Biography
I obtained a BA in Asian History at the University of Bologna before moving to the UK in 2006 to pursue an MSc in GIS and Spatial Analyses in Archaeology and a PhD in Archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. After completing my doctorate in 2013, I worked as a Research Associate at UCL and as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellow at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. In 2016, I joined the Department of Archaeology in Cambridge as a McDonald Institute Anniversary Research Fellow. I was subsequently appointed lecturer in Computational Analysis of Long-Term Human Cultural and Biological Dynamics.
Research
My research interest focuses primarily on the application and development of quantitative methods in archaeology and anthropology. I apply these techniques to tackle a variety of research themes, including the study of long-term changes in settlement patterns, the reconstruction of prehistoric population dynamics, and the statistical inference of cultural transmission modes using archaeological data. I am particularly interested in the theoretical and methodological cross-fertilization between biology and archaeology within a cultural evolutionary framework and the interplay between population dynamics, migration, and cultural change.
I am currently the prinicipal investigator of the ERC-funded ENCOUNTER Project.
- Statistical Inference
- Cultural Evolution
- Human settlement and landscape ecology
- Prehistoric Demography
- Japanese Prehistory
I am also one of the main developers of rcarbon and creator/developer of the nimbleCarbon and baorista R packages.
Information for Prospective Postgraduate Students
I am interested in supervising and working with PhD students who share similar methodological, theoretical, and contextual questions that I have. Whilst these broadly cover the application and development of quantitative & computational methods, cultural evolutionary research, and Japanese archaeology, I strongly recommend prospective applicants read my profile and outputs and think about specific topics that can be of shared interest. I need to know why you want to work with me specifically and that you are not just interested in having a Cambridge degree. If you are just planning to apply standard statistical and computational methods, I could potentially be part of the advisory team, but you will need to find a primary supervisor to cover the theoretical and contextual aspects of your project. I expect candidates to have a solid background in statistical inference and good computer coding skills in R, Python, or similar. If you are primarily interested in working on Japanese archaeology, I will expect some degree of linguistic proficiency that demonstrates that you are able to read and extract information from publications in Japanese.
Key Publications
See this my personal webpage for complete list of publications and access to pdf/codes.
Selected publications
| [1] | Crema, E.R., (2022). Statistical Inference of Prehistoric Demography from Frequency Distributions of Radiocarbon Dates: A Review and a Guide for the Perplexed. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-022-09559-5 |
| [2] | Crema, E.R., Shoda, S., (2021). A Bayesian approach for fitting and comparing demographic growth models of radiocarbon dates: A case study on the Jomon-Yayoi transition in Kyushu (Japan), Plos One, 16(5): e0251695. |
| [3] | Crema, E.R., Kobayashi, K., (2020). A multi-proxy inference of Jōmon population dynamics using bayesian phase models, residential data, and summed probability distribution of 14C dates. Journal of Archaeological Science, 117, 105136. |
| [4] | Crema, E.R., Kandler, A., Shennan, S., (2016) Revealing patterns of cultural transmission from frequency data: equilibrium and non-equilibrium assumptions. Scientific Reports 6, 39122. |
| [5] | Crema E.R. (2014). A simulation model of fission-fusion dynamics and long-term settlement change. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory , 21, 385-404. |
| [6] | Crema, E.R. Kerig, T., Shennan, S. (2014). Culture, Space, and Metapopulation: a simulation-based study for evaluating signals of blending and branching in archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science, 43, 289-298. |
| [7] | Crema E.R. (2013). Cycles of change in Jomon settlement: a case study from Eastern Tokyo Bay. Antiquity, 87, 1169-1181 |
Publication
2017
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715139114
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1449-6
Doi: http://doi.org/10.3390/rs9040351
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1614395114
2016
Doi: http://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08202-210142
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154809
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/srep39122
2015
Doi: 10.13110/humanbiology.87.3.0141
Doi: 10.13110/humanbiology.87.3.0151
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.09.006
Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141873
2014
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.07.014
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-013-9185-4
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.01.002
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.12.019
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.08.011
Doi: 10.4000/nda.2373
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00115327
2013
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00049930
2012
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-011-9122-3
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1142/S0219525911003323
2010
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.12.012
2015
2013
Teaching and Supervisions
I am the coordinator of the following courses:
- A11/B5 From Data to Interpretation
- B11/AS1 Quantitative modelling in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology
- B13 Culture Evolves
I also occasionally participate in the teaching of the following courses:
- A2 Archaeology in Action
- B1 Humans in Biological Perspective
- G02 Core Archaeology
- Digital Skills for Dissertation
I am currently supervising the following PhD students:
- Leah Brainerd (supervisor)
- Christiane-Marie Cantwell (advisor)
- Alexes Mes (supervisor)
- Sergio Russo (advisor)
- Charles Simmons (supervisor)
- Finn Stileman (advisor)
- Andriana Xenaki (advisor)
Students with recent PhD Completion
- Helen Alderson (advisor)
- Rachel Blevis (co-supervisor)
- Friederike Jürcke (advisor)
- Marta Krzyzanska (supervisor)
- Joseph Lewis (supervisor)
- Mncedisi Siteleki (external co-supervisor, University of Oslo)
- Benjamin J Utting (advisor)
- Jasmine Vieri (advisor)
Other Professional Activities
I am an associate editor of the Journal of Archaeological Science and Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology and editorial board member of the Japanese Journal of Archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports and Journal of Open Archaeology Data;
I peer-reviewed for American Antiquity, Animal Behavior, Antiquity; Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences; Current Anthropology; Environmental Archaeology; Frontiers in Digital Archaeology; Humanities and Social Sciences Communications; Journal of Anthropological Archaeology; Journal of Archaeological Science; Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports; Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory; Journal of Quaternary Science, Nature Communications; Nature: Scientific Reports; Nature Human Behaviour, Open Quaternary; Papers of the Institute of Archaeology; PLOS ONE; Proceedings of the Computer Applications in Archaeology Conference; Quaternary International; Radiocarbon, Science Advances, Theoretical Population Biology, Trends in Ecology & Evolution; World Archaeology; the National Science Foundation, and edited volumes for Ubiquity Press and Springer.
