Dr Lucy Timbrell

My research involves broad-scale quantitative analysis of stone tool technologies, both at the assemblage level and via two-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of individual artefact classes, like points. I am particularly interested in the articulation between lithic technology and palaeoenvironmental change during the African Middle Stone Age.

My research tackles how changes in the size, density, and inter-connectivity of human populations, as well as ecological variables like resource risk, abundance, and predictability, both independently drive and interact to effect the rate and patterning of cultural innovations observed in the archaeological record. I am involved in studies spanning time periods and geographical regions, from early Neanderthals in Western Europe to analogies with recent hunter-gatherers.

I am working on a range of projects exploring the role of ecological refugia within human evolution. This includes defining refugia for human populations in the past, investigating how core versus marginal landscapes influence variability in the archaeological record, and how niche dynamics impact divergence within and between closely related species.