Current position: Professor and Subject Leader of Anthropology and Archaeology

Current affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Research website: Link

Research description: I am a bioarchaeologist with extensive academic and applied experience in dental anthropology, human osteology, and hominin evolution. I also have a strong background in prehistoric archaeology, having been involved in >35 seasons of archaeological and bioarchaeological fieldwork in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. A principal area of research involves a biocultural approach to the Upper Pleistocene through modern peopling of Africa, with a concentration on dental morphometric data to understand population origins, biological affinities, migration, and diachronic adaptation. I have assembled a large database of dental and osseous morphometric variants (313 variables in >6,000 individuals), recorded in North and sub-Saharan African samples in the field and from institutions throughout the world. Though concentrating on Upper Pleistocene through recent groups, I also apply this approach to Plio-Pleistocene hominins including, most recently, the Rising Star Cave hominins (Homo naledi) in conjunction with colleagues from South Africa, Europe, and the U.S. Because of this and other research I have four co-edited books, three co-authored books, >100 peer-reviewed articles in professional journals, >30 chapters in edited volumes, >100 presentations at regional, national, and international meetings, and various manuscripts under review or in progress.