The Researchers

People Behind
BECACO

An interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, museum studies scholars, and data scientists — working alongside a network of curators across 9 countries to advance cultural heritage provenance research.

Principal Investigator

Project Director

Martin Berger
Martin Berger
Project Director · PI
Project Director · PI
Martin Berger

Dr. Martin E. Berger is Assistant Professor of Museums, Collections, and Society at Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research focuses on the development of the market for ‘pre-Columbian art’. Prior to joining Leiden University he was a curator of the Latin American collections at the Dutch National Museum of World Cultures (now ‘Wereldmuseum’)

He leads the overall research design of BECACO and manages partner relationships across 9 countries.

📞+31 71 527 2727
✉️m.e.berger@arch.leidenuniv.nl
🔗LinkedIn Profile
🏛️Leiden University Profile
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Research Team

The Collaborators

Ishak Riali
Postdoctoral Researcher · Computer Science
Ishak Riali

Holds a PhD in Computer Science and Data Science. Primary architect of BecaGraph — the knowledge graph integration pipeline at the heart of BECACO. Expert in knowledge representation, graph databases, and applied NLP.

....

Knowledge GraphsNeo4jNLP / LLMsCIDOC CRMPython
✉ Email 🔗 LinkedIn
Elizabeth Rodriguez Estrada
PhD Candidate · Museum Studies
Elizabeth Rodriguez Estrada

Elizabeth Rodriguez Estrada is a PhD candidate at Leiden University. Her research focuses on the collecting history of archaeological and ethnographic material from Mexico and Central America in European museums between 1850 and 1950.

She holds an MA in Museum Studies from New York University.

Provenance ResearchMuseum StudiesCollection HistoryNetwork Analysis
✉ Email 🔗 LinkedIn
Gabriel Spautz Vieira
PhD Candidate · Digital Heritage
Gabriel Spautz Vieira

Gabriel Spautz Vieira is a PhD candidate at Leiden University. His research focuses on histories of collecting Latin American archaeological and ethnographic material in Europe between 1850 and 1950.

He holds an MA in Archaeology from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Network AnalysisCollection HistoryData VisualizationProvenance Research
✉ Email 🔗 LinkedIn
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Supporting Team

Interns & Student Assistants

Students and interns who have contributed their skills and dedication to the BECACO project — supporting data work and biographical research.

Raphaël Gerssen
Student
Assistant
Raphaël Gerssen
Dec 2024 – Dec 2025
Contributed extensively to data cleaning and data preparation processes, ensuring quality and consistency of datasets integrated into the system. Conducted biographical research on actors, enriching the knowledge graph with contextual and historical information.
Data Cleaning Biographical Research
Betül Sena Ayar
Intern
Betül Sena Ayar
Jul 2025 – Oct 2025
Worked on provenance research related to Indigenous Latin American collections held in European museums (1850–2000). Applied digital humanities methods and AI-driven approaches to data cleaning and data mining, improving data quality for cultural heritage research.
Data Cleaning Biographical Research
🔗 LinkedIn
Irene Díez García de Polavieja
Student
Assistant
Irene Díez García de Polavieja
Feb 2026 – Jul 2026
Worked primarily on cleaning and standardising materials across the databases, helping to ensure consistency and harmonised data records across the BECACO data infrastructure.
Data Cleaning Data Standardization
🔗 LinkedIn
Noud Selten
Intern
Noud Selten
Apr 15 – Jul 15, 2025
Contributed to both biographical research and data cleaning activities. Helped identify and contextualise individuals in the knowledge base, while his data cleaning efforts ensured consistency and usability across the BECACO data infrastructure.
Data Cleaning Biographical Research
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Partner Institutions

12 Museums · 9 Countries

From the world's largest holdings of Indigenous Latin American material to smaller, under-studied collections — click any image to explore. Each institution contributes data, expertise, and curatorial knowledge to the BECACO research infrastructure.

British Museum London
01 Major Collection
🇬🇧
British Museum
London, United Kingdom
Dr. Danny Zborover
Musée du Quai Branly Paris
02 Major Collection
🇫🇷
Musée du Quai Branly
Paris, France
Dr. Paz Núñez-Regueiro
Ethnologisches Museum Berlin
03 Humboldt Forum
🇩🇪
Ethnologisches Museum
Berlin, Germany
Dr. Ute Schüren · Dr. Manuela Fischer
Weltmuseum Wien
04 Vienna
🇦🇹
Weltmuseum Wien
Vienna, Austria
Dr. Claudia Augustat · Dr. Gerard van Bussel
Museum der Kulturen Basel
05 Basel
🇨🇭
Museum der Kulturen
Basel, Switzerland
Dr. Alexander Brust
MUDEC Milan
06 Milan
🇮🇹
MUDEC · Museo delle Culture
Milan, Italy
Dr. Carolina Orsini · Dr. Anna Antonini
Néprajzi Múzeum Budapest
07 Budapest
🇭🇺
Néprajzi Múzeum
Budapest, Hungary
Dr. János Gyármati
Wereldmuseum Netherlands
08 3 Locations
🇳🇱
Wereldmuseum
Leiden · Amsterdam · Rotterdam
World Cultures Museum Sweden
09 2 Locations
🇸🇪
National Museums World Culture
Gothenburg · Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Adriana Muñoz
01 / 09
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Curatorial Forum

Museum Curators

Each participating museum is represented by one or more specialist curators forming BECACO's Curatorial Forum — meeting in Leiden to discuss shared provenance questions and review findings.

MuseumLocationCurator(s)
British Museum🇬🇧 London, UKDr. Danny Zborover
Musée du Quai Branly🇫🇷 Paris, FranceDr. Paz Núñez-Regueiro
Museum der Kulturen🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandDr. Alexander Brust
Museo delle Culture🇮🇹 Milan, ItalyDr. Carolina Orsini · Dr. Anna Antonini
Weltmuseum Wien🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaDr. Claudia Augustat · Dr. Gerard van Bussel
Néprajzi Múzeum🇭🇺 Budapest, HungaryDr. János Gyármati
Ethnologisches Museum🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyDr. Ute Schüren · Dr. Manuela Fischer
National Museums of World Culture🇸🇪 Gothenburg · StockholmDr. Adriana Muñoz
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Advisory Panel

International Advisors

Leading specialists in provenance studies, data science, and Latin American collections who guide the project's methodological development.

🏛️
Dr. Mary Miller
Director · Getty Research Institute
Pre-Hispanic Art Provenance, Networks of Collecting, Pre-Columbian Art Market. Leads the PHAPI research group.
🏛️
Prof. Dr. Lynn Rother
Lichtenberg-Professor · Leuphana University Lüneburg
Data-driven provenance research, Provenance and Linked Open Data. Founding director of the Provenance Lab.
🕸️
Dr. Victor de Boer
Associate Professor · Free University Amsterdam
Knowledge representation, Linked Open Data, Data science for humanities. Collaborates on KG infrastructure.
🏛️
Prof. Dr. Laura Van Broekhoven
Director · Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
Collaborations with Latin American communities, decolonial approaches to ethnographic collections and provenance.
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