Giuseppe Vercellotti

APPOINTMENTS
2012-Present   Adjunct Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

EDUCATION

  • 2006-2012: Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology
    The Ohio State University, Columbus OH, USA
    Dissertation: “Assessment of Inter and Intra-Population Variation in Stature and Body Proportions: A Comparative Study Between Living and Bioarchaeological Populations”. Advisors: Sam D. Stout & Paul W. Sciulli
  • 2000-2005: Master of Science, Biological Sciences (Specialization: Physical Anthropology)
    Bachelor’s Final Degree, summa cum laude
    Università degli Studi di Pisa – Pisa, Italy.
    Master thesis: “Lo scheletro paleolitico Villabruna 1: una fonte di informazioni su biologia e comportamento di un cacciatore di 14.000 anni fa” (The paleolithic burial Villabruna 1: a source of data on biology and behavior of  a 14.000 year- old hunter).
    Advisor: Vincenzo Formicola. 
  • 1994-1999: Diploma di Maturità Classica
    Liceo Classico Statale “F.Delpino” – Chiavari (GE), Italy.

ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK

  • 1999: OCEANS Program
    Phillips Academy, Andover (Massachusetts) USA.
    Major: Marine Biology
  • 1997: English language course
    Wellington College, Crowthorn, Berkshire UK

LANGUAGES

  • Italian: Fluent (mother-tongue)
  • English:  Fluent
     1997 FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH – Cambridge University
     1998 CERTIFICATE IN ADVANCED ENGLISH – Cambridge University
     2005 TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language
  • French:  Read and speak (studied at school for 5 years)
  • Spanish:  Basic (course “Espanol para principiantes”, Comune di Chiavari)

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Lecturer

Autumn 2006 – Spring 2008

Graduate Teaching Associate (Sole Instructor)
Introduction to Physical Anthropology
The Ohio State University, Columbus OH

Summer 2010 – Present

Instructor, Field School Pozzeveri
Field School in Archaeology (Anthropology 6685)
The Ohio State University, Columbus OH

Guest Lecturer

Winter 2006

 “Human Evolution”
Liceo Classico Statale “F. Delpino” – Chiavari (GE) Italy

Winter
2006

 “Age-at-death and Sex Determination”
Skeletal Biology Course, for Prof. Formicola
University of Pisa (PI) Italy

Winter
2006

 “Cross-Sectional Geometry”
Human Paleontology Course, for Prof. Formicola
University of Pisa (PI) Italy

Summer 2007

“The Paleolithic Burial Villabruna 1: An exemplary case of bioarcheology.”
The Slavia Foundation, Giecz, Poland

April 2008

“ Legal implications associated with transporting human remains across US borders”
Student Action Committee Meeting, Paleopathology Association

October 2012

“Unearthing the History of a Monastery Along the Via Francigena: Excavations at Badia Pozzeveri, Tuscany, Italy”.
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, The Ohio State University.

May 2013

“Unearthing the History of a Monastery Along the Via Francigena: Excavations at Badia Pozzeveri, Tuscany, Italy”. Six River Valley Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Ohio.

October 2014

“Digging the Dead: Seeking Answers from Ancient DNA”
ScienceWriters2014, Lunch with a Scientist (with Clark Spencer Larsen).

December 2014

“Unearthing the History of a Monastery Along the Via Francigena: Excavations at Badia Pozzeveri, Tuscany, Italy”. American Chemical Society, Silver Circle Meeting

 

RELEVANT  WORK EXPERIENCE

Winter-Summer 2006

Osteological Consultant
“Convento dell’Annunziata” Ossuary, Sestri Levante (GE).
Fondazione Mediaterraneo, Sestri Levante (GE), Italy
Duties:  Recovery, restoration and preliminary analysis of human skeletal remains from 16th -19th century ossuary.

