Phenotypic Adaptability, Variation and Evolution Research Group

PAVE is an interdisciplinary research group in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Our research aims to understand the ways in which the human phenotype adapts to environmental variation throughout the life course. Biological variation can reflect either the natural or behavioural environment of the individual, through natural selection or plasticity in development and maintenance of the organism. We're interested in the ways in which these mechanisms produce variation within our species and among earlier human and hominin populations, and the evolution of this variation through time.

In this context, PAVE has three main research themes:

Hominin Palaeobiology

Understanding the biology of hominins through morphological variation of the skeleton

Human Bioarchaeology

Investigating relationships between cultural evolution, the natural environment and human variation in the past

Human Biology

Studying mechanisms of adaptability of the human phenotype among recent historic and living populations

     
     
Selected Media    
New light on revolutions that weren't Science 4 May, 2012
Shelters date to Stone Age Science News 7 April, 2012
Prehistoric Pets: Was Man's First Best Friend a Fox? Time 21 February, 2011
Man's first best friend might have been a fox NPR 19 February, 2011
Kleine Völker leben kürzer. Der Spiegel 12 October, 2009
High mortality rates may explain small body size. Science Daily 6 October, 2009
Is farming the root of all evil? The Daily Telegraph 23 June, 2009
Beyond bones Nature 11 February, 2009
Farming good for health Science 14 September, 2007