Claudia ZANCAN

EDUCATION

September 2022 – Present: PhD Candidate (scholarship holder), 38th Cycle, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice (supervisor: Prof. Silvia Vesco).
Research Field: Japanese Art and Archaeology

2020 – 2022: Master's Degree in Languages and Civilisations of Asia and North Africa – Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Thesis: "Iconographic and Iconological Analysis of the Boat Subject in the Sōshoku Kofun of Northern Kyūshū"
Grade: 110/110 cum laude

2011 – 2013: Master’s Degree in Archaeology – Leiden University, Netherlands
Thesis: "Decorated Tombs in Southwest Japan: Behind the Identity and the Socio-Political Developments of the Late Kofun Society in Kyūshū"

2007 – 2010: Bachelor’s Degree in Oriental Studies: Japanese Language and Culture – Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Thesis: "The Development of Zenpōkōenfun (‘Keyhole-Shaped’) Burials in Japan during the Kofun Period"
Grade: 110/110 cum laude

VISITING PERIODS

2024: Kyushu University, Japan
2024: Max Planck Institute of GeoAnthropology, Jena, Germany

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

November 2024: Investigative archaeological survey of decorated tombs in the Fukuoka and Kumamoto areas.
2024: Member of the scientific committee for the exhibition “Ancient Japan: The Dawn of the Rising Sun”, Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art – Genoa, Italy.
October–November 2023: Investigative archaeological survey of decorated tombs in the Kumamoto area.
2023–2024: Scientific Director of the IRIAE archaeological mission “Sōshoku Kofun Tale”, recognised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
March 2022 – May 2022: Collaborator on the project “Jōmon Sea: Navigation in the Origins of Japan” for IRIAE (International Research Institute for Archaeology and Ethnology).
Translation of archaeological excavation reports from Japanese to Italian for the project’s research areas.
February 2011 – April 2011: Internship at the Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE), Leiden, Netherlands.
Organised international events on heritage management; managed contacts and communication with foreign organisations and agencies; gained expertise in key operational areas of an international heritage management organisation; facilitated dialogue among stakeholders on “shared memory” in former colonial territories.
January 2013 – June 2022: Japanese Language Instructor

PROJECTS

2023 – 2024: Scientific Director of the archaeological mission in Japan, SŌSHOKU KOFUN TALE ・ 装飾古墳物語.
A project submitted through IRIAE, approved and recognised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), and awarded Institutional Recognition.

CONFERENCES (Peer-reviewed)

2025 [Accepted]: “Abstract Visions of Death: Human Figures in Kyūshū Decorated Tombs and Their Social Implications in Late Kofun Society”, SEAA (Society for East Asian Archaeology), 18–24 August, University of Aberdeen.
2024: “Regional Identity and Kofun Period Horse Culture”, EAA (European Association of Archaeologists), 26–31 August, Sapienza University of Rome.
2024: “Living Images, Silent Identities: Exploring the Visual Strategies of Kyūshū's Decorated Tombs and Their Social Significance”, 4th International Doctoral Symposium on Asian and African Studies (IDSAAS IV), 3–5 April, Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
2023: “Navigating through Kofun Imagery: An Analysis of the Boat Depictions Found in Decorated Tombs in Northern Kyūshū”, EAAA (European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology), 13–17 September, University of Ljubljana.
2022: “Towards New Horizons: Re-thinking Northern Kyūshū Protohistoric Art and Society through Its Long-lasting Interactions with Korea”, KSYS (Korean Studies Young Scholars Workshop), 28 November, L'Orientale University of Naples.
2022: “Funerary Art of Protohistoric Kyūshū: Identity and Symbolism in the Representation of Yugi in the Sōshoku Kofun of Fukuoka Prefecture”, AISTUGIA (Italian Association for Japanese Studies) Annual Conference, 15–17 September, University of Bologna.
2021: “Investigating the Identity of the Late Kofun Period Ukiha-Kurume Decorated Tombs”, SEAA (Society for East Asian Archaeology) Online Student Conference, 26–28 June, Kyungpook National University.
2017: “Decorated Tombs in Southwest Japan: Behind the Identity and the Socio-Political Developments of the Late Kofun Society in Kyūshū”, EAAA (European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology), 24–27 August, Zurich University.

OTHER CONFERENCES/LECTURES (Guest Lecturer)

2024: “Power and Identity in the Decorated Tombs of Kyūshū: How Symbols Reflect Kofun Culture”, 14 December, Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art – Genoa, Italy.
2024: “The Society and Culture of the Late Kofun Period through Decorated Tombs: A Case Study of Fukuoka Prefecture”, 18 November, Kyushu University, Japan.
2024: “Depicting Identity: The Decorated Tombs of Kyūshū and the Socio-Political Changes of the Late Kofun Period”, 17 September, III SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL «MUNDOS ANTIGUOS DIGITALES»: ASIA Y ÁFRICA, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
2024: “Visualising Power and Hierarchy: Weaponry and Identity in the Decorated Tombs of Kyūshū”, Lecture for the course People, Personhood, and Power: Changing Representations of Social Identities in Japan, 10 July, Heidelberg University.
2024: “Flora and Fauna in the Afterlife: Japanese Decorated Tombs and Their Symbolism”, 10 April, Max Planck Institute of GeoAnthropology, Jena, Germany.
2024: “A Study of Symbolism, Iconography, and Identity in Late Kofun Period Decorated Tombs”, Lecture for the Master’s Degree course Archaeology of Death, 9 February, University of Lisbon.

CONFERENCES ORGANISED

2024: Co-organiser of the EAA (European Association of Archaeologists) session “Advances in Japanese Archaeology”, 26–31 August, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
2024: Member of the scientific committee for the workshop “A Digital Turn in Humanities: Methodologies and Issues”, 12–13 March, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy.
2024: Member of the scientific committee for the doctoral symposium “Metaphors: Conceptualising Horizons of Meaning”, 26–28 February, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy.
2023: Co-organiser (in collaboration with the Gesshin Association) of the conference series “Unearthing Japanese Archaeology: Re-discovering Ancient Japan through Contemporary Studies”. Hybrid format: Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Department of Asian and North African Studies, and Zoom. Speakers included Dr Daniele Petrella (IRIAE), Prof Ilona Bausch (Leiden University), Prof Mark Hudson (Max Planck Institute), and Prof Maria Shinoto (Heidelberg University).

WORKSHOPS

2023: “BeArcheo Summer School”, University of Turin.
2012: “The Gowland Collection and the Archaeology of the Later Kofun Period”, led by Prof Simon Kaner and Prof Ichinose Kazuo, British Museum, London.

MEMBERSHIPS

AISTUGIA (Italian Association for Japanese Studies)

IRIAE (International Research Institute for Archaeology and Ethnology)

EAAA (European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology)

SEAA (Society for East Asian Archaeology)

EAA (European Association of Archaeologists)

ISEAS (Italian School of East Asian Studies)

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Italian: Native

English: Advanced

Japanese: Advanced

French: Intermediate

Spanish: Intermediate

Chinese: Basic

Korean: Basic