Apresentação Pessoal

I am an Associate Professor with Aggregation in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Porto since January 2006, where I have worked since 1984. My pioneering degree in History - Art and Archaeology and my training at the Aboboreira Archaeological Field laid the foundations for my subsequent scientific and professional trajectory. Research on Prehistory from the perspective of settlement and territorial studies has defined my entire scientific career, which has spanned more than four decades.
From an early stage, my research into Prehistory turned to the inland territories, particularly Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (the region where I was born and grew up), and I began an archaeological investigation that did not previously exist. Both my Public Examinations of Pedagogical Aptitude and Scientific Ability (defended in 1988) - through which I became an Assistant Professor - and my PhD in Prehistory and Archaeology (1995) - which led to my becoming an Assistant Professor - focused on the Late Prehistory of that region (in the context of Northern and Central Portugal). This fresh research into different types of archaeological sites launched me into international academic circles, especially in Spain.
I have been actively involved in the creation and restructuring of master's and doctoral programmes. Having been Coordinating Director of the PhD in Archaeology from its creation (2010) until its dissolution (2018), I was also Coordinating Director of the Master's programme from its inception and continue to hold this role from 2018 to date.
Territorial studies that recover all archaeological sites potentially providing (pre)historical information on regional settlement during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Ages, with a particular focus on prehistoric rock art and ecosystems/palaeoclimates, are central to my entire curriculum vitae. Consequently, I have studied settlements concurrently with rock art sites (paintings and/or engravings), burial mounds, megalithic monuments, and monumentalised hills. In these same areas of Prehistory, I have tutored and continue to supervise numerous Master's and PhD theses.
In 1998, I was honoured with the Gulbenkian Archaeology Prize-97 for my book "1997-Late Prehistory of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro" (2 vols.), a publication derived from my 1995 PhD thesis. Recognising my significant contribution to prehistoric knowledge in Trás-os-Montes, especially in Mirandela, I was awarded the Gold Medal of the Municipality of Mirandela in 2000.
Throughout my career, promoting public involvement and pride in cultural heritage has been my guiding principle. Working predominantly in Northern Portugal, I endeavour to make archaeological remains appreciated through key initiatives covering inland regions: in situ museums and tourist routes responsive to changing public preferences. My core dissemination activity commenced in 1988 with the creation of museums in Mogadouro and subsequently in Murça (though the latter was never constructed).
At Crasto de Palheiros-Murça, the opening of the Interpretation Centre in 2009 demonstrated the community's involvement and pride. I would highlight the initiatives relating to the Serra de Passos-Santa Comba-Garraia rock art heritage, which began in 2014 and from 2022 focused on defending it against a wind farm. Conferences, public interventions, and heritage education - exemplified by the EscarpArte project - emphasised the region's importance, attracting both public and media attention.
More recent publications offering overviews of Mesolithic-Neolithic, Bell Beaker, and Late Prehistory rock art bear witness to my maturity as a researcher and my openness to new methodologies and renewed theoretical challenges.