Chiara Levato

Chiara Levato is a Research Fellow at the Department of Mining Archaeology, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, affiliated with Ruhr-Universität Bochum where she pursues doctoral studies. Her academic foundation includes an MA in Humanities from Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro (2012), specializing in prehistoric iron oxide mining. She maintains active fieldwork involvement, notably with the Grotta della Monaca Research Mission in Italy.

Her research examines Paleolithic mining practices through archaeometric approaches. Primary interests include:

• Ochre extraction methodologies in prehistoric Europe
• Functional analysis of macrolithic mining tools via use-wear traces
• Iron oxide/hydroxide exploitation in Mediterranean contexts
• Paleolithic technological systems in mining contexts

Publications consistently address prehistoric mining archaeology, focusing on Italian and Greek sites. Her work integrates microscopic analysis, archaeological survey data, and comparative studies of mining techniques across Mediterranean cultures, establishing patterns of resource exploitation from the Copper Age to the Upper Paleolithic.

Current projects include the functional analysis of tools from Tzines (Thasos, Greece), employing experimental archaeology to reconstruct Paleolithic hematite mining processes. She collaborates with international teams, including UMR 8215 – Trajectoires at Nanterre, France.