Conversations in human evolution : volume 1

Conversations in Human Evolution is an ongoing science communication initiative seeking to explore the breadth and interdisciplinarity of human evolution studies. This volume reports twenty interviews (referred to as ‘conversations’ as they are informal in style) with scholars at the forefront of human evolution research, covering the broad scientific themes of quaternary and archaeological science, Palaeolithic archaeology, biological anthropology and palaeoanthropology, primatology and evolutionary anthropology and evolutionary genetics. This project features academics at various different stages in their careers and from all over the world; in this volume alone, researchers are based at institutions in seven different countries (namely the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States of America, Germany, Denmark, India, and China), covering four continents. Having arisen at the start of the COVID19 pandemic, Conversations in Human Evolution aims to encourage engagement with both human evolutionary studies and the broader socio-political issues that persist within academia, the latter of which is particularly pertinent during this time of global uncertainty. The conversations delve deeply into the study of our species’ evolutionary history through the lens of each sub-discipline, as well as detailing some of the most current advances in research, theory and methods. Overall, Conversations in Human Evolution seeks to bridge the gap between the research and researcher through contextualisation of the science with personal experience and historical reflection. About the Editor Lucy Timbrell is an AHRC-funded PhD researcher in the Archaeology of Human Origins Research Group at the University of Liverpool. Broadly, she is interested in the evolution of modern human diversity, with her doctoral research focussing on quantifying the population structure of early Homo sapiens in Late-Middle Pleistocene Africa. Alongside her PhD research, she organises the widely-known University of Liverpool Evolutionary Anthropology seminar series. Cover 1 About Access Archaeology 2 Title Page 2 Copyright Information 4 Contents 4 Conversations in Human Evolution - Lucy Timbrell 6 Part 1: Quaternary and Archaeological Science 10 Dr Enrico Crema 10 Professor Felix Riede 14 Professor Ben Marwick 20 Professor Chris Hunt 30 Professor Andy Herries 34 Part 2: Palaeolithic Archaeology 40 Professor Shanti Pappu 40 Professor Michael Petraglia 46 Dr Shi-Xia Yang 52 Professor John Gowlett 56 Professor Eleanor Scerri 64 Dr Rob Davies 70 Part 3: Biological Anthropology and Palaeoanthropology 76 Dr Emma Pomeroy 76 Professor Chris Stringer 82 Professor Katerina Harvati 86 Professor Bernard Wood 90 Part 4: Primatology and Evolutionary Anthropology 96 Professor Susana Carvalho 96 Dr Isabelle Winder 104 Professor Fiona Jordan 110 Part 5: Evolutionary Genetics 114 Professor Eske Willerslev 114 Dr Pontus Skoglund 120 Conversations in Human Evolution is an ongoing science communication initiative seeking to explore the breadth and interdisciplinarity of human evolution studies. This volume reports twenty interviews (referred to as ?conversations? as they are informal in style) with scholars at the forefront of human evolution research, covering the broad scientific themes of quaternary and archaeological science, Palaeolithic archaeology, biological anthropology and palaeoanthropology, primatology and evolutionary anthropology and evolutionary genetics. This project features academics at various different stages in their careers and from all over the world; in this volume alone, researchers are based at institutions in seven different countries (namely the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States of America, Germany, Denmark, India, and China), covering four continents.0Having arisen at the start of the COVID19 pandemic, Conversations in Human Evolution aims to encourage engagement with both human evolutionary studies and the broader socio-political issues that persist within academia, the latter of which is particularly pertinent during this time of global uncertainty. The conversations delve deeply into the study of our species? evolutionary history through the lens of each sub-discipline, as well as detailing some of the most current advances in research, theory and methods. Overall, Conversations in Human Evolution seeks to bridge the gap between the research and researcher through contextualisation of the science with personal experience and historical reflection