Dr Idoia Grau Sologestoa

School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities

Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Idoia Grau-Sologestoa
Profile picture of Dr Idoia Grau-Sologestoa
i.grau-sologestoa@sheffield.ac.uk
Profile

I am a zooarchaeologist working on the history of human-animal relationships during historical periods.

I have a first Bachelor degree in History (2006) and a D.E.A. in Medieval Archaeology (2009) from the University of the Basque Country, where I also did my PhD (2014), on the Zooarchaeology of northern Spain during the Middle Ages. I have been involved in fieldwork in Spain and Italy, in archaeological sites such as Zornoztegi, Zaballa, Aistra, Los Husos or Cugnano, spanning from the Calcolithic to the Modern period. I collaborate with various Basque archaeological companies as a freelance zooarchaeologist.

After completing my PhD at the University of the Basque Country and co-supervised by Umberto Albarella (from the University of Sheffield), I briefly worked at the University of Nottingham in 2014. From 2015-2017 I held a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Sheffield, funded by the Government of the Basque Country for working on a project investigating changes in animal husbandry between the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period in England and in the Basque Country.

Since 2018, I am Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Integrative Prähistorische und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (IPNA) at the (Switzerland), with the project: ‘Supplying ancient empires and medieval economies: Changes in animal husbandry between the Late Roman period and the Early Middle Ages in the Rhine Valley — .

Qualifications
  • 2014- PhD in Zooarchaeology – University of the Basque Country
  • 2009- D.E.A. (Certificate of Advanced Studies, equivalent to a MSc) in Medieval Archaeology – University of the Basque Country
  • 2006- BA in History – University of the Basque Country
Research interests

My research is mainly focused on the history of human-animal relationships through archaeological evidence, and I mainly work on animal husbandry, social differentiation through diet and taphonomy of historical periods, from Roman to Contemporary times. So far, I have carried out my research in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

My main areas of interest include:

  • Animal husbandry
  • Social differentiation through diet
  • Biometry
  • Exploitation of birds
  • Taphonomy
  • Worked bone and antler

I also love communicating archaeological research to the general public. I participate in public engagement activities whenever I have the chance, and I am very active in different forms of social media for myself and for the research groups and projects that I am part of.

Research Projects/Collaborations

  • 2015 – 2017- Postdoctoral fellow funded by the Basque Government at the Department of Geography, prehistory and Archaeology at the University of the Basque Country. 
  • 2014- Postdoctoral Research Affiliate at the AHRC funded project "Changing Scientific and Cultural Perspectives on Human-Chicken Interactions", Dpt. Of Archaeology, U. of Nottingham, United Kingdom.
  • “EICAM-Estudo Interdisciplinar sobre Comunidades Alto Medievais - séculos V a XI", funded by the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, and directed by C. Tente (Universidade Nova de Lisboa). 
  • “Desigualdad en los paisajes medievales del norte peninsular: los marcadores arqueológicosâ€, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, directed by J.A. Quirós Castillo (U. País Vasco).
  • “La génesis del paisaje medieval en el Norte Peninsular: Arqueología de las aldeas de los siglos V al XIIâ€, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, directed by J.A. Quirós Castillo (U. País Vasco).
  • “La formación de los paisajes medievales en el Norte Peninsular y en Europa: Agricultura y Ganadería, los siglos V al XIIâ€, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, directed by J.A. Quirós Castillo (U. País Vasco
Grants

