It is great to be attending the Centre of Excellence Director and COI’s Forum in Sydney on behalf of the CoE for Transforming Human Origins Research. @flindersuniversity.bsky.social @debmurray.bsky.social

New paper klaxon! Neanderthals in the Desert? Our new paper suggests that Neanderthals may have been responsible for producing MIS 3 Middle Palaeolithic Levallois blanks in northern Arabia! Have a look at this: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Neanderthals in the desert? Population history best explains Middle Palaeolithic technological heterogeneity in Arabia

Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia present a rich record of hominin occupations between ca. 100 and 50 thousand years ago (ka) at a critical biogeogr…

sciencedirect.com

A record that spans at least 78 K years Cave morphology and human-mediated sediment deposition: Late Pleistocene to Holocene evolution of the cave floor at Panga ya Saidi, coastal Kenya🏺🧪 Jennifer Miller, @nicoleboivin.bsky.social , @mdpetraglia.bsky.social et al journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

The Natufian Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the desert of northern Arabia🏺🧪 Ceri Shipton, @mdpetraglia.bsky.social et al www.nature.com/articles/s41... Suggests long-term survival in relatively arid environments was based on local adaptation and a network of long-distance connections.

Hominin fossils and behavioural innovations in China across 2 million years rdcu.be/e5sjV

🌏 A new study places China at the center of human evolution debates With CENIEH’s participation, the review of 2 million years of fossil & archaeological evidence highlights East Asia as a dynamic epicenter in the evolution of Homo +info: www.cenieh.es #HumanEvolution #CENIEH #ICTSNews

My lifelong association with #India and its #archaeology. www.csp.indica.in/a-deep-histo...

A Deep History of Coexistence: Why India Stands Apart In Human Evolution - Center for Soft Power

The signing of a research contract between Banaras Hindu University and Griffith University marks a major step toward strengthening global research on human evolution. BHU is now a core partner ...

csp.indica.in

We’re thrilled! news.griffith.edu.au/2026/02/12/r...

Archaeologist behind First Australians occupation record joins Griffith backed by key philanthropic appointment - Griffith News

Professor Chris Clarkson to lead research into Australia’s early history, strengthen Indigenous partnerships, and train future researchers.

news.griffith.edu.au

An artistic impression of what we uncovered at Xigou and a snapshot of what life was like in central China 100,000 years ago www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

160,000-year-old sophisticated stone tools discovered in China may not have been made by Homo sapiens

Archaeologists have found the oldest known evidence of hafted tools in East Asia, and they challenge a previously held assumption about stone tool use.

livescience.com

Rock art in Saudi Arabia shows humans adapted to an arid Arabian Desert ~12,000 years ago, aided by seasonal lakes. A study in @natcomms.nature.com reveals life-sized engravings and stone tools: spklr.io/63325BIU2l 🏺 #skystorians

Green Arabia: past, present and future. Our scientific findings “sit alongside Saudi Arabia’s current land-restoration push.” timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle...

‘Green Arabia’: Saudi Arabia’s vast deserts were once rivers, lakes and grasslands, studies show - The Times of India

Discover how recent studies reveal that Saudi Arabia's arid deserts were once lush landscapes filled with rivers and lakes. Explore the implications for environmental restoration and human history und...

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

My comment on the fascinating new hominin fossil finds from Morocco www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...

This ancient human may be the root of the Homo sapiens family tree

New fossils unearthed in Morocco could help solve the mystery of how Homo sapiens diverged from other ancient humans like Neanderthals.

nationalgeographic.com

The Centre will support a new generation of transdisciplinary researchers including more than 40 research fellows, 70 PhD and Masters students, and 112 Honours students - with half the opportunities prioritised for Indigenous or those from the Global South. www.miragenews.com/griffith-lan...

I’m so honoured and excited to be leading this international initative together with so many amazing people and organisations news.griffith.edu.au/2025/12/09/g...

Griffith secures $85m to transform global understanding of human origins - Griffith News

Transforming Human Origins Research Centre of Excellence to reframe the study of our species globally.

news.griffith.edu.au

(1/2) Just out, our new paper 'Assessing the intensity of Late Quaternary humid phases in the Nefud Desert, northern Arabia'. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

(1/18) New paper alert, a thread! Just published in PLoS ONE, our study: “Novel archaeological and palaeontological findings in cave and palaeoriver landscapes of inland northeast Arabia”. Link: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Novel archaeological and palaeontological findings in cave and palaeoriver landscapes of inland northeast Arabia

Knowledge about environmental change and the evolutionary history of hominins in Arabia has been rapidly developing over the last two decades. Interdisciplinary research on humans and environments acr...

journals.plos.org

[new paper alert!!]. Taking another look at the traditional Out of Africa I model… 😎😎 @courtneymanthey.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exciting new discoveries and theories emerging out of China and Eastern Asia about the course of human evolution

Christopher J. Bae@paleobae.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This just out in NewScientist. It includes various discussions around bodoensis, juluensis and everything Chibanian… (had no idea they were going to draw my pic for the piece!! 😂😂). www.newscientist.com/article/2500...

