Àfrica Pitarch Martí
Professora lectora Serra Húnter
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8396-9487
Scopus: 55952226500
Email: africa.pitarch@ub.edu
Short biography
I am a researcher specializing in the study of pigment remains. I obtained my Bachelor in Geology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, 2006) followed by a Master degree in Crystallography and Mineralogy (UAB, 2009). I completed a doctorate program in Geology on the application of spectroscopic analytical methodologies for the study of Cultural Heritage materials (UAB, 2011). Later on, I was appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at the Dept. of Analytical Chemistry at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, 2012), at the laboratory UMR 5199 PACEA (CNRS/UBx/MCC, 2014-2019) and at the Dept. of History and Archaeology of UB (2019-2021). From 2021, I am a Lecturer (Serra Húnter program) teaching in Chemistry and Physics Applied to Cultural Heritage Assets at the Bachelor’s degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (Department of Arts and Conservation-Restoration, UB). Besides, I am a member of the International Relations Commission as well as the Academic Dedication Plan Commission (PDA UB) at the Faculty of Fine Arts.
Research interests
My research focuses on the study of pigments and paintings, their provenance, their manufacture, and the weathering processes affecting them from a multidisciplinary approach. These interests led to three interrelated research paths: 1) first evidences of pigment use; 2) pigment and painting production; 3) impact of human and environmental stressors to the degradation of parietal works. At present, I have also begun to work on the use of eco-sustainable subjects for the conservation and restoration of works of art. Results stemming from my research have been published in numerous highly ranked peer-reviewed journals, book and books chapters. Furthermore, I participated as guest lecturer within the framework of different activities (summer courses, museum workshops, or young researcher days).
Selected publications
- J. Ramos-Muñoz , P. Cantalejo, J. Blumenröther, V. Bolin, T. Otto, M. Rotgänger, M. Kehl, T. Kellberg Nielsen, M. Espejo, D. Fernández-Sánchez, A. Moreno-Márquez, E. Vijande-Vila, L. Cabello, S. Becerra, Á. Pitarch Martí, J. A. Riquelme, J. J. Cantillo-Duarte, S. Domínguez-Bella, P. Ramos-García, Y. Tafelmaier, G.-Ch. Weniger (2022) The nature and chronology of human occupation at the Galerías Bajas, from Cueva de Ardales, Malaga, Spain. PloS one 17.6 (2022): e0266788. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266788
- S. Pérez-Diez, A. Pitarch Martí, A. Giakoumaki, N. Prieto-Taboada, S. Fdez-Ortiz de Vallejuelo, A. Martellone, B. De Nigris, M. Osanna, J. M. Madariaga, M. Maguregui (2021) When Red Turns Black: Influence of the 79 AD Volcanic Eruption and Burial Environment on the Blackening /Darkening of Pompeian Cinnabar. Analytical chemistry, 93 (48)15870-15877. 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02420.
- F. d’Errico, A. Pitarch Martí, Y. Wei, X. Gao, M. Vanhaeren, L.Doyon (2021). Zhoukoudian Upper Cave personal ornaments and ochre: Rediscovery and reevaluation. Journal of Human Evolution, 161, 103088. 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103088.
- Pitarch; J. Zilhão; F. d’Errico; P. Cantalejo-Duarte; S. Domínguez-Bella; Josep M. Fullola; G. C. Weniger; J. Ramos-Muñoz (2021) The symbolic role of the underground world among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (33). 0.1073/pnas.2021495118.
- M. Martinón-Torres, F. d’Errico, E. Santos, A. Álvaro Gallo, N. Amano, W. Archer, S. J. Armitage, J. L. Arsuaga, J. M. Bermúdez de Castro, J. Blinkhorn, A. Crowther, K. Douka, S. Dubernet, P. Faulkner, P. Fernández-Colón, N. Kourampas, J. González García, D. Larreina, F.-X. Le Bourdonnec, G. MacLeod, L. Martín-Francés, D.Massilani, J. Mercader, J. M. Miller, E. Ndiema, B. Notario, A. Pitarch Martí, M. E. Prendergast, A. Queffelec, S. Rigaud, P. Roberts, M. Javad Shoaee, C.Shipton, I. Simpson, N. Boivin, M. D. Petraglia (2021) Earliest known human burial in Africa. Nature, 593 (7857), 95-100. 10.1038/s41586-021-03457-8.
Selected projects
- CoRCLOSCA: Conservació-Restauració de béns culturals de fusta amb materials lignocel·lulòsics procedents de residus forestals i agroalimentaris; Entitat finançadora: Ajuts per a projectes en àrees emergents; Referència de la concessió: UB-AE-2022. Import concedit: 13 000 €; Durada: des de/d’ 2022 fins a 2023; Investigador/a principal: I. Bautista; A. Nualart.
- ViTRA (Culturas visuales en transformación. El arte levantino de Castilla – La Mancha y su papel en los cambios socioculturales postglaciares) Entitat finançadora: Ayudas para realización de proyectos de investigación científica y transferencia de tecnología de la Junta de Castilla – La Mancha; Import concedit: 90 000 €; Durada: des de/d’ 2022 fins a 2025 Investigador/a principal: J. F. Ruiz.
- El poblamiento del NE peninsular y su relación con el entorno natural durante el Pleistoceno superior y el Holoceno inicial; Entitat finançadora: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Referència de la concessió: PID2020-113960GB-I0; Import concedit: 119.950 €; Durada: des de/d’ 2021 fins a 2024; Investigador/a principal: J. M. Fullola; P. García-Argüelles
- PAST-AGROPIR: Las primeras comunidades agropastorales de la vertiente sur del Pirineo Central: economía y paisaje (5600-4500 calANE); Entitat finançadora: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Referència de la concessió: PID2020-115205GB-I00; Import concedit: -; Durada: des de/d’ 2021 fins a 2024; Investigador/a principal: E. Gassiot; I. Clemente.
- Origin and evolution of Palaeolithic painting tecnologies in Southern Spain; Entitat finançadora: Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca; Referència de la concessió: 2017-BP-00046; Import concedit: 92.000 €; Durada: des de/d’ 2019 fins a 2021; Investigador/a principal: A. Pitarch