Panagiota Bantavanou

Panagiota Bantavanou completed her undergraduate studies in Archaeology at the University of Thessaly (2012-2017) and continued her MSc studies in Biological Anthropology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Democritus University of Thrace (2018-2022). She conducted her master’s thesis on histological applications to modern and archaeological skeletal remains at the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology of Democritus University of Thrace, where she continues her PhD studies. Her research interests lie upon the biological profile of cremated individuals and the health condition of ancient populations. She has advanced the field of histology in bioarchaeology and forensics by introducing a new method for age-at-death estimation, as well as providing empirical data on childhood physiological stress through the study of dental enamel hypoplasia. As a Harvard CHS Pre-Doctoral Fellow, she will explore the cultural effects on the evolution of cremation practice between the Hellenistic (323-31 BCE) and the Roman (31 BCE-324 CE) periods, utilizing advanced methodologies (Optical Histology, SEM-EDS, FTIR-ATR).