Claudia ZANCAN

DR CLAUDIA ZANCAN

ORCID: 0009-0008-3411-7000

CURRENT POSITIONS

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Japanese Archaeology; Late Kofun Period & Decorated Tombs (Sōshoku Kofun); East Asian Archaeology; Archaeology of Death; Cognitive Archaeology; Funerary Art; Agency; Embodied Space; Material Culture of East Asia; Prehistoric Art; Iconography; Interactions in East Asia, Transcultural Studies; Material Culture of Prehistoric & Protohistoric Japan; Cross-regional material networks in East Asia; Gender & Identity in Early Japan; Digital Humanities & Spatial Analysis (QGIS).

EDUCATION

PhD in Asian and African Studies (Japanese Archaeology) | Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Sept 2022 – Jul 2026

• Grade: Cum Laude (Distinction)
• Funding: Awarded 3-year fully funded Ministerial PhD Scholarship (Ranked 1st overall in national competitive selection, 38th cycle).
• Thesis Title: Living Images, Embodied Spaces: Agency and Perception of the Burial Environment in the Painted Decorated Tombs of Late Kofun Kyūshū

MA in Language and Civilisation of Asia and Mediterranean Africa | Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Sept 2020 – Jul 2022

• Grade: 110/110 cum laude (First Class Honours equivalent)

MA in Archaeology (East Asian Archaeology & Heritage Management) | Leiden University, Netherlands
Sept 2011 – Sept 2013

• Grade: 7.7/10

BA in East Asian Studies (Japanese Language & Culture) | Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Sept 2007 – Dec 2010

• Grade: 110/110 cum laude (First Class Honours equivalent)

Complementary Training

2021: Certificate of Completion, MOOC “Fighting Cultural Heritage Crimes: An Introduction”, EduOpen / Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

FIELDWORK & ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIRECTION

2023 – 2024: Scientific Director & Project Leader, IRIAE Archaeological Expedition ‘Sōshoku Kofun Tale’ (Japan).

• Directed the first Italian archaeological research project dedicated to Kofun decorated tombs. Officially recognized and funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
• Led field surveys and analytical investigations across Fukuoka and Kumamoto Prefectures (Oct–Dec 2023; Nov 2024), coordinating logistics and research with local Japanese municipal authorities.

RESEARCH VISITS

Nov 2024: Visiting Researcher, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan (Research on Kofun period iconography and institutional networking).
Apr 2024: Visiting Researcher, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany.

GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS & HONOURS

2026 – 2027: Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellowship (SISJAC).
2023 – 2024: Institutional Grant & Official Status recognition by MAECI (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
2022 – 2025: Doctoral Research Scholarship, Ca’ Foscari University (Ranked 1st nationwide).
 

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Hudson, M., Amos, T., Bostoen, K., Knapen, M., Lewallen, A., Watkins, J., White, J.A. and Zancan, C. (2026). 'Hunter-gatherer experiences of colonialism do not explain subsequent patterns of socio-economic development'. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 8:1889368. doi: 10.3389/fhumd.2026.1889368

Zancan, C. (2026). 'The Anonymous Protagonist? Agency and Abstraction in Kyushu Decorated Tombs of the Japanese Late Kofun Period'. Antiquity, pp. 1–19. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10377  

Zancan, C., Knapen, M., Mylona, D., Bausch, I.R., Fernandes, R., Cocozza, C., Robbeets, M. & Hudson, M. (2025). 'A Database of Pictorial Evidence of Aquatic Animals and Fishing Practices in Prehistoric Japan'. Journal of Open Archaeology Data. doi: 10.5334/joad.182

Hudson, M. & Zancan, C. (2025). 'Environmental Archaeology and Eco-Nativist Discourse in Modern Japan'. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 4: e1697454.

Hudson, M., Uchiyama, J., Zancan, C., Šukelj, K., Bernabé, R.C., Bjørn, R.G., Bausch, I.R. & Muñoz Fernández, I.M. (2025). 'Maritime Networks as a Vector for Early Farming/Language Dispersals: A comparative review'. Quaternary Environments and Humans, 3(2): e100066.

Sun, W. & Zancan, C. (2024). 'Showcasing Japan: A Journey of Japanese Identity Through Archaeology and Ancient Art Exhibitions in Italy'. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 60, pp. 333–366.

