Diego Aguirrezábal Piccininno

Diego Aguirrezábal is a Professor and Researcher at the Landscape Archaeology and Heritage Laboratory of Uruguay (LAPPU) of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the University of the Republic in Uruguay. He has participated in interdisciplinary, holistic and multivocal projects, searching for new narratives and the construction of original knowledge. His work related to research and teaching in archaeology, anthropology and heritage, have allowed him to build a complex vision of social processes. He has worked in various archaeological contexts in America and Europe, from the early American settlement, the prehistoric occupation of rock shelters and the search for detainees who disappeared during the last civic-military dictatorship in Uruguay. He is a consultant for UNESCO on issues related to conservation and management of the cultural heritage of the Geoparks areas and for the International Committee of the Red Cross on issues of Forensic Archaeology, Memory and Human Rights. He has developed various advisory projects for public and private institutions in America and Europe. He is currently scientific manager of an international project that analyses the first human occupations in Antarctic territory. It focuses in the study of archaeological sites linked to whaling and sealing activities in the 19th century on the South Shetland islands.

Current research projects / interests:

• Archaeology and material culture
• Antarctic whalers and sealers of the 19th century
• Interpretation of Antarctic Landscapes and Territories
• Conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage
• Sustainable Antarctic Tourism
• Epistemology of Antarctic research

Areas of interest:

• Polar Governance
• Tourism
• Humanities
• Literature
• Antarctic Treaty System
• History
• Polar Policy
• Geopolitics
• Human Geography
• Anthropology
• Cultural Studies
• Values

Keywords: Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, 19th century, Antarctic History