Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE)

Abstract

Homo sapiens was anatomically modern by c. 200,000 years ago in Africa, but there is no archaeological evidence to demonstrate that behaviour was modern at the time. Attributes of modern behaviour, inspired by changes in the human brain, are only recognisable after 100,000 years ago. Before we can study the process, we must critically define the criteria for the term 'modern behaviour' and then find a means to recognise such behaviour in the record. This seemingly simple research statement involves complex exploration by a team of specialists. In this highly competitive research field, our centre is rising rise to the challenge by combining the skills of cutting-edge scientists in archaeology, climate reconstruction and modelling, and the cognitive and social sciences. Currently we are synthesising approaches from different disciplines to contribute to a sophisticated understanding of early human behaviour. Our highly ambitious research programme focuses on rare, well-preserved archaeological sites occupied between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, as these contain the 'keys' for unlocking the past. A major competitive edge is the SapienCE Director’s 30 years of archaeological experience and his long-term exclusive access, with permits, to a number of the best-preserved sites in the southern Cape, South Africa - a region regarded as a major locus for vital evidence that could inform on the behaviour of early humans. Our planned excavations at existing and new sites and our ground-breaking interdisciplinary approaches, including climate and cognitive research, to understanding the processes that shaped human cultures is consolidating Norway’s position as a world leader in early human origins research.

Primary and Secondary Tasks

Primarily, SapienCE is directly addressing unanswered, first-order questions about Homo sapiens: a) what defines the switch to 'modern behaviour', exactly how should this term be defined and then, when, why and how did the 'switch' occur; b) were there changes in the human brain at that time that accelerated behavioural variability and how can these be measured now? Secondary linked tasks address the social organisation of these early humans: was social cohesion enhanced by symbolic material culture or vice-versa and did it lead to innovation; what cognitive skills had to be in place in order for other skills to develop; how adaptable were humans to environmental change and did climate act as a driver for technological innovation, social change and subsistence adaptations? 

Introduction

The study of the origins of human behavioural development began in Europe and focused on the Upper Palaeolithic that started at 45 ka (thousand years ago). For many decades it was accepted that these developments originated in Europe. These studies set the standard against which the behaviour of earlier non-European humans was compared. Over the past 25 years, archaeological evidence from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Africa, especially after 100 ka, has rapidly changed perceptions of the behavioural variability and adaptive strategies of these early humans. Research led by the SapienCE Director in the southern Cape since 1991, including his ERC-funded Tracsymbols Project (2010-2015), uncovered unprecedented new evidence at Blombos Cave (BBC) and Klipdrift Shelter (KDS), the latter located in De Hoop Nature Reserve, for the behavioural evolution of early H. sapiens in southern Africa. Major discoveries, highly cited, relate to advanced technology and include the earliest evidence for the making of a pigmented compound and the use of containers (100 ka) and the first known use of pressure flaking to create finely crafted stone tools (75 ka). Items of symbolic material, directly linked to cognitive advances, include the earliest geometric engravings on ochre (100-75 ka), personal ornaments made from marine shell (75 ka), and among the earliest engraved ostrich eggshell (66 ka). This research laid the foundation for the need to establish a centre of excellence in human origins research.

Through integrating the unique breadth of competence available at UiB with top international collaborators, we are delivering transformative results. This is being achieved by adopting a holistic approach (integrating Science and Humanities) that focuses on early Homo sapiens in more depth than previously possible and that extends beyond previously limiting intradisciplinary boundaries. To achieve this goal, we have attracted leading scientists from top research groups, including the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, UiB Psychosocial Sciences, U. Tubingen, CNRS Bordeaux, the Max Planck Institute and Royal Holloway. Thus, in SapienCE we are able to co-ordinate and integrate expertise and the analytical and computational facilities available to our team of archaeologists, zooarchaeologists, micromorphologists, palaeoclimatologists, climate dynamicists, dating experts, cognitive and neuroscientists as well as geneticists. We believe this is providing the competitive edge that for our highly innovative CoE.

