I am a researcher in osteoarchaeology interested in paleopathology and behavioral health. I analyze skeletal remains to address how lifestyle habits and cultural processes shaped health and disease in past populations.
ABOUT ME
I graduated in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Bologna in 2017. I then attended Leiden University, where in 2019 I obtained my MSc in Human Osteoarchaeology (cum laude). In 2025, I obtained my PhD from Leiden University, with a dissertation awarded cum laude.
My PhD research explored the spread of respiratory infections (sinusitis, otitis, pulmonary diseases) in relation to urbanization in several medieval and post-medieval sites from the Northern Low Countries. Specifically, I investigated how factors linked to urban development (socioeconomic status, housing developments, and tobacco consumption) impacted the respiratory health of both citizens and inhabitants of the Dutch countryside.
My Research Interests
- Respiratory diseases in past populations
- Impact of intoxicants on past health
- Embodied inequality
- Urban environments and historical public health
- Medieval and post-medieval bioarchaeology
Maia Casna, PhD 