Samuele Tacconi

Samuele Tacconi is an anthropological archaeologist and associate tutor at the University of East Anglia, affiliated with the School of History and Art History and the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. He is completing his PhD after conducting fieldwork in Peru, Ecuador, and museums across South America, Europe, and the United States.

His educational background includes:

• Master of Arts, University of East Anglia (2021)
• Master of Arts, University of Bologna (2019)
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Bologna (2015)

Tacconi's research centers on Central Andean material culture (AD 500-1000), examining technological change, cross-cultural exchange, colonial encounters, and societal competition through artifacts like the 'yupana/maqueta' and Tacalshapa metallurgy. He pioneers innovative methods including scientific analyses of legacy collections, with core interests in Andean Archaeology, Missionary Collections, and Political ecology.

His sole publication analyzes 18th-century Amazonian objects donated to Bologna's Istituto delle Scienze, revealing early missionary-colonial interactions in the Peruvian Amazon and demonstrating his focus on historical collection provenance.

Tacconi leads a European IPERION-HS project coordinating multiple laboratories to study transcontinental museum artifacts. His academic engagement includes presenting at the 'Collaboration and Co-Creation of Knowledge' event (2025), speaking at the Centre for Amerindian Studies Seminar (2024), and a visiting researcher appointment at the University of St Andrews (2023).