hillson-simon

Human Evolution Interest

Simon Hillson's main interest is in the biology of humans and other mammals in the past. Bones make up the majority of archaeological evidence for this, but he has focused particularly on teeth, because they are tough and survive well, and because they yield a much greater amount of information. They can be identified to species, matched up with other teeth from different individuals (when the remains are broken and scattered), identified as male or female, used to estimate age-at-death, examined under the microscope to give a detailed chronology of development in childhood (even in adults), used to reconstruct behaviour and diet from the pattern of wear and disease, and used to follow the path of evolution and migration through tiny differences in size and shape. For a given research effort, teeth therefore yield a very large amount of information.

Human Evolution Research Themes

Collaborative projects & Networks