Marta Arzarello

Marta Arzarello is an Associate Professor in Prehistory and Protohistory at the Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Ferrara (Italy). She serves as Deputy Director of the Department of Humanistic Studies and Coordinator of the Doctorate in Human Sciences and the International Master in Quaternary and Prehistory, both funded by Erasmus Mundus. She has coordinated numerous international projects (FP7, Erasmus Mundus, CNR-CNRST) and acted as EC expert since 2011.

• Director of over 60 Master’s and 21 PhD theses
• Director of excavations at Pirro Nord and Ciota Ciara
• Focus on Middle/Lower Palaeolithic technology, first European peopling, island colonization, and Sahara cultures

Her recent publications (2025–2024) span archaeology, anthropology, and lithic technology, addressing topics such as:

• Neurocranial morphology of Palaeolithic remains
• Lithic analysis of Lower Palaeolithic sites
• Diet and subsistence strategies in Palaeolithic Italy
• Use-wear analysis for tool functionality
• Early human presence in Western Europe

She received the Prix Prince Rainier III de Monaco (2018) for research at Pirro Nord. Her work integrates field campaigns, experimental archaeology, and museum curation to reconstruct human behavior and environmental interactions.