2019 - 2024
Yale University, USA
PhD Anthropology
During my PhD, I worked in Dr. J.C. Thompson's Paleoarchaeology lab. I used a combination of zooarchaeological and geochemical methods to reconstruct precipitation seasonality, ungulate movement ecology, and human subsistence in Malawi since the Last Glacial Maximum.
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2015 - 2017
University of Tübingen, Germany
M.Sc. Archaeological Sciences
During my M.Sc., I worked in Dr. B.M. Starkovich's zooarchaeology lab and in Dr. H. Bocheren's biogeology lab. I investigated Neanderthal and H. sapiens subsistence at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Sirgenstein, SW Germany.
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2012 - 2015
University of Pisa, Italy
BA Cultural Heritage Studies
12. Submitted - Cerezo-Román, J.I., Sawchuck, E., Schilt, F., Bertacchi, A., Chibisa, E., Kennett, D., Fahey, P., Hedman Falchenberg, S.G., Kaliba, P., Kennett, D., Mercader, J., Pargeter, P., Stock, J., Szymanski, R., Thompson, J.C. Earliest Evidence for Intentional Cremation of Human Remains in Africa.
11. In review - Bertacchi, A., Zipkin, A., Ambrose, S., Scaffidi, B., Asael, D., Benmamoun, Z., Gomani-Chindebvu, E., Davis, J., Farr, J., Fort, M., Giblin, J.,Johnson, T., Kaliba, P., Lundstrom, C., & Thompson, J.C. Biogeochemical evidence for targeted landscape use in ancient foragers of Malawi.
10. In review - Bertacchi, A., Wostbrock, J., Ambrose, S., Kaliba, P., & Thompson, J.C. Enamel isotopic evidence for strong seasonality in Malawi during the Last Glacial Maximum.
9. 2025 – Cerezo-Román, J.I., Sawchuck, E., Bertacchi, A., Hanson, A., Walsh, M., Veatch, E., Kaliba, P., Thompson, J.C. Detailed Recovery Methods Show the Complexity of Ancient Mortuary Practices in Later Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers of Southern-Central Africa. Bioarchaeology International.
8. 2025 - Bertacchi, A., Kaliba, P., & Thompson, J.C. Short-distance hunting strategies of Late Quaternary foragers in the miombo woodlands of Malawi. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 77, 101656.
7. 2024 – Hodgkins, J., Bertacchi, A., Knudson, K.J., Rasbury, T., Giblin, J.I., Gordon, G., Anbar, A., Turq, A., Sandgathe, D., Keller, H.M, Britton, K., McPherron, S.P. Late Pleistocene prey mobility and its implications for reconstructing Neandertal ranging behaviors. Quaternary Science Reviews, 331, 108610.
6. 2024 – Bertacchi, A., Zipkin, A.M., Giblin, J., Gordon, G., Goepfert, T., Asael, D., & Knudson, K.J. Trace element concentrations as proxies for diagenetic alteration in the African archaeofaunal record: implications for isotope analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 53, 104403.
5. 2023 – Bertacchi, A., and Watts, D. The use of chimpanzee-modified faunal assemblages to investigate early hominin carnivory. Evolutionary Anthropology.
4. 2023 – Thompson, J.C., Bertacchi, A., Keller, H., Hallett, E.Y., & Pobiner, B. The Zooarchaeology of Pleistocene Africa. In Beyin, A., Wrigth, D.K., Wilkins, J., Bouzouggar, A., Olszewski, D.I. (Eds.), Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa: Hominin behavior, geography, and chronology. Springer.
3. 2022 - Lipson, M., Sawchuk, E.A., Thompson, J.C., Oppenheimer, J., Tryon, C.A., Ranhorn, K.L., de Luna, K.M., Sirak, K.A., Olalde, I., Ambrose, S.H., Arthur, J.W., Arthur, K.J.W., Ayodo, G., Bertacchi, A., Cerezo-Román, J.I., Culleton, B.J., Curtis, M.C., Davis, J., Gidna, O., Hanson, A., Kaliba, P., Katongo, M., Kwekason, A., Laird, M.F., Lewis, J., Mabulla, A.Z.P., Mapemba, F., Morris, A., Mudenda, G., Mwafulirwa, R., Mwangomba, D., Ndiema, E., Ogola, C., Schilt, F., Willoughby, P., Wright, D.K., Zipkin, A., Pinhasi, R., Kennett, D.J., Manthi, F.K., Rohland, N., Patterson, N., Reich, D., & Prendergast, M.E. Ancient DNA and deep population structure in sub-Saharan African foragers. Nature.
2. 2021 – Bertacchi, A., Starkovich, B.M., Conard, N.J. The zooarchaeology of Sirgenstein Cave, a Middle and Upper Paleolithic site in the Swabian Jura, SW Germany. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 4, 7.
1. 2021 – Bertacchi, A., Gasparyan, B., Gruwier, B., Rivals, F., & Kandel, A. W. Upper Paleolithic animal exploitation in the Armenian Highlands: The zooarchaeology of Aghitu-3 Cave. Quaternary International, 587–588: 400-414.