Irene Martí Gil
Dr. Irene Martí Gil
Educational Outreach Coordinator
Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections Manager
Museum of Natural Science
119 Foster Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Email: imart23@lsu.edu
Telephone: 225-578-2855
Biography
I was born and raised in Tarragona, a small, picturesque town on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Tarragona is a remarkable palimpsest of civilizations that contains over four millennia of history within its city borders, so it is entrenched in locals to take great pride in preserving and exhibiting some of the most extraordinary historical and cultural sites that Southern Europe has to offer. Being raised in that unique environment, I was taught very early on to cherish the remains and expressions of past and present cultures, so I decided to dedicate my career to various anthropological disciplines.
I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology (with a minor in Classic and Medieval Archaeologies) from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2015, having pursued an academic exchange at Université Paris-Sorbonne IV. In 2016, I graduated with a degree in Liberal Arts from Escuela de Liderazgo Universitario-Universidad Francisco de Vitoria. Later, I earned a Master’s degree in Cultural Heritage Studies from University College London in 2017 and a Ph.D. in Anthropology (with a minor in Linguistics) from Louisiana State University in 2023, which Fulbright sponsored. Currently, I combine my job as Educational Outreach Coordinator and Ethnographic and Archeological Collections Manager at the LSU Museum of Natural Science with my independent research on the topics of museology, as well as archaeological looting and antiquities trafficking from an interdisciplinary (legal, archaeological, ethnographic, and linguistic) perspective.
Research Interests
- Archaeology: archaeological anthropology, Maya archaeology, Southern U.S. archaeology, Islamic archaeology of Al-Andalus, hydraulic archaeology.
- Cultural Heritage Studies: cultural heritage management, cultural heritage law, antiquities trafficking, museum studies.
- Leadership and International Studies: social empowerment; socio-cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Honors and Awards
| Eleanor Earle Memorial AAUW Scholarship (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2023 |
| Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2022 |
| LSU Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2022-2023 |
| Phi Kappa Phi “Love of Learning” Award (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2021 |
| First Award in Premios Nacionales de Fin de Carrera de Educación Universitaria- Año 2015-2016(Madrid, Spain). Scholarship granted to the best college students in Spain who graduated in 2015-2016. | 2020 |
| LSU Alumni Association International Student Scholarship (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2020 |
| Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Terminal Degree Award (Baton Rouge, USA). | 2020 |
| Fulbright Scholarship (Madrid, Spain). International excellence award to fund a post-graduate degree abroad. | 2018-2020 |
| UCL Dean's List for Excellence (London, UK). | 2017 |
| UCL Institute of Archaeology Master Award-2017 (London, UK). | 2017 |
| “Becas de Posgrado-La Caixa” Scholarship (Barcelona, Spain). International excellence award to fund a post-graduate degree abroad. | 2016-2017 |
| Alumni Excellence Award at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain). First-best mark of the year. | 2015-2016 |
| Erasmus scholarship at Université Paris-Sorbonne IV (Paris, France). Scholarship to fund a year abroad. | 2015 |
| Erasmus Practicum scholarship at Université de Perpignan, Musée de l’Homme de Paris, and Centre Européen de Recherches Préhistoriques de Tautavel (Perpignan, France). Scholarship to fund a professional internship abroad. | 2015 |
| Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-Servei de Llengües (Barcelona, Spain). Scholarship to study a foreign language. | 2014-2015 |
| Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-Servei de Llengües (Barcelona, Spain). Scholarship to study a foreign language. | 2013-2014 |
| Excellence Scholarship “Fundación Cataluña-La Pedrera” (Barcelona, Spain). | 2012-2013 |
| Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-Servei de Llengües (Barcelona, Spain). Scholarship to study a foreign language. | 2012 |
| National Excellence Scholarship VII Edición Becas Europa 2012 by Universidad Francisco de Vitoria-Fundación Botín (Madrid, Spain). | 2012 |
| International Scholarship “Ruta Quetzal BBVA 2010” (Spain-Mexico). | 2010 |
Recent Lectures and Outreach Events
Martí Gil, I. (2024). LSU Cabinet of Curiosities. The Ethnographic and Archaeological
Collections of the Museum of Natural Science. Paper presented at the event “Hidden
Collections,” organized by the Center for Collaborative Knowledge (Baton Rouge, USA).
Martí Gil, I. (2023). Archaeological Resources in Guatemala: The Vibrancy of Artifacts.
Paper presented at the PALC Conference: “Life in Protected Zones and Areas: Challenges,
Conflicts, Benefits,” organized by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (Sofia, Bulgary).
