People

Davide Tanasi

Professor and Director of the Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx)

Affiliate Faculty - Department of Anthropology

CONTACT information and cv

Office: SOC 209
Phone: 813/974-2373
Email: dtanasi@usf.edu
Website
Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

Ph.D. University of Torino (Italy), 2007

TEACHING

My main area of academic teaching is Greek and Roman history that I address in a holistic way equally using written and visual sources, archaeological and bio-archaeological evidence, and archaeological science methods. Through my courses, students examine fundamental aspects of ancient societies, from the material culture surrounding death and commemoration to the lived experiences of marginalized groups who often remain invisible in historical narratives. By analyzing archaeological evidence alongside historical and literary sources, students gain a nuanced understanding of how ancient civilizations grappled with issues of identity, power, and cultural memory. A key focus of my teaching is the interdisciplinary study of everyday life in antiquity. Students investigate the socio-political, economic, and religious dimensions of practices like food production and consumption, using biomolecular archaeology and other scientific methods to reconstruct ancient diets and foodways. Experiential learning is central to this process, with assignments designed to foster both intellectual exploration and practical engagement, such as recreating ancient recipes or leading discussions on comparative cultural practices.

I am open to work with Masters and PhD students with interests in Greek and Roman material culture and archaeology of Sicily and Malta, Mediterranean prehistory, Archaeology of Food.

RESEARCH

With an initial training as a classicist, I later specialized in Classical Archaeology with a focus on field methods in archaeology and a focus on ceramics studies. More recently, I enthusiastically embraced archaeological science and computer science in my research. I did this because many of the historical questions in which I am interested have no written texts whereby we might shed light on the problem. My preferred geographic area on investigation is the central Mediterranean from Prehistory to the end of the Roman empire.

As founder and director of the Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx), an instructional and research laboratory for Digital Cultural Heritage Studies, I apply 3D Digital Imaging techniques for the documentation, interpretation and global dissemination of endangered, inaccessible or neglected archaeological heritage with projects in Sicily and Florida. At IDEx, I foster undergraduate and graduate offering internship and formal training in the state-of-the-art software and hardware for 3D Visualization and Digital Curation through the elective courses HIS 4940 Internship in History and HIS 6945 Internship in History.

I am the director of The Mediterranean Diet Archaeology Project (MEDIAP), a research program aimed at a comprehensive exploration of how diet, nutrition, medicine, and health were interconnected to shape ancient Mediterranean societies. By integrating cutting-edge scientific techniques with written, visual, archaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence, the project reveals the profound links between food, living standards, disease, and medicine.

I am Co-Principal Investigator of the excavation project Melite Civitas Romana, at the Roman Domus of Rabat in Malta, an international and interdisciplinary excavation project for the study of the most important Early Roman Imperial mansion of the Maltese Archipelago. The project comprises the application of innovative analytical techniques for surveying (Ground Penetrating Radar) and documentation of the site (Terrestrial and Aerial LiDAR, Digital photogrammetry).

I am Co-Principal Investigator of ARCHLabs (Archaeological Heritage in Late Antique and Byzantine Sicily) an interdisciplinary research project and summer field school in archaeology focusing on the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Roman Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina (Sicily).