Grants and Fellowships

  • 2018&²Ô²ú²õ±è;–&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±Ê°ù±ð²õ±ð²Ô³Ù-&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie Individual Fellow at the Integrative Prähistorische und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (IPNA) at the University of Basel (Switzerland), with the project: ‘Supplying ancient empires and medieval economies: Changes in animal husbandry between the Late Roman period and the Early Middle Ages in the Rhine Valley — ZooRoMed
  • 2015- Postdoctoral fellow funded by the Basque Government at the Dpt. de Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología at the U. País Vasco, Spain.
  • October 2014- Runner-up award of the IX Premio de Historia Agraria given by the SEHA (Spanish Society for Agrarian History), in October 2014. This paper is an extract of the PhD thesis.
  • 01/09/2007 – 31/08/2011- Formación del Personal Investigador doctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Dpt. de Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología at the U. País Vasco, Spain.
  • 01/06/2007 – 30/06/2007- Personal Investigador en Formación doctoral fellowship funded by the University of the Basque Country, Dpt. de Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología at the U. País Vasco, Spain.
  • 01/01/2006 – 30/06/2006- Undergraduate collaboration fellowship, funded by the Basque Government, Departamento de Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología at the U. País Vasco, Spain
Professional activities and memberships
  • 2016&²Ô²ú²õ±è;–&²Ô²ú²õ±è;±Ê°ù±ð²õ±ð²Ô³Ù-&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Member of the SPMA (Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology)
  • 2011 â€“ Present- Member of the EAA (European Association of Archaeologists)
  • 2008 – Present- Member of the ICAZ (International Council for Archaeozoology)
  • 2008 – Present- Member of Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi 
Selected Publications
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., Quirós Castillo, J.A., 2020. Arqueología de la Edad Moderna en el País Vasco y su entorno. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • Quirós Castillo, J.A., Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2020. "Arqueología de la Edad Moderna en el País Vasco. Una arqueología en construcción, un patrimonio en expansión", in Grau-Sologestoa, I. and Quirós Castillo, J.A. (eds.) Arqueología de la Edad Moderna en el País Vasco y su entorno, pp. 1-22. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2020. "Livestock size change and animal husbandry between the Late Middle Ages and the Modern Era in the Basque Country and its surroundings", in Grau-Sologestoa, I. and Quirós Castillo, J.A. (eds.) Arqueología de la Edad Moderna en el País Vasco y su entorno, pp. 140-164. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2019. “Comprendre la gestion des déchets et les procédés de formation de leurs sites de traitement au sein des communautés rurales médiévales : quelques réflexions fondées sur des données archéozoologiques du Nord de la Péninsule Ibériqueâ€, in Conesa, M. & Poirier, N. (eds.), Fumiers ! Ordures ! Gestion et usage des déchets dans les campagnes de l’Occident médiéval et moderne, Flaran XXXVIII, Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Midi, pp. 191-210.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2019. “Estudio de los materiales faunísticos (mamíferos y aves) y de la industria ósea del yacimiento de Zornoztegiâ€, in Quirós Castillo, J.A. (ed.), Arqueología de una comunidad campesina medieval: Zornoztegi (Ãlava), Documentos de Arqueología Medieval 13, Bilbao: UPV/EHU, pp. 377-400.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., Albarella, U. 2019. “The ‘long’ sixteenth century: a key period of animal husbandry change in Englandâ€, Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11:2781-2803.
  • Ricci, P., García-Collado, M.I., Narbarte Hernández, J., Grau Sologestoa, I., Quirós Castillo, J.A., Lubritto, C. 2018. “Chronological characterization of Medieval Villages in Northern Iberia: A multi-integrated approachâ€, The European Physical Journal Plus 133, p. 375.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2018. “Pots, chicken and building deposits: the archaeology of folk and official religion during the High Middle Ages in the Basque Countryâ€, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 49, 8-18.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., García-García, M. 2018. “Zooarqueología y Edad Media en la península ibéricaâ€, in Quirós Castillo, J.A. (ed.) Treinta Años de Arqueología Medieval en España. Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 341-364.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., Quirós Castillo, J.A. 2017. “Peasant economy in Late Roman Alava: Zooarchaeology of Zornoztegiâ€. Archaeofauna 26, pp. 87-102.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2017. "Socio-economic status and religious identity in medieval Iberia: the zooarchaeological evidence", Environmental Archaeology 22 (2), pp. 189-199.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2017. "La ganadería en el País Vasco entre los siglos VI y X: evidencia zooarqueológica", in Villar Mañas, S., García García M. (eds.) Ganadería y Arqueología Medieval, Granada: Alhulia, pp. 57-71.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2016. “Faunal remains and social inequality in the Basque Country during the Early Middle Agesâ€, in Quirós Castillo, J.A. (ed.), Social complexity in early medieval rural communities. The north-western Iberia archaeological record during the Early Middle Ages. Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 47-58.