Vision and Strategic Intent

SapienCE continues to be firmly embedded among the top three humanities-oriented palaeo-science institutes globally. The focus of SapienCE is on key fields related to early Homo sapiens that are of international importance and interest. In this regard, SapienCE is uniquely positioned as our research area in the southern Cape lays the basis for groundbreaking excavations followed by globally significant interdisciplinary research we are carrying out at UiB, in South Africa and with our partners. We believe this is allowing for an ideal, yet rare, marriage of the humanities and sciences. To ensure that SapienCE continues to have top research status, visionary, determined and practical leadership is needed. Hence we have just appointed Dr Karen van Niekerk (UiB/Wits) as Deputy Director and Prof. Simon Armitage (Royal Holloway) as Deputy Director. SapienCE will continue to embark on bold strategies that will:

• Fully exploit its competitive advantages by continuing to build on existing strengths and by nurturing new avenues for intense engagement where it can produce top quality research results
• Sustain and increase research output in high impact journals
• Continue to pursue ambitious internationalisation to embed SapienCE as a world-class centre of intellectual engagement and a preferred destination for top-class international scholars and students
• Encourage our ECRs to continue with or initiate groundbreaking research that will lead to publications in top journals. 
• Continue to provide a high-quality support environment and top-class infrastructure for our core functions
• Build on our recognition among academics globally that SapienCE offers a gateway to human origins research and to knowledge and understanding of early H. sapiens evolution in southern Africa

 

Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour

SapienCE

2017 - 2026

 

SapienCE is communicating the results of its research in numerous ways: scientific publication in prestigious journals and at conferences; use of media outlets to make the research accessible to the general public; develop a SapienCE website, email newsletters and short videos which present recent research results and also publish and disseminate via social media; running of regular focused workshops and forums for specialists and the general public; use of outreach programmes in Norway via the Univ. Museum of Bergen and through Wits University. The SapienCE outreach programme is benefitting thousands of economically disadvantaged school children in South Africa and has been extended, via the Univ. Museum of Bergen, to Norwegian school children(e.g. through the existing collaboration agreements between UiB and several region secondary schools to involve school children in current research topics). Widespread popular appeal of visual representations of heritage objects (e.g. 3D renderings of material culture) means that the media will be a key element of information brokerage, and contact with national and international journalists will be actively sought. All PIs will engage in events aimed at communicating scientific results to team members and the broader public. 

Exhibitions

1. The SapienCE ‘Early Human Behaviour’ Exhibition: University Museum of Bergen

This exhibition, developed in collaboration with the University Museum of Bergen, has been on display since May 2023. It offers insights into scientific processes, showcasing rare artefacts, interactive displays, and multimedia installations. Visitors explore the evolution of Homo sapiens from over 200,000 years ago to the present, examining cultural, social, and technological developments. The museum has received approximately 22,500 visitors since the opening of the "Early Human Behaviour" exhibition in May. There have been dedicated tours focusing on Early Human Behaviour and tours covering all exhibitions. Particularly significant are the school educational programmes centred on the SapienCE exhibition that were developed by UMB and that have been the ones most sought after by Bergen schools (see below).  https://www.uib.no/en/sapience/162829/showcasing-fascinating-discoveries-about-early-modern-human-behaviour

1. ‘Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour’ Exhibition: SANParks Cape Point Nature Reserve, Cape Town

 

The Wits/SapienCE exhibition that was on display at the Origins Centre at Wits University in 2021/2022 opened at the South Africa National Parks (SAN Parks) Table Mountain National Park’s Buffelsfontein visitor centre in the spring of 2023. The exhibition, based on Wits/SapienCE research, has been expanded with environmental content from the Sea Change Project and is curated by Craig Foster and Petro Keene. The exhibition has been popular with the more than 1 million people who visit Cape Point Nature Reserve annually. Our exhibition will be on display until 2026.

https://www.uib.no/en/sapience/163121/lives-our-early-ancestors-display-cape-point

 

1. Origins of Modern Human Behaviour Exhibition- De Hoop Nature Reserve, Overberg Region, South Africa

On January 18, 2024, a third SapienCE-related exhibition opened at De Hoop Collection Nature Reserve in South Africa. The exhibition, based on SapienCE and pre-SapienCE research by Professor Christopher Henshilwood, Dr Karen van Niekerk, Professor Sarah Wurz and their team, and expanded with content from the Sea Change Project, is curated by Craig Foster and Petro Keene. The exhibition was officially inaugurated by Premier Alan Winde of Western Cape in the presence of the Ambassador of Norway to South Africa H.E. Mr Gjermund Sæther. Multiple national and international educational programmes will be centred on this exhibition in the future. https://www.dehoopcollection.com/origins-of-early-southern-sapiens-behaviour-exhibition/

https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/research-news/2024/2024-01/origins-of-early-southern-sapiens-behaviour-exhibition-opens-in-the-western-cape.html