Zancan, C. (2024). 'Arte funeraria del Kyūshū protostorico. Identità e simbologia nella rappresentazione dello yugi nei sōshoku kofun della prefettura di Fukuoka'. Meridiani giapponesi. Mappe, intersezioni, orientamenti, Bologna: CLUEB / Associazione Italiana per gli Studi Giapponesi (AISTUGIA), pp. 151–168.

Zancan, C. (2023). 'Navigating through Kofun Imagery: An Analysis of the Boat Depictions Found in Decorated Tombs in Northern Kyūshū'. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 59, pp. 525–560.

Zancan, C. (2023). 'Investigating the identity of Mezurashizuka decorated tomb’s painting: introducing a new perspective'. KLEOS, 6, pp. 25–54.

Edited Volumes & Special Issues

Ciattini, R., Jin, W., Locatelli, L., Pulini, M., Thakur, K., Zancan, C. (Eds.) (2025). 'Metaphors: Conceptualising Horizons of Meaning'. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie Orientale, 61 (Supplement 3).
 

INVITED LECTURES

14 Dec 2024: 'Potere e identità nelle tombe decorate del Kyūshū: come i simboli raccontano la cultura Kofun', Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, Genoa, Italy.

18 Nov 2024: 'The Society and Culture of the Late Kofun Period through Decorated Tombs: A Case Study of Fukuoka Prefecture', Kyushu University, Japan.

17 Sept 2024: 'Depicting Identity: the Decorated Tombs of Kyūshū and the Socio-Political Changes of Late Kofun Period', Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

10 July 2024: 'Visualizing Power and Hierarchy: Weaponry and Identity in the Decorated Tombs of Kyūshū', Heidelberg University, Germany.

10 Apr 2024: 'Flora and Fauna in the Afterlife: Japanese decorated tombs and their symbolism', Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany.

9 Feb 2024: 'A Study of Symbolism, Iconography, and Identity in Late Kofun Period Decorated Tombs', University of Lisbon, Portugal.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

6 Nov 2026: 'Kofun Japan and Global Antiquity: Ecology, Pop Culture, and Historiography' (with Prof. M. Hudson), Global Perceptions and Receptions of Ancient History, Zagreb.

25 Sept 2026: '空間・文様・体験：壁画系装飾古墳への新しいアプローチ', SISJAC – Tobunken Workshop.

27 Aug 2026: 'Infrastructure and Agency in Late Kofun Japan: Between Private Performance and Public Aggregation' (with Prof. M. Hudson), EAA Annual Meeting, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

17 Jun 2026: 'The Kofun Cold Stage and Japanese Language Dispersals in Late Antiquity' (with Prof. M. Hudson), Climate Change and History Research Initiative 2026 Annual Colloquium, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

16 May 2026: 'Exploring Kyushu's Painted Tombs: Visual Strategies, Regional Patterns, and Social Implications', SECRA, University of Ljubljana.

17 Apr 2026: 'Between Mythology and Archaeology: Exploring the Afterlife Vision of the Kofun Period in Japan', V Seminario de Mitología China y Japonesa, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

19 Mar 2026: 'The Blues of Haniwa: Ideology and Heritage in Japan’s Pop-Culture Reimagining of the Kofun Past' (with Prof. M. Hudson), 3rd International Conference on East Asian Pop Culture Studies, University of Salamanca.

23 Jan 2026: 'Entangled Seascapes: More-than-Human Histories Across Oceanic Worlds' (with Prof. M. Hudson), Academia Belgica, Rome.

30 Oct 2025: 'Japanese Eco-Nationalism and the Heritage of the Kofun Period' (with Prof. M. Hudson), Max Planck Heritage Network Meeting, Florence.

9 Sept 2025: 'Exploring Kyushu's Hekiga-kei Tombs: Visual Strategies, Regional Patterns, and Social Implications', EAAA Conference, University of Lisbon.

23 Aug 2025: 'Abstract Visions of Death: Human Figures in Kyūshū Decorated Tombs and Their Social Implications in Late Kofun Society', SEAA (Society for East Asian Archaeology), University of Aberdeen.

30 Aug 2024: 'Regional Identity and Kofun Period Horse Culture' (with B. Stein), EAA Annual Meeting, Rome.

4 Apr 2024: 'Living Images, Silent Identities: Exploring the Visual Strategies of Kyūshū's Decorated Tombs and Their Social Significance', 4th International Doctoral Symposium on Asian and African Studies (IDSAAS IV), Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

16 Sept 2023: 'Navigating through Kofun Imagery: An Analysis of the Boat Depictions Found in Decorated Tombs in Northern Kyūshū', EAAA Conference, University of Ljubljana.