Summer 2009 – 2011

Osteological Consultant
Az.Agr. Valdipicciola, Pianella, (SI), Italy
Duties: Recovery, restoration and anthropological analysis of human skeletal remains from 1800’s noble family cemetery

2010-present

Co-Founder, Program Coordinator, and Instructor
Field School in Medieval Archaeology and Bioarchaeology at Badia Pozzeveri, Italy.
I proposed and developed an academic collaboration between the Ohio State University and the University of Pisa, which resulted in the foundation of an accredited academic program aimed at training undergraduate and graduate students from Europe and North America in archaeological field methods and bioarchaeological lab analyses. I have been responsible for: developing the course and its schedule; obtaining permits and approvals from the Ohio State University; creating the website and collateral materials; overseeing and screening student applications; managing the program’s funds; coordinating activities with our Italian colleagues.

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests comprise human biology, skeletal functional morphology, bioarchaeology, and the causes and mechanisms of biological variation in human populations. Currently I am actively involved in two primary research areas. One area is centered on the study of intrapopulation variation in stature and body proportions in past and living human populations, and how it relates to a variety of biological and cultural factors. My second research area focuses on the practice of bioarchaeology in the field as a means to acquire essential contextual information necessary for interpreting and understanding human life conditions in the past.

PUBLICATIONS
Vercellotti G. 2005. La ricostruzione fisionomica. In Canci A, Minozzi S. Archeologia dei Resti Umani: Dallo Scavo al Laboratorio.  Rome: Carocci.
Vercellotti G, Alciati G, Richards M, Formicola V. 2008. The Late Upper Paleolithic skeleton Villabruna 1 (Italy): A source of data on biology and behavior of a 14.000 year-old hunter. Journal of Anthropological Sciences (Rivista di Antropologia) 86:143-163.
Vercellotti G, Agnew AM, Justus HM, Sciulli PW. 2009. Stature estimation in an early medieval (XI-XIIc.) Polish population: testing the accuracy of regression equations in a bioarcheological sample. American Journal Physical Anthropology 140:135-142.
Vercellotti G, Caramella D, Formicola V, Fornaciari G, Larsen CS. Porotic hyperostosis in a Late Upper Paleolithic skeleton (Villabruna 1, Italy). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 20(3): 358–368.
Vercellotti G, Williams LL, Stout SD. 2010. Two possible cases of mastoidectomy from a recent Italian ossuary (Chiavari, GE). Paleopathology Newsletter 151:13-18.
Vercellotti G, Stout SD, Boano R, Sciulli PW. 2011. Intrapopulation variation in stature and body proportions: social status and sex differences in an Italian medieval population (Trino Vercellese, VC). American Journal Physical Anthropology 145:203-214.
Vercellotti G, Piperata B. 2012. The use of biocultural data in interpreting sex differences in body proportions among rural Amazonians. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 147:113-127.
Reitsema LJ, Vercellotti G. 2012. Stable isotope evidence for sex- and status-based variations in life-history and diet at medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 148:589–600.
Fotis DP, Mannucci A, Vercellotti G. 2013. A possible case of eagle syndrome from an Italian ossuary (Chiavari, GE). The Journal of Craniomandibular and Sleep Practice 31:1-5.
Gocha TP, Vercellotti G, McCormick LE, Van Deest TL. 2013. Formulae for estimating skeletal height in modern Southeast Asians. Journal of Forensic Sciences 58:1279-1283.
Vercellotti G, Piperata BA, Agnew AM, Wilson WM, Dufour DL, Reina JC, Boano R, Justus HM, Larsen CS, Stout SD, Sciulli PW. 2014. Exploring the multidimensionality of stature variation in the past through comparisons of archaeological and living populations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 155:229-242.
Reitsema LJ, Vercellotti G, Boano R. Subadult dietary variation at medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy, and its relationship to adult diet and mortality. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Under Review.

