An interview with PhD student in palaeohistology Madeleine Green (Australian National University).
Briefly tell us about your research
Across human evolution, little is known about hominin behaviour with the exception of Homo sapiens. It is now understood that from histological analysis, vast amounts of data can be obtained relating to an individual or groups age, diet, pathology, sex, hormones, genetics, biomechanics, and related behaviours. Such information could provide valuable insights into the little known behaviour of non Homo sapiens hominins, where remains are often incomplete and fragmentary at best. My PhD research explores this topic, and looks at hominin bone histology with the aim of improving both how we approach histological analysis in biological anthropology and related fields, and expanding on our current understanding of behaviour across human evolution.
What is it that drew you to this research?
I was drawn to this research project because of my honours year, which I completed at the University of Queensland in 2016. My honours thesis, titled ‘Lead to Death: Discerning Aetiologies for Lead Poisoning in the Kabwe 1 hominin’ introduced me to hominin histology, and it was during this period that I saw the potential for further research in what is still a relatively niche field of study in palaeoanthropology - palaeohistology. I was also lucky enough to spend a few weeks excavating at the Drimolen site in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, during 2016, which helped to solidify my passion for studying all things human evolution.
What are your career goals and aspirations?
I plan on completing and publishing my research and hopefully continuing my work in academia.
What are you most proud about so far in terms of your achievements?
Well it’s still early days in my thesis, so at the moment I’m still pretty excited that I got into a PhD program at ANU. However, I also teach multiple days a week at Griffith University across a number of subjects, so I’m pretty proud of my mad juggling skills.
What is one thing that you have found surprising while researching your focus?
The lack of standardisation in histological analysis of bone tissue surprises me. While bone can provide us with large amounts of information, there still exists a problem with respect to procedures and processes involved in histological analysis.
What is one thing about your research you want people to take away with them?
Past palaeoanthropological studies have relied heavily on stone/bone artefacts for making inferences into the behavioural repertoire and flexibility of early hominins. I hope that my research demonstrates that large amounts of valuable data regarding hominin behaviour can also be obtained from the histological analysis of hominin bone tissue.
Briefly tell us about your research
Across human evolution, little is known about hominin behaviour with the exception of Homo sapiens. It is now understood that from histological analysis, vast amounts of data can be obtained relating to an individual or groups age, diet, pathology, sex, hormones, genetics, biomechanics, and related behaviours. Such information could provide valuable insights into the little known behaviour of non Homo sapiens hominins, where remains are often incomplete and fragmentary at best. My PhD research explores this topic, and looks at hominin bone histology with the aim of improving both how we approach histological analysis in biological anthropology and related fields, and expanding on our current understanding of behaviour across human evolution.
What is it that drew you to this research?
I was drawn to this research project because of my honours year, which I completed at the University of Queensland in 2016. My honours thesis, titled ‘Lead to Death: Discerning Aetiologies for Lead Poisoning in the Kabwe 1 hominin’ introduced me to hominin histology, and it was during this period that I saw the potential for further research in what is still a relatively niche field of study in palaeoanthropology - palaeohistology. I was also lucky enough to spend a few weeks excavating at the Drimolen site in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, during 2016, which helped to solidify my passion for studying all things human evolution.
What are your career goals and aspirations?
I plan on completing and publishing my research and hopefully continuing my work in academia.
What are you most proud about so far in terms of your achievements?
Well it’s still early days in my thesis, so at the moment I’m still pretty excited that I got into a PhD program at ANU. However, I also teach multiple days a week at Griffith University across a number of subjects, so I’m pretty proud of my mad juggling skills.
What is one thing that you have found surprising while researching your focus?
The lack of standardisation in histological analysis of bone tissue surprises me. While bone can provide us with large amounts of information, there still exists a problem with respect to procedures and processes involved in histological analysis.
What is one thing about your research you want people to take away with them?
Past palaeoanthropological studies have relied heavily on stone/bone artefacts for making inferences into the behavioural repertoire and flexibility of early hominins. I hope that my research demonstrates that large amounts of valuable data regarding hominin behaviour can also be obtained from the histological analysis of hominin bone tissue.