Past Human Biology and Behaviour
One of the critical subjects in anthropology is the study of the biological and social-cultural evolution of humans. Members of the Past Human Biology and Behaviour Group carry out this research by linking biological and cultural approaches in order to gain a better picture of the human past.
A critical question being investigated both by biological anthropologists and archaeologists in the Group is the degree to which environmental, population, or cultural change (or a combination of these) accounts for key transitions in human biology and behaviour. The goal is to find out what happened and why.
Field research is a primary component of the Group's work. Current field sites are in Canada, Siberia, Mexico, Tanzania, Egypt, Italy, Iceland, and Greenland. Group members collaborate extensively with researchers in these countries and elsewhere. A particular example is the archaeological project in the Lake Baikal area of Siberia, where researchers are investigating change and continuity in the hunter-gatherer culture of the Middle Holocene period.
The Group is well known for its strength in biological anthropology and archaeology. As well, members of the Group act as consultants to government organizations, First Nations, law enforcement agencies, and film makers.