 

Origins of Modern Human Behaviour Exhibition- De Hoop Nature Reserve, Overberg Region, South Africa, 

opened 18^th January 2024 by Premier Alan Winde of Western Cape in the presence of the Ambassador of Norway to South Africa H.E. Mr Gjermund Sæther

Other Outreach

University Museum of Bergen Educational Programme based on “Early Human Behaviour” Exhibition

An educational programme based on Early Human Behaviour (EHB) was launched at the University Museum in Bergen in Q3 of 2023. The programme was developed by the Museum’s pedagogical team in consultation with SapienCE Project Manager Žarko Tankosić. Its aim is to give school students in Years 5-7 in the Norwegian school system practical and theoretical insight into research matters focused on within the SapienCE project. Classes are split into two groups alternating between two exercises. The first comprises performing a simulated excavation in dig boxes. In the second, students engage in drama pedagogical exercises designed to encourage and stimulate reflections on our shared human past, human behaviour, and cognitive development. At the end, the class reunites, and they collectively share their observations and experiences.

The custom dig boxes used in the archaeological activity were developed specifically for this educational programme. Each box simulates an ideal archaeological scenario that reflects various relevant findings in either the African MSA or the Nordic Stone Age. These scenarios are carefully excavated by the students, who plot, register, and clean each object. Subsequently, they analyse and discuss their findings, viewing each object and their placement relationally. The practical, tangible excavation is designed to connect with the more introspective drama pedagogical exercises to form a greater context. This is aimed to reflect the project’s interdisciplinary and holistic approach. It is especially fruitful to see how conclusions vary between groups who start with the drama pedagogical activities and groups who start with the practical excavation.

 

 

 

Link to our latest dissemination programme 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5_JctzoxXA&feature=em‐upload_owner

DOCUMENTARIES 2008 -2018 (selected sample)

2018 - The Time Machine- Origins of Innovation (Produced and diected by Craig & Damon Foster) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5_JctzoxXA

2015 – The Great Human Odyssey, directed by Niobe Thompson, Canadian Broadcasting Coropration http://www.cbc.ca/greathumanodyssey/episodes/episode-1-rise-of-a-species

2013 - CNN's Inside Africa documentary on Blombos Cave: http://edition.cnn.com/AFRICA/

2013 - Clearwater Documentary involving Blombos Cave: http://clearwaterdoc.ca/about/

2012 - NHK Japanese Television Special Human Series. Presenter: Tatsuya Fujiwara narration (narrator): Seiko Nakajo

2009 - TV film made with Henshilwood at Blombos Cave for the Swedish Broadcasting Society Directed by Martin Widman and presented by Lasse Berg

2010 - Film made at Cape Point Nature Reserve with Henshilwood on the ‘Origins of H. sapiens’ for Foster Brother Film Productions, South Africa.

2008 - Film made at Blombos Cave with Henshilwood in March, 2008 for display in the ‘Anne & Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins’, American Museum of Natural History, New York.

POPULAR ARTICLES (selected)

·         Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise. 2016. What excavated beads tell us about the when and where of human evolution. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-henshilwood-222991

·         National Geographic Magazine 2015  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/first-artists/walter-text

·         Dybas, C.L. 2013. Ripple marks—The story behind the story. Oceanography 26(3):10–13, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.69

·         Dybas, C.L. 2013. Article on Blombos Cave in Oceanography . http://www.tos.org/oceanography/archive/26-3_dybas.html#abstract

·         Henshilwood, C. & van Niekerk, K. 2012. Middle Stone Age Chemists: A 100,000 Year Old Pigment Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. The Digging Stick.

