About Me.

I received my MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge, and have held research fellowships at the Universities of Cambridge, Paris and Oxford. I have been awarded funding from the European Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council UK, Natural Environment Research Council UK, British Academy, Fyssen Foundation, National Geographic, and other prestigious research organisations. My research has taken me around the world, from Africa to Australia, and contributed to a range of projects and outcomes, including 4 books and over 200 research articles.

Over the last two decades I have worked closely with my colleagues and students to achieve new insights into the past. This research has explored topics ranging from the emergence and spread of our species, Homo sapiens, to the role of humans in transforming the biosphere. I am strongly committed to ensuring that research about the past has a role to play in shaping the future and my work has been cited in relation to policy surrounding a variety of issues—from biodiversity, ecological restoration and conservation to agricultural sustainability and cultural heritage in the Anthropocene. My research regularly features in high impact journals, and is covered in the international media.

I am currently based at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Germany, leading the project Australia in the Anthropocene: Linking Past, Present and Future. I hold an Honorary Professorship at the University of Queensland and an Adjunct Professorship at the University of Griffith. I am a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.