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Department of Archaeology

 

Biography

I completed a BA in Cultural Heritage at the University of Bologna in 2015. I graduated in Anthropology, Ecology and Human Populations’ Dynamics with a thesis on dissected human skeletal remains from a 17th–18th hospital necropolis of Forlì (Italy).

I gained my postgraduate degree in Archaeology at the University of Bologna in 2019. I specialised in Osteoarchaeology with a thesis on the analysis of cremated remains from a Roman necropolis (1st century BC – 1st century AD) in Forlì (Italy).

During my academic education, I spent five years in the Osteoarchaeology and Paleoanthropology (BONES) Lab in Ravenna (University of Bologna) as an attending graduate and Civilian Service volunteer.

Research

My doctoral research focuses on the study of cremated remains to improve the quality and quantity of data that could be gained using different analytical methods. The sample consists of Late Bronze Age Italian cremations of the Terramare culture and I plan to use virtual, morphological and chemical methods to investigate the biological profile of the communities, their funerary rituals, and their migrant dynamics in comparison with other similar contexts.

I am also deeply interested in the macroscopic and microscopic analysis of traumatic and surgical lesions, mostly involving bladed weapons and tools.

Key Publications

Key publications: 

O. A. Higgins, A. Vazzana, L. M. Scalise, F. M. Riso, L. Buti, S. Conti, E. Bortolini, G. Oxilia, S. Benazzi, Comparing traditional and virtual approaches in the micro-excavation and analysis of cremated remains,, Journal of Archaeological Sciences: Reports, 32 (2020) 102396 [article]

L. M. Scalise, A. Vazzana, M. Traversari, G. Gruppioni, C. Figus, E. Bortolini, S. A. Apicella, F. Fiorillo, F. Taverni, S. De Carolis, F. Fiorini, T. Böni, F. J. Rühli, S. Benazzi, F. M. Galassi, Saw Mark Analysis of Three Cases of Amputation and a Craniotomy from the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Hospital Necropolis of Forlì Campus (Forlì, Italy), Collegium Antropologicum, 42 (2018) 3 [article]

A. Vazzana, L. M. Scalise, M. Traversari, C. Figus, S. A. Apicella, L. Buti, G. Oxilia, R. Sorrentino, S. Pellegrini, C. Matteucci, L. Calcagnile, R. Savigni, R. N. M. Feeney., G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi. A multianalytic investigation of weapon-related injuries in a Late Antiquity necropolis, Mutina, Italy, Journal of Archaeological Science: reports, 17 (2018), pp. 550 - 559 [article]

A. Vazzana, M. Traversari, M. Frigerio, L. Buti, N. Dipino, L. M. Scalise, F. Motta, A. Rossi, S. Da Via, G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi, Analisi antropologica delle necropoli tardoantiche di Modena, in: Mutina Splendidissima. La città romana e la sua eredità. (Anthropological analysis of the Late Antiquity necropolis in Modena, in: Mutina Splendidissima. The Roman city and its heritage.) De Luca Editori D’Arte: Roma, 2017 [catalogue paper]

C. Figus, M. Traversari, L. M. Scalise, G. Oxilia, A. Vazzana, L. Buti, R. Sorrentino, G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi, The study of commingled non-adult human remains: Insights from the 16th–18th centuries community of Roccapelago (Italy), Journal of Archaeological Science: reports, 14 (2017), pp. 382 - 391 [article]

Other publications: 

CONFERENCES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

2019 - Reviewer for the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

R. Gabusi, S. Benazzi, C. Cavazzuti, S. Cercatillo, F. Lugli, E. Maini, M. Miari, D. Palecek, M. Palmieri, V. Poli, L.M. Scalise, S. Talamo, N. Vazzana, The burial mound of via Benini, Zola Predosa (BO), in: Program of the 10th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF PREHISTORY AND PROTOHISTORY, Online, 9-10 June, 2021 [abstract]

C. Figus, N. B. Stephens, R. Sorrentino, E. Bortolini, L. M. Scalise, G. Gabanini, M. Romandini, F. Lugli, S. Arrighi, F. Badino, G. Marciani, G. Oxilia, D. Panetta, M. G. Belcastro, W. Harcourt-Smith, T. M. Ryan, S. Benazzi, Exploring age-related variations during talar growth, in: Program of the 88th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS, Cleveland (OH, USA), 27-30 March, 2019 [abstract, poster]

M. Traversari, A. Vazzana, L. M. Scalise, C. Figus, S. A. Apicella, L. Buti, G. Oxilia, R. Sorrentino, S. Pellegrini, C. Matteucci, L. Calcagnile, R. Savigni, R. N. M. Feeney, G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi, The last moments of life of an inhabitant of Mutina (Italy): A multianalytic investigation of weapon-related injuries in a Late Antiquity necropolis, Pathologica 110 (2018), pp. 323 – 324, IV MEETING NAZIONALE GRUPPO ITALIANO DI PALEOPATOLOGIA (4th NATIONAL MEETING OF THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF PLEOPATHOLOGY), l'Aquila, 19 October 2018 [abstract]

C. Figus, M. Traversari, L. M. Scalise, L. Buti, A. Vazzana, R. Sorrentino, G. Oxilia, S. Benazzi. Neonatal and postnatal mortality in Roccapelago through the study of human skeletal remains and parish records, in: Program of the 87th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS, Austin (TX, USA), 11-14 April, 2018[abstract, poster]

C. Figus, M. Traversari, A. Vazzana, R. Sorrentino, L. Buti, L. M. Scalise, G. Oxilia, G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi. Neonatal and postnatal mortality in Roccapelago through the study of human skeletal remains and parish record, in: AAI - Destinazione Uomo, 2017, XXII CONGRESSO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE ANTROPOLOGICA ITALIANA (AAI – Destination Human, 2017, 12thMEETING OF THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS), Rome, 6-8 September 2017 [abstract, poster]

L. M. Scalise, A. Vazzana, M. Traversari, C. Figus, S. A. Apicella, F. Fiorillo, F. M. Galassi, G. Gruppioni, S. Benazzi. 2017. Four cases of anatomo-surgical experimentation and practice from the 17th and 18th centuries hospital cemetery of Forlì Campus (Italy), in: AAI - Destinazione Uomo, 2017, XXII CONGRESSO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE ANTROPOLOGICA ITALIANA (AAI – Destination Human, 2017, 12th MEETING OF THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS), Rome, 6-8 September 2017 [abstract, poster]

L. M. Scalise, A. Vazzana, G. Gruppioni, C. Figus, P. Serventi, S. A. Apicella, F. Fiorillo, F. M. Galassi, M. Traversari, Anatomo- Surgical Practice in 17th and 18th century: the case of the old hospital cemetery in Forlì, Pathologica, 109 (2017), pp. 432 – 432, III MEETING NAZIONALE DEL GRUPPO ITALIANO DI PALEOPATOLOGIA (3rd NATIONAL MEETING OF THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION OF PALEOPATHOLOGY), Pisa, 12 May 2017 [abstract]

Job Titles

PhD student in Biological Anthropology

General Info

Available for consultancy
Research Expertise / Fields of study: 
Osteoarchaeology

Contact Details

lms217 [at] cam.ac.uk

Affiliations

Person keywords: 
Human osteology, Cremated remains, Trauma analysis, Sawmark analysis
Subjects: 
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Geographical areas: 
Europe
Mediterranean
Periods of interest: 
Classical - Roman
Copper/Bronze Age
Medieval
Other Historical