·         Jeff Tollefson, 2012. Human evolution: Cultural roots. Nature 482, 290–292 (16 February 2012) doi:10.1038/482290a http://www.nature.com/news/human-evolution-cultural-roots-1.10025

20 POPULAR LINKS TO OUR RESEARCH: September, 2014 – July, 2015 (selected sample)

1.      http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+Nature+of+Things/ID/2440373757/

2.      http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/first-artists/walter-text

3.      http://www.cbc.ca/greathumanodyssey/episodes/episode-1-rise-of-a-species

4.      https://vimeo.com/117470487

5.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5_JctzoxXA&feature=em-upload_owner

6.      www.tracsymbols.eu

7.      http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201507/26853/news_item_26853.html

8.      http://www.uib.no/aktuelt/84984/uib-arkeolog-i-national-geographic

9.      http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201501/25466/news_item_25466.html

10.  http://www.uib.no/en/ahkr/90323/diachronic-change-within-still-bay-blombos-cave-south-africa

11.  http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201501/25535/news_item_25535.html

12.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernSapiens/

13.  http://highlycited.com/#henshilwood

14.  https://uib.academia.edu/ChrisHenshilwood

15.  http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201503/25965/news_item_25965.html

16.  http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6050

17.  http://www.uib.no/ahkr/82096/feltforsking-p%C3%A5-film

18.  https://vimeo.com/108896344

19.  http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/discovery/rare-sa-artefacts-go-on-display-1.1755974#.VcijZfnzoQ9

 20.  http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-archaeological-science/most-downloaded-articles/

 

 

Our team leaders for Early Career Researchers (ECR's) ie PhDs and Postdoctoral fellows are Dr Karen van Niekerk, Deputy Director with responsibility for Archaeology and Psychology/Cognition and Prof Simon Armitage, Royal Holloway University of London, Deputy Director with responsibility for our early career researchers and leading our GEO and NORCE climate sections. Dr Zarko Tankosic, project (admin) manager, is a key member of our team.

In 2024 our SapienCE team included 19 active researchers (3 retired), of whom 10 form the Leader Group. Additionally, we have 6 PhDs, 11 Postdocs, and 13 administrative staff. We have several new Postdocs who staeted in 2024: Katrina Nilsson-Kerr (GEO), Kurt Wogau (GEO/SEAS), Ella Walsh (AHKR), Marzena Cendrowska (AHKR), Jeremy Beller (AHKR/SEAS), Samuel Pereira (GEO), Dr Ellie Pryor (GEO). 

 

RESEARCHER ID’S

• Thomson Reuters Web of Science: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/K-3806-2014
• ORCID ID:Link http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2818-293X
• Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_Henshilwood?ev=hdr_xprf
• Academia.edu: https://uib.academia.edu/ChrisHenshilwood
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cHpPROcAAAAJ

PUBLICATION CITATIONS 

Book Chapters: 20; Books 2: Peer reviewed papers 81

Peer Reviewed papers

• Scopus ISI: h-index 41; 12,136 citations (March 2023): 74 publications; 130 co-authors: Top 10 articles cited 3924 times.  
• Google Scholar: 129 articles; h-index 46; 12 600 citations (March 2023), Since 2018 - 4512 citations. Top 10 articles cited 7500 times; 92% of citations attributed to Wits/University of Bergen.
• Thompson Reuters Lifetime Research Award in 2014 (2002-2012) and Thompson Reuters Research Award for being in the top 1% most cited in the ‘Social Sciences and General’ Category for 2013, 2014, 2016. http://highlycited.com/#henshilwood

2024

• Badenhorst, Shaw; Ezeimo, Joel; Niekerk, Karen Loise van et al. (2024). Differential Accumulation of Large Mammal Remains by Carnivores and Humans during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Walsh, Ella Victoria; Armitage, Simon James; Miller, Christopher et al. (2024). Palaeolandscape evolution during the period of Middle Stone Age occupation of Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Wogau Chong, Kurt Heinrich; Simon, Margit Hildegard; Niekerk, Karen Loise van et al. (2024). From sea to Little Karoo: tracking the paleo-landscape inhabited by the first modern humans. (external link)
• Miller, Christopher; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Armitage, Simon James et al. (2024). Geoarchaeological investigations of Klipdrift Shelter, de Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa. (external link)
• Badenhorst, Shaw; Ezeimo, Joel; Lebatla, L.T. et al. (2024). Variability in Hunting Behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. (external link)
• Santos da Rosa, Neemias; d'Errico, Francesco; Maguregui, Maite et al. (2024). TaphArt: an experimental approach to the impact of wind erosion and marine aerosol on coastal rock art sites. (external link)
• Simon, Margit Hildegard; Göktürk, Ozan mert; van der Bilt, Willem Godert Maria et al. (2024). Investigation of biomarkers from Blombos Cave, South Africa and from Rabat-Temara Caves in Morocco: Insights into Middle Stone Age sites Palaeoclimate. . (external link)
• Haghighi, Zahra; Mackie, Meaghan; Ørnhøi, Anne Apalnes et al. (2024). An insight to take away: palaeoproteomics reveals the original binder and modern contaminations in distemper paints from Uvdal Stave Church, Norway. (external link)
• Beller, Jeremy; Niekerk, Karen Loise van; Grabe, Pieter-Jan et al. (2024). Raw material distribution in the southern Cape region and its significance for lithic procurement during the MSA at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Niekerk, Karen Loise van; Henshilwood, Christopher Stuart et al. (2024). Shellfish gathering during MIS 5c-d at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: An inter-assemblage comparison. (external link)
• Haghighi, Zahra; Mackie, Meaghan; Ørnhøi, Anne Apalnes et al. (2024). Palaeoproteomic identification of the original binder and modern contaminants in distemper paints from Uvdal stave church, Norway. (external link)
• Unhammer, Ole Fredrik; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Armitage, Simon James et al. (2024). Reconcilable differences: Using retrospective photogrammetry to bridge the divide between analogue and digital site data collected during long-term excavation projects. (external link)

