Doctoral Candidate
Dept. of Anthropology
Washington University - St. Louis

My research interests are focused on comparative anatomy and biological variation in human and non-human primates, particularly in australopithecines and Miocene apes. I use qualitative and quantitative comparative methods to examine variation within and between living and fossil species. My dissertation is a description of the complete ~3 million year old Makapansgat hominin collection and a comparison to other South African australopithecines. My work explores numerous questions begging examination. For instance, does the variation exhibited by the Makapansgat sample exceed that expected for a single species? How do the Makapansgat hominins compare to A. africanus and A. robustus at other sites? Should the Makapansgat hominins be attributed to A. africanus? Does the range of variation at Makapansgat exceed that of the Sterkfontein A. africanus sample? How do the levels and patterns of variation within the Makapansgat sample compare to those for A. africanus at Sterkfontein? And, how does including the Makapansgat sample in the A. africanus hypodigm impact interpretations of this species? Whether a single population or a mixed-species assemblage, the Makapansgat hominins are critical for sorting out several broad paleoanthropological issues. This project will help assess whether Makapansgat and Sterkfontein sample different species or temporally distinct populations of an evolving species and will aid examinations of morphological, temporal, and geographic variation in South African australopithecines.

My long term research interests involve exploring the variation and locomotor behaviors of fossil primates, particularly over the past 18 million years. I have analyzed the wrist joint and aided reconstructions of the locomotor behavior of the Miocene ape, Kenyapithecus (Equatorius) africanus. Beyond primate studies, I am also interested in the evolutionary history of other mammals and believe in a firm grounding for my work in human anatomical studies. 

Paleoanthropology has afforded me with diverse field experiences which have required me to draw from the anatomical, geological, paleontological, and archaeological sciences. I am fully committed to interdisciplinary work and I have been involved in archaeological fieldwork and osteological and paleopathological analyses of modern human skeletal assemblages. I was Director or Co-Director of Excavations at the Makapansgat Limeworks, South Africa from 2003 - 2005. In addition, I have participated in paleoanthropological fieldwork in Wyoming and archaeological fieldwork in South Africa, Florida, and San Salvador (Bahamas). 

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