Professional profile
Archaeologist | African Archaeology specialist | Mediterranean Archaeology specialist | Holocene Archaeology specialist | Lithic analyst
I am a Senior Researcher at CNR ISPC and Adjunct Professor of Prehistory and Protohistory at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. I also teach Prehistoric Ethnography of Africa and Asia at the OR.SA. Postgraduate School of Archaeology, jointly organised by L’Orientale and the University of Salerno, and serve as Visiting Professor of African Archaeology at Addis Ababa University. In addition, I am a member of the PhD Board in Mediterranean archaeological, historical-architectural, and landscape heritage (PASAP MED) at the University of Bari “Aldo Moro”.
I studied Archaeology at Sapienza University of Rome and obtained my PhD in African Studies from the University of Naples L’Orientale. I subsequently held a FIRB postdoctoral fellowship at Sapienza University of Rome, after which I joined the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. There, I was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship for the project AGRINA: Human Transitional Pathways Towards Food Production in North Africa, and later held a Leverhulme Research Associate position within the project MedAfrica: Archaeological Deep History and Dynamics of Mediterranean Africa, c. 9600–700 BC. I joined the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) in 2019 and was promoted to Senior Researcher in 2023. I also hold the Italian Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale in Archaeology, which qualifies me for the role of Associate Professor within the national university system.
My research explores human–environment interactions and the emergence of food production across Saharan and Mediterranean Africa. I am particularly interested in the study of material culture, especially lithic technology and function, as a means of understanding the social, economic, and cognitive dimensions of prehistoric communities. I have also worked extensively on the documentation and preservation of rock art sites in North Africa, with the aim of integrating archaeological research, heritage management, and community participation. In this context, I am deeply engaged in developing archaeology as a form of cultural and scientific diplomacy, promoting collaboration and capacity building across the region.
While my primary focus is research, I have always greatly enjoyed teaching. Over the years, I have taught at the Universities of Naples L’Orientale, Cambridge, Rome Sapienza, and Addis Ababa, gaining extensive experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I regard teaching as a dynamic and collaborative process that fosters curiosity, critical reflection, and intellectual independence.
I currently co-direct the Farafra Oasis Prehistoric Project (Egypt), the Northern Tunisia Archaeological Project, the Prehistoric Egypt in Museum Collections Project, and the Oued Beht Archaeological Project (Morocco). The latter received the 2025 Antiquity Prize for its first major publication.
I currently serve as President of the UISPP Scientific Commission Art and Civilisations in the Sahara During Prehistoric Times and am an active member of several international archaeological associations. I have authored or co-authored around 120 scientific publications, including peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and conference proceedings.
Outside academia, I am a passionate sailor and formerly taught children to sail, an experience that continues to inspire my belief in learning through exploration, curiosity, and shared discovery.
MUR Italian Scientific-Disciplinary Sector
- ARCH-01/A Prehistory and Early History
Groups & Labs CNR ISPC
Prehistory and Protohistory Research Group →
Remote Sensing e Spatial Data Science Lab →
Publications
Highlight
M. Lipson, H. Ringbauer, G. Lucarini, N. Aouadi, L. Aoudia, L. Belhouchet, O. Cheronet, A.-R. Dahmani, F. Genchi, F. La Pastina, M. Lucci, H. de Lumley, N. Mansouri, A. Nava, F. Touj, S. Mallick, N. Rohland, A. Coppa, R. Pinhasi, D. Reich (2025). High continuity of forager ancestry in the Neolithic period of the eastern Maghreb. Nature 641: 925-931. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08699-4
C. Broodbank, G. Lucarini, Y. Bokbot, H. Benattia, A. Bigoulimen, L. Farr, A. Garcia-Molsosa, H. Hachami, R. Laoutari, L. Lombardi, A. Marsilio, L. Martin, J. Morales, M. Radi, F. M. Rega, T. Wilkinson (2024). Oued Beht, Morocco: A complex early farming society in northwest Africa and its implications for western Mediterranean interaction during later prehistory. Antiquity 98 (401): 1199-1218. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.101
G. Lucarini, A. Radini (2020). First direct evidence of wild plant grinding process from the Holocene Sahara: Use-wear and plant micro-residue analysis on ground stone tools from the Farafra Oasis, Egypt. Quaternary International 555: 66-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.07.028
