Saša gained her Ph.D. from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and is currently an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies, at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Saša’s research focuses on the archaeology of religion with regional foci spanning Europe, North Africa, Latin America and the Indian Ocean. Her initial investigations centered on the Balkans and studied the role of medieval architecture and the integration of elements of power into sacred landscapes. More recently, she has developed her research to incorporate anthropological as well as archaeological perspectives in a study of identity construction, using religion and religious expression by descendent communities on formerly colonised island enclaves; her principle case study is Mauritius.
In addition, she has broad fieldwork and research experience in her native Slovenia, on the Adriatic islands and inland in Bosnia and Herzegovina focusing on religious ‘topographies’. Further afield, she has incorporating key temple and tomb sites at Kom Llola and Deir el-Bahri, Luxor, West bank, Egypt into her research on the role of sacred architecture; and performed landscape based archaeological reconnaissance in the central Yucatan peninsula looking at the distribution and significance of ritual structures within Mayan civilisation.
In addition to ZRC SAZU, Saša is also affiliated with the Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University in California.
1. CIANCIOSI, Alessandra, ČAVAL, Saša, CALAON, Diego, SEETAH, Krish. Integrated remote sensing to assess disease control : evidence from Flat Island quarantine station, Mauritius. Remote sensing. 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 21 str., ilustr., zvd., graf. prikazi. ISSN 2072-4292. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/8/1891/htm, DOI: 10.3390/rs14081891. [COBISS.SI-ID 109741315]
2. ČAVAL, Saša, PRUNK, Špela, SAKARA SUČEVIĆ, Maša, MIKLAVČIČ, Tjaša. Tridimenzionalno dokumentiranje stečkov srednjeveške župe Dabar v Bosni in Hercegovini. Studia universitatis hereditati. 2021, vol. 9, 1, str. 109-124, zvd., ilustr. ISSN 2350-5443. https://www.hippocampus.si/ISSN/2350-5443/1-2021/2350-5443.9(1), http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-6RDZ4RZS, DOI: 10.26493/2350-5443.9(1). [COBISS.SI-ID 94948611]
3. LIGHTFOOT, Emma, ČAVAL, Saša, CALAON, Diego, APPLEBY, Joanna, SANTANA, Jonathan, CIANCIOSI, Alessandra, FREGEL, Rosa, SEETAH, Krish. Colonialism, slavery and ʼThe Great Experimentʼ : carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope analysis of Le Morne and Bois Marchand cemeteries, Mauritius. Journal of archaeological science : reports. June 2020, vol. 31, [article no.] 102335, str. 1-10, zvd., ilustr. ISSN 2352-409X. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X20301267, DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102335. [COBISS.SI-ID 47291907]
4. ČAVAL, Saša. Locating the festival, positioning the feast : natural and calendar festivals in Medieval Slovenia. World archaeology. [Print ed.]. 2019, vol. 50, no. 2, str. 300-322, ilustr., zvd. ISSN 0043-8243. DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2018.1538814. [COBISS.SI-ID 45745453]
5. SEETAH, Krish, BIRCH, Thomas, CALAON, Diego, ČAVAL, Saša. Colonial iron in context : the Trianon slave shackle from Mauritius. Archaeological and anthropological sciences. [Print ed.]. April 2017, vol. 9, issue 3, str. 419-430, ilustr., zvd. ISSN 1866-9557. DOI: 10.1007/s12520-015-0295-7. [COBISS.SI-ID 41740077]
6. APPLEBY, Joanna, SEETAH, Krish, CALAON, Diego, ČAVAL, Saša, PLUSKOWSKI, A., LAFLEUR, J. F., JANOO, Anwar, TEELOCK, Vijaya. The non-adult cohort from Le Morne Cemetery, Mauritius : a snap shot of early life and death after abolition. International journal of osteoarchaeology. [Print ed.]. 2014, 24, str. 737-746, ilustr. ISSN 1047-482X. DOI: 10.1002/oa.2259. [COBISS.SI-ID 37287725]
7. FREGEL, Rosa, SEETAH, Krish, BETANCOR, Eva, SUÁREZ, Nicolás M., CALAON, Diego, ČAVAL, Saša, JANOO, Anwar, PESTANO, Jose. Multiple ethnic origins of mitochondrial DNA lineages for the population of Mauritius. PloS one. March 2014, vol. 9, issue 3, str. 1-8, ilustr. ISSN 1932-6203. http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0093294&representation=PDF, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093294. [COBISS.SI-ID 37275437]
8. ČAVAL, Saša. Poznoantične okrasne igle vrste stilus v Sloveniji = Late antique decorative pins of the stylus type in Slovenia. Arheološki vestnik. [Tiskana izd.]. 2013, 64, str. 197-248, ilustr. ISSN 0570-8966. http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-QWQ8KCXO. [COBISS.SI-ID 36335405]
9. ŠPRAJC, Ivan, FLORES ESQUIVEL, Atasta, ČAVAL, Saša, GARCÍA LÓPEZ, María Isabel, MARSETIČ, Aleš. Archaeological reconnaissance in Southeastern Campeche, Mexico : summary of the 2007 field season. Mexicon : Aktuelle Informationen und Studien zu Mesoamerika. Dec. 2010, vol. 32, nr. 6, str. 148-154, risbe, fotogr., zvd. ISSN 0720-5988. [COBISS.SI-ID 32323117]
Land of stećci: multiculturality in the medieval Herzegovina (November 1, 2021 - October 31, 2024)