Interested in the kinds of information archaeologists can gain from metabolic profiling? Check out this wonderful new book and our chapter on the ancient oasis of Tayma. This work builds on our 2022 paper on reconstructing ancient scents in Nature Human Behaviour: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

ABC Deep Time Australia Launched Today Congratulations to everyone involved in working with the ABC News Story Lab to bring this project to fruition! @ciehf.bsky.social is proud to have closely collaborated on this project. www.abc.net.au/news/deeptime/

Explore an epic story 65,000 years in the making

Dive into Deep Time, an immersive story of the knowledge, art and ingenuity of Australia’s First Nations peoples — told like never before.

abc.net.au

This is now published! Great pleasure to work with @stewiestewart.bsky.social, @huwgroucutt.bsky.social, @carlipeters.bsky.social and the rest of the team!

Nicole Boivin@nicoleboivin.bsky.social · 10mo ago

A sneak peak of our forthcoming article! Led by Mathew Stewart and @huwgroucutt.bsky.social. www.frontiersin.org/journals/mam...

Australia in the Anthropocene: Linking Past, Present and Future. Wonderful project workshop yesterday exploring the diverse methods our students and ECRs are using to examine how Australia's ecosystems have been shaped by people over the long-term and why it matters today.

My comments on the new discovery of hand bones of Paranthropus boisei and its implications for tool use. www.abc.net.au/news/science...

'They've got a power grip': Fossil hands suggests ape-like cousin made tools

The first set of ancient hand fossils from an ape-like cousin of humans discovered in Kenya suggest a number of species were capable of making tools 1.5 million years ago.

abc.net.au

Paper alert 🎓🌿 I’m excited to share a new publication from my PhD On-site plant-wax biomarkers + compound-specific isotopes show why relying on bulk δ13C of SOM can mislead in the tropics. Case study: Jwalapuram (S. India). Read: www.cell.com/iscience/ful... Huge thanks to all co-authors 🙏

On-site plant-wax biomarker analysis for assessing soil-organic-microbial degradation in archaeological contexts: A case study from Southern India

Archeology; Biochemistry; Ecological biochemistry; Paleobiochemistry

cell.com

Bob Patalano@robertpatalano.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🚨New paper alert, check it out in @cp-iscience.bsky.social! Led by @gopesh.bsky.social, we looked at plant wax biomarkers from archaeological contexts with a focus on the Palaeolithic Jwalapuram site. We show that it is important to integrate source-specific proxies with bulk soil proxies. 🏺🧪

Want to explore these amazing camel images in more detail? Check out a 2022 examination of four of the #RockArt panels in Antiquity 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺#Archaeology

A rock art tradition of life-sized, naturalistic engravings of camels in Northern Arabia: new insights on the mobility of Neolithic populations in the Nafud Desert | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

A rock art tradition of life-sized, naturalistic engravings of camels in Northern Arabia: new insights on the mobility of Neolithic populations in the Nafud Desert - Volume 96 Issue 389

doi.org

Archaeology Magazine@archaeologymag.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Around 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers were on the move through the inhospitable Nefud Desert. Researchers recently encountered more than 130 life-size images of animals that they carved into the cliffs. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/01/animal-rock-art-likely-marked-arabian-desert-water-sources/

Hunter-gatherers may have used engravings to find water in the parched deserts of the Arabian Peninsula 12,000 years ago. https://scim.ag/4nql413

Prehistoric camel art pointed to precious water sources in the Arabian Desert

Hunter-gatherers may have used the engravings to find water 12,000 years ago

scim.ag

Jane Goodall was a global legend at the forefront of discovery — breaking through barriers for women in primatology, science, and beyond. Her curiosity, strength, and kindness changed the world, bridging countries and cultures in pursuit of a better future.

Had some fun with this one! Based on a publication by @mariaguagnin.bsky.social and our terrific team! 🐪 m.youtube.com/shorts/7Pcec...

12,000-year-old road signs

YouTube video by Griffith University

m.youtube.com

About 12,000 years ago, high up on a cliff in the desert of northern Arabia, an artist – or perhaps artists – was hard at work. @mariaguagnin.bsky.social theconversation.com/12-000-year-...

12,000-year-old rock art marked ancient water sources in Arabia’s desert

The large, naturalistic engravings are a striking symbol for survival in the desert.

theconversation.com

Some nice news coverage by @science.org of our recent discoveries of 12,000-year-old life-sized camel engravings in rock art of #SaudiArabia. @mariaguagnin.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

Prehistoric camel art pointed to precious water sources in the Arabian Desert

Hunter-gatherers may have used the engravings to find water 12,000 years ago

science.org