Maria Raimonda Usai
Geoarchaeology, Soil micromorphology
Profile
Biography
Maria Raimonda's research interests concern a broad range of subjects but is mainly based on microscopic, sub-microscopic, mineralogical techniques combined with information at larger scale. The techniques are applied to archaeological and related materials, including soils, ceramics and sediments. Another interest is the reversibility of fire-induced soil and archaeological materials changes with time.Research
Current projects
- Site based research projects aimed at interpreting archaeological site formation and evolution in Northern England.
- Writing a Northern England geological review, from the Palaeozoic to the Holocene;
- A microscopic study of volcanic-derived Plio-Pleistocene glass and de-vitrified materials from Sardinia, Italy;
- A preliminary work on fire-induced soil modifications in archaeological and modern sites; a project on the petrography and micromorphology of Iron Age clay-rich mummy-burying contexts from Yemen.
Publications
Full publications list
- Usai, M.-R. (2005) Textural pedofeatures as tools to diagnose past cultivation - a controlled experiment. In: M.B. Brinkley e D.N. Smith (Editors): The Fertile Ground. Papers in honour of Professor Susan Limbrey. Oxford: Oxbow Books
- Usai, M.-R. (2005). Geoarchaeology in Northern England 1: The landscape and Geography of Northern England. CFA Reports Series 54/2005, 37pp.
- Usai, M.R. and Dalrymple, J.B. (2003) Characteristics of silica-rich pedofeatures in a buried paleosol. Catena 54 557-571
- Aru, A., Carboni, S., Usai, M.-R. and Vacca, A. (2003) Summary of the Workshop of the Archaeological Soil Micromorphology Working Group, Sardinia, Italy, April 11-14, 2002. Geoarchaeology, 18, 827-829.
- Usai, M.-R. (2002). Geoarchaeology in Northern England: discussion, recommendations and research priorities. CFA Reports Series 24/2002, 62pp.
- Usai, M.-R.(2001). Textural pedofeatures and pre-Hadrian's Wall ploughed paleosols at Stanwix, Carlisle, Cumbria, UK. Journal of Archaeological Science 28, 541-553
Teaching
External activities
Memberships
Member:
- Quaternary Research Association, Association of Environmental Archaeology
- the European Archaeological Micromorphology working group
- International Union of Soil Science
- British Society of Soil Science
- Italian Society of Soil Science