Nicoletta is a doctoral candidate in Mesoamerican archaeology at the University of California, Riverside. She has extensive field work experience in Mexico and Guatemala and is now working on her Ph.D. dissertation focusing on the Ancient Maya.
Experience:
Nicoletta has excavated in Italy, the Near East and Mesoamerica, and presented several professional papers in Mexico and Europe about the relation of pre-Columbian societies with their environment, especially the Zoque culture of Southwest Mexico. For her doctoral dissertation she is collaborating with Mexican scholars working in the Maya area, and excavating a site in the region of Palenque.
She is member of the Society for American Archaeology and is also interested in the role played by archaeology in pop culture (i.e. movies, theme parks, advertising etc.).
Education:
Nicoletta has a BA in Humanities from the University of Bologna, Italy and an MA in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside, where she is currently completing her PhD.
From Nicoletta Maestri:
I first became fascinated with archaeology when I was in primary school and saw an Egyptian coffin in a museum. When I was growing up in Italy, ancient ruins were part of my everyday landscape and I became intrigued by the work of archaeologists who by digging in the dirt could unveil buildings and objects buried thousands of years in the past.
In college I learned that archaeology is not about ancient mysteries or treasures: it's way more interesting! It's about reconstructing past stories of people and places from the little (or not-so little) clues they left behind. It's like a good detective story!
After excavating in Italy and the Near East, I worked in Mexico, where I fell in love with pre-Columbian history. I decided that the study of these complex and interesting cultures would become my career.
In these pages, I hope you will find fascinating—and professionally grounded—information and stories about people and cultures that populated the ancient Americas.