I am a researcher in osteoarchaeology interested in paleopathology and behavioral health. I analyze archaeological skeletal remains to address everyday life and disease in relation to urbanization processes. As today industrialization is having deep implications on human health, my main research interest is to investigate how raising human shift from rural to urban areas impacted health in the past.
I obtained my BA 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 at Leiden University explored the spread of respiratory infections (sinusitis, otitis, pulmonary diseases) in relation to urbanization in several medieval and post-medieval contexts 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.
Maia Casna, PhD 