• Dimitri Papavasiliou
  • Dimitri Papavasiliou
  • Focus Area: Paleoanthropology
  • ACADEMIC BIOGRAPHY:

    I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's and master's degree in archaeology from Boston University in 2020. My master's thesis, Methodological Considerations for Phytolith Analysis at Cahal Pech, analyzed soil samples I collected during the 2019 field season with the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project (BVAR). Upon graduating, I received the College Prize for Excellence in Archaeology from the Boston University Archaeology Program. I worked as a project archaeologist and crew chief for a heritage management firm from 2020 to 2022. During this time, I managed cultural resource projects at both historical and precontact sites in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 2022, I was accepted into the PhD program for anthropology at Rutgers University and received the Presidential Fellowship Award for my academic achievements.

  • CURRENT PROJECTS:

    I am currently processing samples for phytolith analysis from the Paleolithic site of Pech de l'Azé IV at the Laboratory of MicroArchaeology (ALMA) at Rutgers University. My dissertation will engage the question of whether phytolith assemblages can be used as a proxy for understanding spatial organization around the hearth during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.

  • RESEARCH INTERESTS:

    Paleoethnobotany; FTIR; Taphonomy; Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition; Neanderthals; Anatomically modern humans; Mesoamerican archaeology; Archaeological reconnaissance; Remote sensing; Regional settlement demography