Universität Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Prof. Madella is an ICREA Research Professor at the Department of Humanities, Universität Pompeu Fabra (UPF), where he coordinates the Culture, Archaeology, and Socio-Ecological Dynamics research group and the newly established UPF Centre for Digital Methodologies in the Human Space (DIGITS:HS).
With a background in archaeobotany and environmental archaeology, Prof. Madella focuses on understanding the socio-ecological dynamics of past human populations in extreme environments, ranging from hyper-humid to arid and semi-arid regions, spanning from the Mediterranean to the tropics. His research interests include land use, modelling processes of human behavioural change, people-plant co-evolutionary dynamics, long-term trajectories of biodiversity and sustainability in prehistoric societies, and the origins and resilience of agriculture.
In recent years, Prof. Madella has also been developing a new research avenue centered on large-scale recording and the protection of archaeological heritage in areas facing increasing threats.
He holds honorary professorships at the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), and the Center for Archaeology, Heritage & Museum Studies, Shiv Nadar University (India). Previous academic positions include serving as an ICREA Research Professor at IMF-CSIC Barcelona, Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Director of Studies in Archaeology and Anthropology at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge. Additionally, he has been a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield (UK), the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (Japan), Jawaharlal Nehru University (India) and Seoul National University (S Korea).
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