28 Nov 2022: 'Towards New Horizons: Re-thinking Northern Kyūshū Protohistoric Art and Society through Its Long-lasting Interactions with Korea', KSYS (Korean Studies Young Scholars Workshop), University of Naples "L'Orientale".

17 Sept 2022: 'Funerary Art of Protohistoric Kyūshū: Identity and Symbolism in the Representation of Yugi in the Sōshoku Kofun of Fukuoka Prefecture', AISTUGIA (Italian Association for Japanese Studies) Annual Conference, University of Bologna.

28 Jun 2021: 'Investigating the Identity of the Late Kofun Period Ukiha-Kurume Decorated Tombs', SEAA Online Student Conference, Kyungpook National University.

27 Aug 2017: 'Decorated Tombs in Southwest Japan: Behind the Identity and the Socio-Political Developments of the Late Kofun Society in Kyūshū', EAAA Conference, Zurich University.

CONFERENCE & EVENT ORGANIZATION

2026: Session Co-organiser (with Prof. M. Hudson), 'Japan’s Resonant Pasts: Materiality, Landscapes and Heritage', EAA (European Association of Archaeologists) Annual Meeting, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

2025: Panel Co-organiser (with Prof. K. Sasaki), 'Decorated Tombs of Japan: New Research and New Horizons', EAAA Conference, University of Lisbon.

2024: Session Co-organiser, 'Advances in Japanese Archaeology', EAA Annual Meeting, Sapienza University of Rome.

2024: Scientific Committee Member, Exhibition 'Antico Giappone: l’alba del Sol Levante', Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, Genoa.

2023: Lead Organiser, Conference Series 'Unearthing Japanese Archaeology' (Invited speakers: Dr D. Petrella, Prof. M. Hudson, Prof. I. Bausch, Prof. M. Shinoto), Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
 

WORKSHOPS & SUMMER SCHOOLS

2026: Participant, Movement, Innovation and Infrastructure, Chiemsee, Germany (09-13 September).

2025: Participant, Max Planck Heritage Network Meeting: ‘Decay, Persistence, Re-Possession. Ecologies of Cultural Heritage’, Florence, Italy (30–31 Oct).

2024: Participant, Workshop on Gender in Ancient Japan, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany (02 Oct).

2024: Participant, International Workshop ‘A Digital Turn in Humanities: Methodologies and Issues’, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy (12–13 Mar).

2023: Participant, BeArcheo First Summer School, University of Turin, Italy (18–22 Jun).

2012: Participant, Workshop ‘The Gowland Collection and the Archaeology of the Later Kofun Period’ (Prof. Simon Kaner & Prof. Ichinose Kazuo), British Museum, London, UK.

LANGUAGES

Italian: Native speaker

English: Advanced / Full Professional & Academic Proficiency (C2 equivalent – Spoken, Written, and Academic)

Japanese: Advanced / Full Professional & Academic Proficiency (Fluent in Spoken, Written, and Research Japanese)

French: Intermediate / Reading & Conversational Proficiency (B2 equivalent)

Spanish: Elementary

Korean: Elementary

Chinese: Elementary

TECHNICAL & DIGITAL SKILLS

GIS & Spatial Analysis: Working knowledge of QGIS for basic georeferencing, spatial data analysis, and archaeological mapping.

Data Management & Databases: Competent in data organization, basic relational database structure, and management using Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.

Digital Visual Media & Editing: Experienced in Adobe Lightroom for photo management, cataloguing, and digital processing of visual archaeological materials.

Web Design & CMS: Practical experience in website creation, maintenance, and content management via WordPress and Wix.

Digital Graphics: Functional command of digital design tools and content creation using Canva.

Science & Cultural Communication: Proven experience in public archaeology and online cultural outreach, specialising in communicating heritage and archaeological research to diverse audiences.

Content Creation & Storytelling: Skilled in content strategy, blogging, narrative storytelling, and end-to-end social media management (planning, content creation, and performance analytics).

Digital Strategy & Marketing: EIPASS Certified Social Media Manager; trained in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and strategic digital campaign planning.