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., Albarella, U., Quirós Castillo, J.A. 2016. “Urban medieval and post-medieval zooarchaeology in the Basque Country: meat supply and consumption, Quaternary International 399, pp. 1-12.
  • Jervis, B., Broderick, L., Grau-Sologestoa, I. (Eds) 2016. Objects, Environment, and Everyday Life in Medieval Europe, Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN: 978-2-503-55503-4.
  • Jervis, B., Broderick, L. and Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2016. “Introduction: everyday life in Medieval Europeâ€, in Jervis, B., Broderick, L., Grau-Sologestoa, I. (Eds), Objects, Environment, and Everyday Life in Medieval Europe, Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1-15
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2015. “Livestock management in Spain from Roman times to the post-medieval period: biometrical analysis of cattle, sheep/goat and pigâ€, Journal of Archaeological Science 54, pp. 123-13
  • Quirós Castillo, J.A., García Collado, M.I., Ricci, P., Grau-Sologestoa, I. and Lubritto, C. 2015. "A Bayesian approach to reconstruct occupational sequence of Northern Iberia Medieval villages", 1st International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology, Benevento, pp. 259-264
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2015. The Zooarchaeology of Medieval Alava in its Iberian Context, BAR International Series. ISBN: 9781407314457
  • Jervis, B., Broderick, L. and Grau-Sologestoa, I. (Eds) 2015. Objects, Environment, and Everyday Life in Medieval Europe, Brepols: Turnhout. ISBN: 978-2-503-55503-4
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., 2014. "La economía campesina a la luz del registro zooarqueológico: la ganadería medieval de la Península Ibérica". Took the runner-up award of the IX Premio de Historia Agraria given by the SEHA (Spanish Society for Agrarian History), in October 2014
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2014. “Waste management at early medieval rural sites in northern Spain: taphonomic issues for interpreting faunal remains", Quaternary International 330, pp. 97-108
  • Sirignano, C., Grau-Sologestoa, I., Ricci, P., García-Collado, M.I., Altieri, S., Quirós Castillo, J.A., Lubritto, C., 2014. “Animal husbandry during Early and High Middle Ages in the Basque Country (Spain)â€, Quaternary International 346, pp. 138-148
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. & Valenzuela-Lamas, S. 2014: "Zooarchaeology today-Spain", ICAZ Newsletter 15 (1), spring 2014, pp. 5-6
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2014. "Informe zooarqueológico de las termas de Arcaya", in Loza Lengaran, R., Loza Iriarte, M. & Niso Lorenzo, J., Las termas romanas de Arcaya / Suestatium (Arkaia. Vitoria-Gasteiz), Memoria de las intervenciones arqueológicas en Otazibarra (1976-1982), Memorias de yacimientos alaveses 13, Vitoria-Gasteiz: Diputación Foral de Ãlava, pp. 398-403
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2013. “El registro faunístico de los asentamientos rurales altomedievalesâ€, en Quirós Castillo, J.A. (ed.), El poblamiento rural de época visigoda en Hispania. Arqueología del campesinado en el interior peninsular, Documentos de Arqueología Medieval 6, Bilbao
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2013. “Zooarqueología de las aldeas y villas vascas: actividad ganadera en la Edad Mediaâ€, Debates de Arqueología Medieval
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2012. “Estudio zooarqueológico: los restos de mamíferos y avesâ€, en Quirós Castillo, J.A. (dir.), Arqueología del campesinado medieval: la aldea de Zaballa, Documentos de Arqueología Medieval 3, Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco, pp. 419-452
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2012. “¿El zooarqueólogo, una especie en vías de extinción? Los estudios de fauna en la universidad y en las empresas de Arqueologíaâ€, en las actas de las IV Jornadas de Jóvenes en Investigación Arqueológica – JIA 2011, celebradas en la Universidad de Algarve (Faro, Portugal), en mayo de 2011, pp. 299-304
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I., Hernández Beloqui, B. and Sopelana Salcedo, I. 2012. “Muestreo bioarqueológico para un equipo interdisciplinarâ€, en Castro Correa, A. et al. (ed.), Estudiar el pasado: aspectos metodológicos de la investigación en Ciencias de la Antigüedad y de la Edad Media, Proceedings of the First Postgraduate Conference on Studies of Antiquity and Middle Ages, U. Autònoma de Barcelona, 26-28th October 2010, BAR International Series, pp. 181-188
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2012. “Agriculture and ironwork in the Middle Ages: new evidence of bone anvils in Spainâ€, Munibe Atropología-Arqueología 63, pp. 305-319
  • Grau-Sologestoa, I. 2009. “Ganadería en la Alta Edad Media. Estudio comparativo de los yacimientos alaveses de Zornoztegi, Zaballa y Salvatierra-Agurainâ€, en Munibe Atropología-Arqueología, 60, pp. 253-280.

Links

    Zooarchaeology Short Courses