Martí Gil, I. (2023). Heritage Laws of Guatemala: Protecting the National Cultural
Heritage or Their Profit? Essentialism, Othering, and Colonialism. Paper presented
at the İstanbul Topkapı University-Annual International Conference on Literature (Istambul,
Turkey).
Martí Gil, I. (2023). Native American Identity through the Critical Discourse Analysis
of NAGPRA: Parties, Politics, and Prospects. Paper presented at the 88th Society for
American Archaeology Conference (Portland, USA).
Martí Gil, I. (2023). Institution of the Catholic Church’s Rural Estate in the Kingdom
of Granada (1492-1571) and the Ecclesiastical Settlement in the New World. Paper presented
at the 123rd Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (New Orleans,
USA).
Martí Gil, I. (2022). Intangible Collectionism and Museumification of Social Media
in the Era of Postmaterialism. Paper presented at the Royal Anthropological Institute
(RAI) 2022 Virtual Conference: Anthropology, AI and the Future of Human Society (London,
UK).
Guest lecturer at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, USA). Lecture on “Heritage
Protection: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?” to undergraduate and graduate students
enrolled in Theory and Methods in Archaeology, a course taught by Dr. David Chicoine.
Panelist at “LSU Girls Day at the Museum” event. Organized by the LSU School of Sciences
to general public and Baton Rouge community members (Baton Rouge, USA).
Guest lecturer at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid, Spain). Lecture on “Pompeya:
Fotografía de Un Instante. Dialogic Talk, Una Conversación Entre Carlos Romero e Irene
Martí”
Lecture at LSU Museum of Natural Science (Baton Rouge, USA). Lecture on “What is Archaeology?”
to second-grade students from Dufrocq Elementary School.
Guest lecturer at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, USA). Lecture on "Mayan
Archaeology” to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in World Archaeology,
a course taught by Dr. David Chicoine.
Martí Gil, I. (2021). Applying Critical Discourse Analysis on the Heritage Laws of
Guatemala: Authorized Heritage Discourse, Colonialism, and Othering. Paper presented
at the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) 2021
Yucatan Congress: Heritages, Global Interconnections in a Possible World, IUAES (Yucatan,
Mexico).
Martí Gil, I. (2020). Underwater Archaeological Looting in the Maya Area. Historical
Background, Current Situation, and Future Challenges to Preventing the Destruction
of Subaquatic Heritage. Paper presented at the MARE Conference 2020, MARE (Hamburg,
Germany).
Martí Gil, I. (2020). Archaeological Looting and Archaeological Ethnography of Looting.
Approaches to a New Field of Study. Paper presented at 8th UCLA Archaeology Research
Conference, UCLA (Los Angeles, USA).
Martí Gil, I. (2019). Huaquería: At the Cross-road Between Traición and Tradición.
Poster session presented at the 6th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Amazonian
and Andean Studies Biennial Conference, University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, USA).
Martí Gil, I. (2019). Archaeological Looting in Belize: Exploring Solutions, Challenges,
and Amendments. Paper presented at the 10th Annual South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica,
LSU (Baton Rouge, USA).
Publications
Martí Gil, I. 2024. [Review of the book Repatriation and Erasing the Past, by Elizabeth Weiss and James W. Springer, 2020]. Anthropology Book Forum, 10. Available from: https://anthrobookforum.americananthro.org/elizabeth-weiss-and-james-w-springer-2020-repatriation-and-erasing-the-past-gainesville-university-of-florida-press-278-pp-isbn-9781683401575/
Martí Gil, I. 2023. [Review of the book Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent, by A. Mickel]. Anthropology Book Forum, 9. Available from: Why Those Who Shovel Are Silent: A History of Local Archaeological Knowledge and Labor
Martí Gil, I. 2022. Early human life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain [Review of the book Early Human Life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain, by Albert C. Goodyear and Christopher R. Moore, 2018]. Anthropology Book Forum. Available from: Early Human Life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain
Martí Gil, I. 2022. A glocal perspective on Native American landscapes [Review of the book The Archaeology of Southeastern Native American Landscapes of the Colonial Era, by Charles R. Cobb, 2019]. Anthropology Book Forum. Available from: A Glocal Perspective on Native American Landscapes
Martí Gil, I. 2021. The artworld(s) of the Mesoamerican antiquities market [Review of the book The Market for Mesoamerica. Reflections on the sale of Pre-Columbian antiquities, by Cara Tremain and Donna Yates, eds. 2019]. Anthropology Book Forum. Available from: The artworld(s) of the Mesoamerican antiquities market
Martí Gil, I. 2016. Propuesta de estudio de la instalación y el patrimonio de la Iglesia en el Reino de Granada (1492-1571). Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.