University of New South Wales - BEES Home - Human And Primate Origins Program

CURRENT RESEARCH BY DR DARREN CURNOE

When, how, where and why humans evolved remain among the most important questions of modern science. Moreover, as humans are a higher primate, scientists often also turn to our close living and fossil primate relatives for a broad context within which to interpret the biological evidence for our evolution.

The Human and Primate Origins Program in BEES at UNSW is one of only a small number of multidisciplinary research groups in the world studying human and primate evolution. Our key aim is to understand the origins of humans and our close primate relatives especially within the context of the dramatic environmental change of the last 2 million years.

The program is unique in Australia with its strongly field-based (palaeontological, archaeological and palaeoecological) approach, coverage of humans and non-human primates, and its integrative approach, incorporating and synthesising biological, behavioural and environmental evidence. We undertake research in a wide range of geographical areas with current projects in Australia, China, South Africa, Kenya and Bulgaria. Our collaborators cover diverse disciplines such as palaeoanthropology, primatology, vertebrate palaeontology, rock art, lithic archaeology, archaeological science, genetics (modern and ancient DNA studies), palaeoecology, geology, geomorphology and geochronology.

MEMBERS

The principal members of the program are Dr Darren Curnoe (Senior Lecturer, BEES), a palaeoanthropologist and primatologist, and Dr Andy Herries (ARC Australian Research Fellow, School of Medical Sciences), an archaeological scientist, speleologist and geochronologist.

Other collaborators at UNSW include: Dr Scott Mooney (BEES), Dr Shawn Laffan (BEES), Dr Stephen Wroe (BEES) and Dr Shawn Ross (History and Philosophy).

SEE ALSO:

The Late Pleistocene Peopling Of East Asia And Associated Climate-Environment History

TEACHING

Undergraduate - we coordinate the following BIOS courses:
BIOS3701 The Primates
BIOS3711 Human Evolution
BIOS3721 Hunters and Gatherers: Biological, Ecological and Archaeological Perspectives

Honours and postgraduate - research student projects may cover a wide range of areas including palaeoanthropology, palaeontology, primatology, archaeological science and geoarchaeology.