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I am a biological anthropology with my primary research interests in the area of paleoanthropology and understanding the human fossil record. This work involves me in questions regarding contemporary patterns of human variation as well, including the relationship between ideas of race and biological variation. I received my Ph.D. in Anthropology from Michigan in 2006. My doctoral research was based on analyses of recent hominid fossil discoveries from the Lower Pleistocene site of Dmanisi, Georgia. After spending four years as part of the excavation team at Dmanisi, my dissertation examined the exceptional pattern of variation found within the mandibular sample from the site.
My current research includes several projects focused on aspects of the morphological, genetic, and behavioral pattern of Pleistocene human evolution. Much of my work involves the development of novel quantitative approaches aimed at the special problems posed by comparisons between small, fragmentary fossil samples and larger samples of contemporary primates. I consider field work an important component of my research and have been part of several paleoanthropological field projects in Eurasia and Africa.
My teaching at Wellesley covers several areas within biological anthropology beginning with an introductory course for the subfield, but also including more detailed courses on human evolution, anatomy and genetic variation, as well as the intersection between human biological variation and societal practices associated with human biology.