Neemias Santos da Rosa

Archéologie des symboles (SYMBOL) – UMR5199 PACEA – Université de Bordeaux

ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8800-146X
Email: neemias_of@hotmail.com

Short biography

I am an archaeologist specializing in the use of experimental archaeology to study prehistoric art. My research centers on the technological, social, and symbolic dimensions of rock art production, primarily focusing on sites in the Iberian Peninsula and southern Africa. Over the past decade, I have engaged in numerous international projects across Spain, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, gaining a comprehensive understanding of global diversity in rock art technologies. From 2020 to 2023, I held a postdoctoral position at the University of Barcelona. Currently, I am a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bordeaux (France) and principal investigator of TaphArt, a project investigating the potential existence of rock art paintings in coastal Middle Stone Age sites of southern Africa and their possible destruction due to taphonomic processes. Additionally, I hold an Honorary Research Fellowship at the Rock Art Research Institute, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa).

Research interests

Rock art
Experimental Archaeology
Prehistoric technology

Selected publications

  • Santos da Rosa, Neemias, Danae Fiore, and Ramon Viñas. 2024. “Testing tools: an experimental investigation into technical and economic aspects of Levantine rock art production”. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16(9). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02057-7
  • Santos da Rosa, Neemias, Danae Fiore, and Ramon Viñas. 2023. “Testing Recipes: An Experimental Approach to Paint Production Processes in Levantine Rock Art (Spain).” Archaeometry. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12856. Open Access.
  • Santos da Rosa, Neemias, Lidia Álvarez Morales, Ximo Martorell Briz, Laura Fernández Macías, and Margarita Díaz-Andreu. 2023. “The Acoustics of an Aggregation Site: Listening to the Rock Art Landscape of Cuevas de La Araña (Jucar Basin, Spain).” Journal of Field Archaeology 48(2): 130-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2022.2134964. Open Access.
  • Santos Da Rosa, Neemias, Laura Fernández-Macías, Tommaso Mattioli, and Margarita DíazAndreu. 2021. “Dance Scenes in Levantine Rock Art (Spain): A Critical Review.” Oxford Journal mof Archaeology 40 (4): 342–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12228. Open access.
  • Santos da Rosa, Neemias. 2019. “La Tecnología Del Arte Rupestre Levantino.” Cuadernos de Arte Prehistórico 7: 120–46.

Selected projects

  • MSCA TaphArt Project: exploring the potential existence of rock art paintings in the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa and its destruction due to the action of taphonomic processes (2023-2025). PI: Neemias Santos da Rosa (University of Bordeaux). Funded by the European Union.
  • Los colores de Karukinka-Usin. Análisis de los procesos de manejo de pigmentos y producción y uso de pinturas de los pueblos originarios de Tierra del Fuego a partir de materiales arqueológicos, etnográficos y contemporáneos (2022-2025). PI: Danae Fiore (CONICET/University of Buenos Aires). Funded by the National Scientific and Technical Research Council.
  • Artsoundscapes: exploring rock art soundscapes and the sacred. PI: Dr Margarita Díaz-Andreu (ICREA/University of Barcelona (2020-2023) Funded by the European Research Council.

Links:

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KEy9YYIAAAAJ&hl=pt-BR 
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Neemias-Santos-Da-Rosa