University of Southampton

Alumnus, Centre for Archaeology of Human Origins (CAHO)

Other Affiliations: Bournemouth University, Applied Science

Part-time lecturer

Thesis Title: Hominin cognitive and behavioural complexity in the Pleistocene: Assessment through identity, intentionality and visual display

About

Based on my skills as an experienced geophysicist and archaeological surveyor I am also interested in developing new ways in which geophysics and archaeological survey may inform and improve the practice of Palaeolithic archaeology (specifically developing the use of resistance tomography as a potential tool for the investigation of gravel terraces) and, developing from this, archaeological procedure in general. In this role I am involved in a number of fieldwork projects:

The Hengistbury Head Survey Project
• Director: The Hengistbury Head Survey Project’s primary aim for 2011 is to assess the extent of erosion on the headland and the subsequent threat to the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites since excavated work ceased in the early 1990’s. This will be achieved by collecting a number of data points through a detailed topographic survey conducted using Leica Total Stations and GPS. The data may then be used to create a 3D model of Hengistbury Head which can be compared to data from the Barton excavations (Barton et al 1992), LiDAR surveys of the area (2001 – 2008), OS and historic mapping data. By comparing the data collected in 2011 against past data it should be possible to accurately assess the rate of erosion present on the promontory and the threat to the archaeological sites located there. Furthermore, a detailed topographic survey of Hengistbury Head shall allow for an assessment of the damage caused by the footpaths and the many visitors to the site and allow planning authorities an accurate base map from which to plan future conservation strategies.

2010 - Present - The Quaternary Archaeology and Environment of Jersey Project - http://quaternaryjersey.wordpress.com/
• Head of Surveying: In charge of running all the archaeological surveying aspects including TheoLT, Laser Scanning, Electrical Resistance Tomography, GPS and Total Station on the Quaternary Archaeology and Environment of Jersey Project. This includes working at La Cotte de St Brélade, constructing a 3D model of the cave and reconstructing the artefact layers from the spatial data associated with the Callow excavations. Other project directors include staff members from University College London, University of Manchester, University of Lampeter, University of Southampton and the British Museum AHOB project.

My successfully completed Ph.D research was entirely supported by the British Academy funded "Lucy to Language: Archaeology of the Social Brain (http://www.liv.ac.uk/lucy2003/).

The Social Brian Hypothesis predicts the cognitive ability of hominin species by utilising estimated brain and group sizes in relation to an ordinal scale of cognitive complexity expressed as orders of intentionality. The Social Brain Hypothesis predictions however, have never been correlated to the archaeological behavioural record in order to ascertain their behavioural validity. This thesis is concerned with testing the cognitive predictions of the Social Brain Hypothesis against the material culture evidence of hominin behaviour through a new
theoretical construct termed the Identity Model. The Identity Model offers a theoretical perspective on the construction of individual and group identity through the Palaeolithic linked to a scale of cognitive complexity shared by the Social Brain Hypothesis. Embedded within the
Identity Model are the notions that material culture / behaviour could be imbued with culturally significant social meaning once the ability to construct proxies had been achieved, this in turn
feeds into the development of language from non-linguistic societies based on visual display to fully grammatical syntax. Using technological modes and widely held beliefs within the academic community relating to hominin behavioural practice and artefact manufacture as a heuristic, the Identity Model (and through the orders of intentionality, the Social Brain Hypothesis) has been related to the archaeological record, and the predictions preliminarily tested though a series of eleven case studies stretching circa 600,000 – 24,000 years before present. The results of the lithic analysis show that despite common perception (and the Social
Brain Hypothesis predictions on cognitive potential), the use of lithic artefacts in actively negotiating hominin social relationships may not have had their genesis with the mode 2(Acheulean) biface, but rather may be more securely associated with mode 3 prepared core technologies and the advent of the composite tool and pigment use. This in turn intimates that
the Social Brain Hypothesis predicts the potential cognitive ability of ancient hominin species whilst the archaeology, through the filter of the Identity Model, illustrates the realised cognitive
ability, and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Based on the results and discussions of this thesis, it would appear that cognitive potential must therefore be in place before it can be
realised, further suggesting that hominin physiological changes must occur before behavioural changes become evident within the archaeological record.

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