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS
Vercellotti G. 2006.  Lo scheletro Paleolitico Villaruna 1: una fonte di dati su biologia e comportamento di un cacciatore di 14.000 anni fa.   Atti del XVI Congresso degli Antropologi Italiani (Genova, 29-31 ottobre 2005).  (Poster Presentation)
Vercellotti G, Formicola V. 2009. Bioarcheology of the Late Upper Paleolithic burial Villabruna 1 (Val Cismon, Italy). 78th Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (Poster Presentation).
Vercellotti G, Sammet S, Mannucci A. 2009. Severe sinusitis in a skull from a recent Italian ossuary (Chiavari, GE). 36th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Association(Poster Presentation).
Fotis D, Mannucci A, Vercellotti G. 2009. A real pain in the neck: a possible case of Eagle Syndrome from an Italian ossuary (Chiavari, GE). 36th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Association(Poster Presentation).
Vercellotti G. 2009. Stature estimation from human skeletal remains: assessing the performance of regression formulae in a bioarcheological sample. 15th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Bioarcheology and Forensic Anthropology Association (Poster Presentation).

Vercellotti G, Stout SD, Boano R, Sciulli PW. 2010. Intrapopulation variation in body size and shape: social status and sex differences in an Italian medieval population (Trino Vercellese, VC). 79th Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (Poster Presentation).
Vercellotti G, Williams LL, Stout SD. 2010. Mastoidectomy from a late nineteenth-early twentieth century ossuary in Chiavari, Italy. 37th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Association(Poster Presentation).
Vercellotti G. 2013. Stress, social inequality, and growth retardation: Exploring the multidimensionality of stature variation in past populations. In “Reconciling  ‘Stress’  and  ‘Health’:  What Can Bioarchaeologists Learn from Other Sub-disciplines?” Invited Podium Symposium. Organizers: Laurie Reitsema and Britney McIlvaine. 82nd Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
Vercellotti G, Fornaciari A, Coschino F, Stewart MC, Devault AM, Poinar HN, Fornaciari G, Larsen CS.Investigating the “Blue Death” in the Past: Preliminary Results of Multidisciplinary Research on the 1855 Cholera Cemetery at Badia Pozzeveri, Italy. 20th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Bioarcheology and Forensic Anthropology Association (Podium Presentation).
Vercellotti G, Wilson WM, Piperata B. 2014. An analysis of body proportions of adult Makushi Amerindians of Guyana: Sex differences, growth retardation, and distinct female morphotypes. 39th Annual Meeting of the Human Biology Association(Poster Presentation).
Streuli SA, Ahern JS, Kolatorowicz A, Vercellotti G. Application of FORDISC to an Historic Italian Population for Sex Determination. 21st Annual Meeting of the Midwest Bioarcheology and Forensic Anthropology Association (Poster Presentation).
Larsen CS, Vercellotti G, Fornaciari G. 2015. History written in skeletons: bioarchaeology of life and death in Tuscany, Italy, AD 900-1900. 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (Podium Presentation).
Vercellotti G, Reitsema LJ, Boano R. 2015. Variation in growth outcomes in relation to socioeconomic status and diet among subadult and adult individuals from medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy. 40th Annual Meeting of the Human Biology Association(Poster Presentation).
Reitsema LJ, Vercellotti G, Boano R. 2015. Subadult Dietary Variation at Trino Vercellese, Italy and Its Relationship to Adult Diet and Mortality. 40th Annual Meeting of the Human Biology Association(Poster Presentation).
Vercellotti G, Sparacello V, Coppa A. Social reorganization and biological change: an examination of stature variation among Iron Age Samnites from Abruzzo, Italy. 84th Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (Poster Presentation).

Liptak N, Hubbard AR, Vercellotti G. 2015. Assessing error in dental measurements: A comparison of resin and plaster casts to dental enamel. 84th Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists – Undergraduate Research Forum (Poster Presentation).

AWARDS/GRANTS
2008 Graduate Research Grant – Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH – $1710.00

2008 Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award – Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH

2009 Hughes Memorial Fund Travel Award – Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH – $300.00

2010 Eve Cockburn Student Award – Best Poster Presentation at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Association.

2011 Ohio State Chapter of Sigma Xi – Grant-in-Aid – $500.00

2011 Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum – First place, Social and Behavioral Sciences

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Association of Physical Anthropologists
American Academy for the Advancement of Science
The Ohio State University’s Public Health Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Program
Human Biology Association
Paleopathology Association