Gea, J.,Sampedro, M.C., Vallejo, A., Polo鈥怐铆az, A., Goicolea, M.A., Fern谩ndez鈥怑raso, J., Barrio, R.J., 2017. . Journal of Separation Science 40, 4549-4562.
  • Mora, R., Mart铆nez Moreno, J., Vega Bol铆var, S., Roy, M., Benito Calvo, A., Polo-D铆az, A., 2017. Cova Gran: a home to humans for 50.000 years. Current World Archaeology 84, 22-25.
  • Polo-D铆az, A., Benito-Calvo, A., Martinez-Moreno, J.A., Mora, R., 2016. . Quaternary International 417, pp. 16 - 38. 
  • Polo-D铆az, A., Alonso Egu铆luz, M., Ruiz, M., P茅rez, S., M煤jika, J., Albert, R.M., Fern谩ndez Eraso, J., 2016. . Quaternary International 414, 202-225.
  • Fern谩ndez-Eraso, J., M煤jika-Alustiza, J., Zapata-Pe帽a, L., Iriarte-Chiapuso, M-J., Polo-D铆az, A., Casta帽os, P., Tarri帽o-Vinagre, A., Sesma-Sesma, J., Garc铆a-Gaz贸laz, J., 2015. . Quaternary International 364, 162-171.
  • Garc铆a Moreno, A., Cubas Morera, M., Mar铆n Arroyo, A.B., R铆os Garaizar, J., Ortiz, J.E., de Torres, T., L贸pez D贸riga, I., Polo-D铆az, A., San Emeterio G贸mez, A., G谩rate Maidagan, D., 2015. El Neolitico de la Cueva del Ni帽o (Ayna, Albacete) y la neolitizaci贸n de la Sierra del Segura. Complutum, 26, 91- 11.
  • Quir贸s Castillo, J.A., Nicosia, C., Polo-D铆az, A., Ruiz del Arbol M., 2014. . Quaternary International 346, 56-68.
  • Polo-D铆az, A., Mart铆nez-Moreno, J.A., Benito-Calvo, A., Mora, R., 2014. . Journal of Archaeological Science 41, 784-800.
  • Kourampas, N., Simpson, I.A., Polo-D铆az, A., Perera, N., Deraniyagala, S.U., 2012. Geoarchaeological reconnaissance of Pleistocene sites in Southern Sri Lanka: Fahien-lena rockshelter and tool-bearing sediments of the Iranamadu Formation. Ancient Ceylon 23, 1-26.
  • Polo-D铆az, A., Fern谩ndez Eraso, J., 2010. . Quaternary International 214, 82-97.