Franco Rossi

Biography

Franco D. Rossi is an anthropological archaeologist whose work examines the relationships between materials and technologies in shaping knowledge systems through time. He received his Ph.D. in archaeology from Boston University in 2015. His research has appeared in journals such as Science, Antiquity and Arqueología Mexicana and has been covered by media outlets such as The New York Times, Science and Nature.

Rossi got his start working on collaborative archaeology projects in the Maya Biosphere of Guatemala, where he served for many years as archaeologist, epigrapher, and co-director of Digital Humanities for Proyecto Regional Arqueológico San Bartolo-Xultún (PRASBX). With particular interest in the artifacts and processes of schooling and knowledge transfer, his early work in Guatemala examined communities of practice and resource infrastructures underpinned by materials like limestone, paper and pigments, as seen in monuments, murals and codex books. This work also contributed to identifying the first known signed intellectual work of a Maya mathematician. 

At MIT, Rossi directs the Archaeology concentration in DMSE and teaches courses such as Human Evolution, Ancient City Building, and Technology and Culture. His current research examines overlooked histories of archaeology and their role in larger histories of science and medicine, with a new article forthcoming in American Anthropologist.