Rita Peyroteo Stjerna

Short presentation

I am a bioarchaeologist specializing in the analysis of archaeological human remains and mortuary practices, trained in archaeothanatology, ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, and isotopic analysis. Since 2011, I have developed my research by applying archaeological sciences to study museum collections in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

My primary research interests include Prehistory and Mortuary Practices, Archaeological Theory and Science, and the Ethics of Research on Ancient Humans

Keywords

• archaeology
• adna
• radiocarbon dating
• stable isotopes
• archaeothanatology
• human remains
• hunter-gatherers
• mortuary practices
• museums
• mesolithic
• neolithic
• archaeological science
• research ethics
• archaeological theory

Biography

I am a bioarchaeologist investigating ancient mortuary practices by integrating archaeology and biology. My goal is to enhance current methods for studying the natural and cultural processes of mummification, particularly when only skeletal remains are preserved in the archaeological context. My main research project, Holding on to the Dead. Investigating Mummification in European Prehistory (2024-2027) is funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR).

I earned my degree in archaeology from the University of Lisbon in 2007 and completed my PhD at Uppsala University in 2016. My dissertation focused on mortuary ritual practices among Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in southwestern Europe around 8000 years ago, titled On Death in the Mesolithic.

Since 2016, I have been a researcher at the Human Evolution Research Program at the Evolutionary Biology Centre in Uppsala. Here, I collaborate with multidisciplinary teams that integrate archaeology and genetics. I have developed protocols for contamination-free sampling of human bones, ensuring minimal impact on ancient remains and museum collections.

My publications primarily focus on Holocene hunter-gatherers in Western Europe (see below or Google Scholar). Currently, I am involved in several interdisciplinary projects across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa, examining mortuary practices and ancient DNA.

Since 2022, I have actively participated in significant research collaborations, including a sub-project on coastal megalithism in Portugal as part of the University of Gothenburg's NEOSEA (ERC-StG) project. Additionally, I am leading the Researcher's Perspectives on the Ethics of Human Remains Research with the Ethical Entanglements Project at Linnaeus University.

I serve as the director of the Biomolecular Archaeology course at Uppsala University, am a founding member of the Archaeothanatology Working Group (co-chair from 2022 to 2024), and am a elected member of the Board of Trustees of the International Society for Biomolecular Archaeology (ISBA) since 2024.

Research

Recently awarded research project, as PI:

Holding on to the Dead. Investigating Mummification in European Prehistory

Uppsala University. Research Project Grant (2024 to 2027) funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, VR, Project-ID 2023-01175_VR).

Ongoing projects, as Researcher:

Ethical Entanglements. The caring for human remains in museums and research

PI Liv Nilsson Stutz, Linnaeus University. Funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ)

In this project, I investigate professional ethics and researchers' perspectives on the ethics of human remains research, from tissue to biomolecules.

NEOSEA - Neolithic seafaring and maritime technologies shaped a new world of megalithic societies (4500-2500 cal BC)

PI Bettina Schulz Paulsson, University of Gothenburg. Funded by the European Research Council (ERC StG)

Here I focus on the archaeogenomics of megalithic societies in Portugal, construction of in-depth chronologies using radiocarbon and Bayesian modelling, dietary and mobility patterns through stable isotope analyses.

Media

Working in an Ancient DNA Lab

In this video we will show you what is like to work in an Ancient DNA lab. Welcome!

https://youtu.be/6ZU0lHuGfhA