2023

• d'Errico, Francesco; Niekerk, Karen Loise van; Geis, Lila et al. (2023). New Blombos Cave evidence supports a multi-step evolutionary scenario for the culturalization of the human body. (external link)
• Wogau Chong, Kurt Heinrich; Jansen, Eystein; Simon, Margit Hildegard et al. (2023). rom Sea to Little Karoo: Tracking the paleo-landscape inhabited by the first modern humans. (external link)
• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Peters, Carli; Richter, Kristine K. et al. (2023). Peptide mass fingerprinting as a tool to assess micromammal biodiversity in Pleistocene South Africa: The case of Klipdrift Shelter. (external link)
• Göktürk, Ozan mert; Simon, Margit Hildegard; Sobolowski, Stefan Pieter et al. (2023). Behaviourally modern humans in coastal southern Africa experienced an increasingly continental climate during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage 5 to 4. (external link)

2022

• Velliky, Elizabeth Catherine; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Mentzer, Susan M. et al. (2022). New insights into ochre features and their associated behaviours from the Howieson’s Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter. (external link)
• Badenhorst, Shaw; Mthombothi, Nomaswazi; Niekerk, Karen Loise van et al. (2022). An initial assessment of zooarchaeological assemblage sizes from South Africa. (external link)
• Badenhorst, Shaw; Ezeimo, Joel; Lebatla, L.T. et al. (2022). Variability in hunting behaviour during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Niekerk, Karen Loise van; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2022). Shellfish remains as proxy for human behaviour and past environments during MSA II lower at Klasies River main site and Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Massilani, Diyendo; Morley, Mike W.; Mentzer, Susan M. et al. (2022). Microstratigraphic preservation of ancient faunal and hominin DNA in Pleistocene cave sediments. (external link)

2021

• Badenhorst, Shaw; Ezeimo, Joel; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2021). Differential accumulation of large mammal remains by carnivores and humans during the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Coutinho, Alexandra; Malmström, Helena; Edlund, Hanna et al. (2021). Later Stone Age human hair from Vaalkrans Shelter, Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, reveals genetic affinity to Khoe groups. (external link)
• Badenhorst, Shaw; Ratshinanga, Rialivhuwa; Parrini, Francesca et al. (2021). Rhinoceros from the Middle Stone Age in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa. (external link)
• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Henshilwood, Christopher Stuart (2021). The 100,000–77,000‑Year Old Middle Stone Age Micromammal Sequence from Blombos Cave, South Africa: Local Climatic Stability or a Tale of Predator Bias?. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Mentzer, Susan M; Velliky, Elizabeth Catherine et al. (2021). Characterizing microscopic ochre fragments at Middle Stone Age sites: implications for evaluating prehistoric ochre use and deposition. (external link)

2020

• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Strauss, André M.; Velliky, Elizabeth et al. (2020). Hidden in plain sight: A microanalytical study of a Middle Stone Age ochre piece trapped inside a micromorphological block sample. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Unhammer, Ole Fredrik et al. (2020). Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4. (external link)
• Sharp, Warren; Niespolo, Elizabeth; Tryon, Christian A et al. (2020). 230Th/U Burial Dating of Ostrich Eggshell: A New Geochronometer for Pleistocene Archaeological Sites. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2020). The Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour 'Mother Africa - Welcome Home'. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2020). The First Real People. (external link)
• Discamps, Emmanuel; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2020). Large mammal exploitation during the c. 14-11 ka Oakhurst techno-complex at Klipdrift Cave, South Africa. . (external link)

