Jimena Lobo Guerrero Arenas

Dr. Jimena Lobo Guerrero Arenas is a Senior Curator of World Archaeology at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. With a research focus on Colombian archaeology, she specializes in material culture from late pre-Columbian and early colonial periods, employing a multidisciplinary approach that combines archaeological evidence, documentary sources, and ethnographic interviews.

Her research interests span Historical Archaeology, Pre-Columbian Archaeology, Material Culture Studies, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage, and Archaeometallurgy, with particular emphasis on metallurgical traditions in Colombia. Dr. Lobo Guerrero Arenas examines how indigenous metallurgical practices interacted with Spanish technologies following the conquest, focusing on sites like Santa Cruz de Mompox, Bogotá, and Cartagena de Indias.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on Colombian material culture, with particular attention to goldsmithing traditions, water management systems in colonial urban contexts, museum studies, and critical heritage approaches. Her work demonstrates interdisciplinary integration of archaeological science, historical documentation, and anthropological theory to understand cultural encounters during the colonial period.

Dr. Lobo Guerrero Arenas takes an active role in PhD student supervision and has contributed significantly to contextual museology, particularly through her research on pandemic responses in Colombian university museums. Her approach emphasizes the importance of understanding the 'entangled relationship among individuals, objects and landscapes' to comprehend technological continuity and change during periods of cultural encounter.