Dr Anna Soifer
- Teaching Associate in Classical Art and Archaeology
Contact
Location
- Faculty of Classics
- Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DA
About
I received my PhD in Archaeology and the Ancient World from Brown University (RI) in 2024. Following my PhD, I spent two years teaching in the Department of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at the University of Puget Sound (WA), first as the Redford Post-Doctoral Fellow and then as a Visiting Assistant Professor.
Research
My research focuses on the archaeology of the pre-Roman and Roman central Mediterranean, with particular interest in the social and economic dynamics of ancient craft production. Specifically, I explore how understanding the specific practices involved in craft production processes, along with how those practices were distributed across landscapes, can offer alternate approaches for addressing big picture questions regarding community formation, mobility, intercultural interaction, and human-environment interaction.
My current research consists of multiscalar analyses of the social and economic dynamics of Etruscan ceramic and metal production. In addition to identifying patterns in the organization of production, I am particularly interested in exploring what these patterns reveal about the relationships that developed between urban/urbanizing and rural communities in the Etruscan period. I am also an active field archaeologist and am involved (primarily) in two ongoing field projects: the Progetto S’Urachi, which investigates intercultural interaction in 1st millennium BCE Sardinia (Italy), and the Economic Landscapes of Roman Istria Project, which investigates the impact of Roman colonization on Istria (Croatia) through an economic lens. At both sites, ceramic production provides an exciting window for understanding the broader social and economic dynamics at play.