2019

• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour: Exhibition opening. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). ‘Mother Africa – Welcome Home’. The behavioural origins of Homo sapiens in southern Africa 120 000 – 50 000 years . (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). The Origins of Modern Humans - Blombos Cave, Klipdrift Shelter and Klasies River . (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Keene, Petro et al. (2019). 'Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour - Mother Africa - Welcome Home'. (external link)
• Armitage, Simon James; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). A reassessment of the luminescence chronology for Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Mellet, Emmanuel; Colagè, Ivan; Bender, Andrea et al. (2019). What processes sparked off symbolic representations? A reply to Hodgson and an alternative perspective. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). Mother Africa - Welcome Home. (external link)
• Foster, Craig; Henshilwood, Christopher; Giske, Jarl (2019). A 100 000 year aquatic journey with our southern African ancestors. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Moloto, Refilwe (2019). Cradle of Human Culture Route to be launched in Western Cape. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Maytham, John (2019). The Blombos Cave discovery and the origins of symbolism. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher E.; Unhammer, Ole Fredrik et al. (2019). What's in that black layer? A report on a 85 000 year old dark sedimentary feature in Blombos Cave, South Africa . (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). Mother Africa – Welcome Home: The behavioural origins of Homo sapiens in southern Africa between 120 000 – 5 000 years ago. . (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). We all come from Africa: Origins of Modern Human Behaviour. (external link)
• Jacobs, Zenobia; Jones, Brian G.; Cawthra, Hayley C. et al. (2019). The chronological, sedimentary and environmental context for the archaeological deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa.. (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2019). Shellfish exploitation during the Oakhurst at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Foster, Craig et al. (2019). Origins of Early Sapiens Behaviour. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). The Origins of Modern Human Behaviour. . (external link)
• Niespolo, Elizabeth; Sharp, Warren; Glass, Robert et al. (2019). Patterns of U uptake and implications for diagenesis and trace element records in biomineral eggshell. (external link)
• Niespolo, Elizabeth; Sharp, Warren; Tryon, Christian A et al. (2019). Evaluating the temporal range of 230Th/U burial dating of ostrich eggshell, a new chronometer for Pleistocene terrestrial strata . (external link)
• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher (2019). Local environmental context of the Howiesons Poort sequence at Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa . (external link)

2018

• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Small mammals from Marine Isotope Stage 5 at Klasies River, South Africa - Reconstructing the local palaeoenvironment. (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher et al. (2018). Shellfishing at Klipdrift Cave during the Oakhurst, ca. 12–10 ka, in the southern Cape coast, South Africa: human predation pressure, dietary and climatic implications. (external link)
• Unhammer, Ole Fredrik; Lauritzen, Stein-Erik; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Photogrammetric mapping of complex cave chambers at Bloukrans Cave, South Africa: Structural, Morphological and Speleogenetic Information . (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Henshilwood, Christopher; Miller, Christopher E. (2018). Geoarchaeological and micro-contextual investigations of Middle Stone Age occupation deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Keene, Petro et al. (2018). Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour exhibition. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2018). South Africa’s Blombos cave is home to the earliest drawing by a human. (external link)
• Douze, Katja; Delagnes, Anne; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2018). The Howiesons Poort lithic sequence of Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Podcast: The oldest drawing and the energy of data. (external link)
• Reynard, Jerome; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Environment versus behaviour: Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of fauna from the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Reynard, Jerome P.; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Using trampling modification to infer occupational intensity during the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• d'Errico, Francesco; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2018). Les premières utilisations du rouge en Afrique. (external link)
• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Environmental context of the lower Middle Stone Age sequence at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher E.; Unhammer, Ole Fredrik et al. (2018). Investigation of Middle Stone Age occupation deposits in Blombos Cave, South Africa: evidence for changes in site-use and settlement dynamics in the Southern Cape during the MIS 5b-4 (94 – 72 ka). (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher E.; Henshilwood, Christopher (2018). Doing site-oriented depositional experiments? This is why you should consider taking a micromorphological block sample!. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Strauss, André; Miller, Christopher E. et al. (2018). The 3D-reconstruction of a modified ochre fragment trapped inside a micromorphological block sample from the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; d'Errico, Francesco; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2018). An abstract drawing from the 73,000-year-old levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)

