BA Archaeology, University of Padua, Italy (2006) MA Archaeology, University of Padua, Italy (2009) PhD Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Israel (2014) Postdoctoral fellow, National Museum Bloemfontein, South Africa (2014) Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow, University of Tübingen, Germany (2015-2016) Junior Research Chair IdEx, Bordeaux Montaigne University, France (2017-2021) I am an archaeologist interested in the evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. My research focuses on the reconstruction of site formation processes and paleoenvironments based on the study of the microscopic archaeological record to better understand human dispersal and adaptation strategies. I make extensive use of analytical methods such as infrared and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, sediment micromorphology, phytolith analysis, and radiocarbon dating to determine human-environment interactions and characterize prehistoric pyrotechnology. Currently, I am Researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH, Spain), and I direct excavations at several prehistoric sites in the Free State province of South Africa spanning the last 300,000 years. I am Principal Investigator of the Starting Grant project "PalaeoEcology and OPen-LandscapE adaptations of Pleistocene humans in South Africa" (PEOPLE), funded by the European Research Council.