Rate My Professor Lara González Carretero

Dr Lara González Carretero is a Lecturer in Archaeobotany in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, where she joined in 2022. She holds a BA in History and Archaeology from the Complutense University of Madrid, an MA in Environmental Archaeology with distinction from the University of Reading, and a PhD in archaeobotany from the UCL Institute of Archaeology, awarded in 2020. Her doctoral research examined the origins of bread cultures in the Near East through archaeobotanical analysis of charred meals and cooking practices at Neolithic sites including Çatalhöyük in Turkey and Jarmo in Iraqi Kurdistan, developing innovative methodological approaches combining microscopy, image analysis, and biomolecular techniques.

Dr González Carretero’s research focuses on the role of plants in past human diets and cuisines, with particular expertise in the microscopic analysis of archaeological food remains and foodcrusts preserved in pottery vessels. Her work spans Southwest Asia, North-East Europe, and Britain, investigating plant and animal resources from hunter-gatherer communities through to post-medieval periods. Prior to her appointment at York, she served as an Archaeobotanist and Environmental Team Leader at the Museum of London Archaeology from 2018 to 2022 and as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant on the ERC INDUCE project at the British Museum from 2019 to 2021. She contributes to departmental roles including as ACCE Doctoral Training Partnership representative for Archaeology and supervises PhD students on topics such as agricultural practices and ancient cuisine.