Staff

I obtained my PhD in Prehistory from the University of Perpignan (France) in 2002. Supported by a grant from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I conducted postdoctoral research at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 2004, followed by a Humboldt Foundation fellowship at the University of Hamburg (2005). From 2007 to 2012, I was ICREA Junior Researcher at the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), where I have held the position of ICREA Research Professor since 2013.

My work is dedicated to evolutionary paleoecology and to understanding the ecological contexts of human evolution. I investigate how climate-driven environmental changes shaped ecosystems and influenced hominin adaptations, with particular attention to Neanderthals. A central part of my research involves studying the diets of large herbivores—such as bison, deer, horses, and mammoths—through microscopic analysis of dental wear and stable isotopes. These dietary signals allow the reconstruction of ancient environments, the tracking of ecological shifts linked to climate fluctuations, and the exploration of how Neanderthals developed flexible subsistence strategies across different landscapes.

Alongside this research, I am co-director of the excavations at the Cova del Toll and Cova de les Teixoneres (Moià, Barcelona). I am actively engaged in international collaborations across Europe, Africa, and the Near East, contributing to multidisciplinary research on Plio-Pleistocene paleoecology and hominin evolution. I have coordinated and participated in numerous national and European research projects, and I am involved in networks such as the COST Action iNEAL. In addition, I serve on the editorial boards of several international journals further supporting the dissemination of research in human evolution and paleoecology. A central part of my academic activity is the supervision and mentoring of early-career researchers. I have directed and co-directed several doctoral theses and Master’s dissertations on topics ranging from dental wear analyses of large mammals to Neanderthal paleoecology.