Paloma Zarzuela Gutiérrez is a PhD researcher at the University of Barcelona.
I have a Bachelor degree in Archaeology (2017) from the University Complutense of Madrid and given my commitment to enlighten and share knowledge about the past I enrolled for a Masters in Teaching Social Sciences at the University Rey Juan Carlos (2019).
As a student, I received an Erasmus grant to study during two terms at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). This experience allowed me to focus on my particular interests and develop my own areas of expertise. Afterwards, I gained some initial professional experience at the University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) where I did a two-months internship funded by an Erasmus+ scholarship.
Since I graduated I have been working as an archaeologist in the Heritage sector. As a freelance archaeologist in Spain I was employed by archaeological companies and private clients where I developed and performed different projects throughout the country. In 2019 an interesting opportunity arose to develop my skills in Roscommon (Ireland). The specific difficulties of this project have given me a broader view of archaeology.
Besides, I am a member of CRAS – Centro Revolucionario de Arqueología Social, a group based in La Tabacalera de Lavapiés (Madrid) where people from various professional backgrounds try to make archaeology and heritage more accessible to the public.
My interests include public archaeology, participatory processes and feminist and gender archaeology. I am also a member of the new UB project ArqueólogAs which focuses on a critical analysis of the role of women in Spanish archaeology, from the professionalisation of the discipline in the 19th century to the present day.