17 Erasmus Mundus Master's theses presented in Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution

A total of 17 students presented their final research projects for the Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution (IMQP) on 18 and 19 September 2025 at the IPHES-CERCA headquarters, located on the Sescelades campus of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). The defenses were held in the Abric Romaní Room, with a hybrid modality (face-to-face and online), and brought together students from Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and other countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, another example of the international nature of the program.

Of this set of works, 6 have been directed by researchers from IPHES-CERCA, who have supervised research in fields as diverse as zooarchaeology, taphonomy, archaeobotany, traceology, physical anthropology or museography.

The jury for this year's master's degree was formed by Dr. Marta Arzarello and Dr. Julie Arnaud (University of Ferrara), Dr. Christophe Falguères (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris), Dr. Sara Garcês (Instituto Politécnico de Tomar), Dr. Robert Sala and Dr. Carlos Lorenzo (Universitat Rovira i Virgili).

Internationalization and trajectory of the master's degree

The Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution is carried out in collaboration between the Rovira i Virgili University, the Università degli Studi di Ferrara (Italy), the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris, France) and the Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (Portugal).

This master's degree, which began at the URV in the 2004-2005 academic year, was a pioneer in its field and continues to be a program of first-rate international attraction. The training offer has been consolidated thanks to the research of excellence carried out at IPHES-CERCA in projects around the world, and its combination of teaching, research, fieldwork and transfer to society. The Erasmus+ seal is a recognition of quality that consolidates the international impact of IPHES-CERCA and the URV.

List of students and theses defended

1. Paulo Duñó Iglesias (URV)

Seasonal insights into the dietary ecology of Eastern European cave bears: a story of evolution, specialization, competition, and ecological collapse.

Dir.: Florent Rivals, Iván Ramírez Pedraza, Marius Robu

2. Mary Aderonke Oguntuase (IPT)

Geochemical fingerprinting of Neolithic lithics from central Portugal: insights into exchange networks at Anta 1 de Vale da Laje, Tomar.

Dir.: Luiz Oosterbeek, Hugo Gomes, Stefano Bertola

3. Miguel Subires-Merida (URV)

Morpho-technological and traceo-experimental analyzes of Magdalenian bone industries in the western Mediterranean basin: the case of Molí del Salt (Conca de Barberà, Spain).

Dir.: Deborah Barsky, Manuel Vaquero Rodríguez, Eva David

4. Larissa Docal Spina (UNIFE)

Mandibular angle variation in Middle Pleistocene Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens.

Dir.: Julie Arnaud

5. Igor Rollet (MNHN)

Old Breaks, New Takes: Diagnosing Trauma in the Anthropological Remains of Collège Claude Monet, Magny-en-Vexin, France (5th–7th Centuries CE).

Dir.: Sébastien Villotte, Frédéric Boursier, Jean-Gabriel Pariat

6. Devi Ayu Aurora Nasution (UNIFE)

The Position of Holocene Crania from Braholo Cave, Song Keplek, and Song Terus within Modern Indonesian Cranial Variation: A 3D Geometric Morphometrics Approach.

Dir.: Julie Arnaud, Florent Detroit

7. Shen Zixuan (MNHN)

Diachronic Changes and Diversity of Quartz Microlithism through the Late Holocene at Seal Rock Shelter, Namibia.

Dir.: Isis Mesfin, David Pleurdeau

8. Sirikanya Chantasri (MNHN)

Long-term Evolution of Hunter-Gatherer Subsistence Strategies in Southern Thailand: Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage from Khao Ta Plai Cave (Chumphon Province).

Dir.: Corentin Bochaton

9. Garance Cachard (MNHN)

2D and 3D morphometric characterization of human mandibles from the Korean peninsula in the fossil variation of Pleistocene hominins to the present day.

Dir.: Amélie Vialet

10. Rachel Wong (MNHN)

Molar Size Determination in Hominins: Testing the Inhibitory Cascade Model.

Dir.: Florent Détroit, J. Bardin, P. Gousset

11. Ayesha Arobi (UNIFE)

An archaeometric synthesis of prehistoric rock-art binders.

Dir.: Hugo Gomes, Sara Garcês

12. Noa Lachman (MNHN)

Burning Insights into Plant Remains: Archaeobotanical study of Neanderthal Occupations at Roca dels Bous (Sant Llorenç de Montgai, Spain).

Dir.: Ethel Allué, Aitor Burguet-Coca

13. Alba Vidal Soliño (URV)

Fuel sources and paleovegetation in a Late Middle Paleolithic Iberian context: Anthracological analysis of Layer XI from El Salt (Alcoy, Alicante).

Dir.: Ethel Allué Martí, Carolina Mallol Duque

14. Leonard Botton (MNHN)

Exploitation strategies of ligneous resources and paleoenvironmental dynamics in the late Neolithic: anthracological analysis of the site Deûle-Escaut de Rebreuve-Ranchicourt (Pas-de-Calais).

Dir.: Aurélie Salavert, Élisabeth Panloups

15. Saray Pascual Moliner (URV)

Tool Use in Non-Human Primates (Pan troglodytes) as a Model for Studying Cultural Evolution.

Dir.: David Riba Cano, Manuel Vaquero Rodríguez

16. Maria del Mar Repiso (URV)

From Excavation to Community: Anthropological Study and Museum Proposal of an Individual from the Necropolis of Spina for the National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara.

Dir.: Barbara Bramanti, Tiziano Trocchi

17. David Rodríguez de la Fuente (URV)

Autoecological and paleoenvironmental study of Level II.1 of La Mina (Barranc de la Boella, Tarragona, Spain): a proposal based on taphonomic-spatial analysis.

Dir.: Antonio Pineda Alcalá, Palmira Saladié