Faculty and Staff
Kieran McNulty (Ph.D., City University of New York) studies the evolution of humans and apes through both laboratory and field research. His lab work utilizes landmark-based morphometric approaches to help clarify complex relationships among cranial variation, growth and development, allometry, and evolutionary history. His current projects include allometric analyses of the Homo floresiensis cranium, ontogenetic simulation of the newly identified monkey species Rungwecebus kipunji. Outside of the lab, McNulty co-directs field research in the Early Miocene fossil deposits on Rusinga and Mfangano Islands, Kenya. This externally funded project is aimed at improving our understanding of the paleoecology associated with some of the earliest fossil apes. Contact information.
Gilliane Monnier (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2000) is primarily interested in understanding human behavior and culture change in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods in Europe . Her recent research has focused on re-evaluating the evidence for a Lower/Middle Paleolithic division in the archaeological record of Western Europe . This involves studying the patterns of change among artifact types commonly used to define each period, such as core tools, bifaces, Levallois technology, and retouched flake tools. As part of this endeavor, Monnier is also interested in the historical aspects involved in shaping the field of Paleolithic archaeology and its epistemological framework.
John Soderberg’s (Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2003) research interests include zooarchaeology, historical archaeology, and the application of three-dimensional scanning technology to artifact analysis. His work on Clonmacnoise monastery (Co. Offaly, Ireland ) used archaeological, textual, and iconographic data to examine the origins of urbanism in medieval Europe and to demonstrate how social complexity can develop in the absence of a highly stratified socioeconomic organization. One of his current research projects investigates the role of animals in creating and subverting the ethnic identities of indigenous and colonizing groups following the Anglo-Norman colonization of Ireland in the 12 th century AD. Another current research project is developing methods for generating three-dimensional ‘topographic maps’ of cut marks and other surface modifications on bones. Unlike SEM micrographs and other visualization methods, these maps allow for precise characterization of three-dimensional shape, an essential step in determining what or who created a mark. This research is part of a larger project in the Evolutionary Anthropology Laboratories to develop three-dimensional imaging and modeling techniques. (3D Imaging Center)
Martha Tappen (Ph.D., Harvard University, 1992) studies human evolution at the intersection of archaeology, biological anthropology, and paleontology: her research is on reconstructing the behavior of early hominins through analysis of associated faunal remains. She is working on questions of increased meat eating by hominins and the expansion of early Homo out of Africa. Tappen studies the animal bones found at archaeological sites to determine what can be known about hunting, hominin-carnivore interactions, and paleoenvironments. She has conducted archaeological research and ethnoarchaeological research in Africa, but since 2001 has concentrated her efforts on excavation and analysis at Dmanisi, Georgia, an early Pleistocene Homo erectus site, and one of the earliest sites outside of Africa.
Bob Thompson: Analysis of phytoliths recovered from contexts throughout North and South America. The goal is to establish the prehistoric trade and migration routes of maize throughout the pre-Columbian New World.
Gilbert Tostevin’s (Ph.D., Harvard University, 2000) work focuses on the archaeology of modern human origins. His research on the stone tool technologies left by our hominid predecessors is designed to recognize the causal agents behind changes in hominid material culture, such as the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. From 1997-1999, he has been part of an international excavation project in the Czech Republic investigating the origins of the Upper Paleolithic in Central Europe. In addition to Paleolithic topics, Tostevin's interests include the role of material culture in shaping human thought and behavior from the Stone Age to the Present.
For information on Tostevin's most recent field research, on the Early Upper Paleolithic at Bohunice, Czech Republic, go to http://www.iabrno.cz/bohunice
Michael Wilson (Ph.D., Harvard University, 2001) studies the behavior and ecology of living primates in order to better understand human evolution. He is particularly interested in what living primates can tell us about the evolution of two distinctive human traits: warfare and language. Since 2001 he has studied the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania, which were made famous by Dr. Jane Goodall. His current research focus is the socioecology of territorial behavior at Gombe. His interests also include conservation biology, disease ecology, and vocal communication. For additional information see: www.discoverchimpanzees.org and www.janegoodall.org.