Elsa Perruchini
Of French origin, I started in September 2015 a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow under the co-supervision of Dr Claudia Glatz (Archaeology) and Prof Jaime Toney (Organic Chemistry). I come from an interdisciplinary background, having completed two Master’s degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology of Ancient Civilizations (University Sorbonne Paris 1 and University Diderot Paris 7) and Archaeometry – Chemistry and Physics applied to Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (University Bordeaux 3).
Reflecting my background, my PhD project presents a trans-disciplinary approach to drinking, senses and belongingness in Late Bronze Age Mesopotamia through the analysis of ancient organic residues. My methodology consists of an integrated framework combining archaeological, iconographic and ancient textual evidence in conjunction with geochemistry. Organic residue analysis (ORA) is a crucial tool in archaeology that allowed me to investigate the presence and identify residues of perishable substances embedded within sherds of ancient ceramic vessels discovered during multiple archaeological excavations in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
The construction of society and identity in Ancient Civilizations is research theme which has always fascinated me and I hope that this trans-disciplinary project will contribute to our understanding of past food-related practices, social behaviour and identity formation processes.