2017

• Sobolowski, Stefan Pieter; Henshilwood, Christopher; Jansen, Eystein (2017). The Centre for Early Human Behaviour (EHB) at the University of Bergen: A transdisciplinary exploration into the evolution of homo sapiens behaviour . (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher et al. (2017). Shellfish and tortoise exploitation during the Oakhurst at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa: human predation pressure and climatic implications. (external link)
• Czechowski, Matthias; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Mentzer, Susan et al. (2017). Distribution and spatial analysis of heat in thin-sections. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Friesem, David; Miller, Christopher et al. (2017). Investigating burnt deposits in Blombos Cave, South-Africa: a multi-proxy and multi-scale approach. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Henshilwood, Christopher (2017). Investigating site formation processes in Blombos Cave, South-Africa – a geo-archaeological and micro-contextual approach. (external link)
• d'Errico, Francesco; Banks, William E.; Warren, Dan L. et al. (2017). Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age. (external link)
• Niespolo, Elizabeth; Sharp, Warren; Fylstra, Nicholas et al. (2017). U-TH BURIAL DATING OF OSTRICH EGGSHELLS: A NOVEL APPROACH TO DATING AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEQUENCES BEYOND THE 14C LIMIT. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Friesem, David; Miller, Christopher et al. (2017). Heat-induced alteration of glauconitic minerals in the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for evaluating site structure and burning events. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2017). Evaluating the nature and behavioral implications of laterally extensive occupation deposits in the Middle Stone Age levels of Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Unhammer, Ole et al. (2017). Middle Stone Age ochre contexts in Blombos Cave, South-Africa: a macro- and micro-contextual background. (external link)
• P. Reynard, Jerome; Henshilwood, Christopher (2017). Subsistence strategies during the Late Pleistocene in the southern Cape of South Africa: Comparing the Still Bay of Blombos Cave with the Howiesons Poort of Klipdrift Shelter. (external link)
• Ryano, Kokeli Peter; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2017). The Technology of the Early Oakhurst Lithic Techno-Complex from Klipdrift Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2017). The philosophy of archaeology. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2017). Did climate affect the early behavioural evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa?. . (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Henshilwood, Christopher Stuart (2017). Blombos cave. (external link)

2016

• Moyo, Stanley; Mphuti, Dikeledi; Cukrowska, Ewa et al. (2016). Blombos Cave: Middle Stone Age ochre differentiation through FTIR, ICP OES, ED XRF and XRD. (external link)
• Reynard, Jerome; Discamps, Emmanuel; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2016). Occupational intensity and environmental changes during the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Reynard, Jerome; Discamps, Emmanuel; Badenhorst, Shaw et al. (2016). Subsistence strategies in the southern Cape during the Howiesons Poort: Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). Geoarchaeological and micromorphological investigations of Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Miller, Christopher; Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). Multi-scale and micro-contextual investigation of the Middle Stone Age sequence in Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Kjaergaard, Peter (2016). Homo sapiens: Blombos Cave. (external link)
• Nel, Turid Hillestad; Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). The Small Mammal Sequence from the c. 76 – 72 ka Still Bay Levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa – Taphonomic and Palaeoecological Implications for Human Behaviour. (external link)
• Delagnes, Anne; Douze, Katja; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2016). The habitual heat treatment of silcrete by the Howiesons Poort groups from southern Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Kjærgaard, Peter C (2016). Blombos. (external link)
• Delagnes, Anne; Schmidt, Patrick; Douze, Katja et al. (2016). Early evidence for the extensive heat treatment of silcrete in the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter (layer PBD, 65 ka), South Africa. (external link)
• Roberts, Patrick; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2016). Climate, environment and early human innovation: Stable isotope and faunal proxy evidence from archaeological sites (98-59ka) in the southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Badenhorst, Shaw; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). Large mammal remains from the 100 ka Middle Stone Age layers of Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Rifkin, Riaan; Linda C., Prinsloo; Laure, Dayet et al. (2016). Characterising pigments on 30 000 year-old mobiliary art form Apollo 11 Cave, Karas Region, southern Namibia.. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2016). What excavated beads tell us about the when and where of human evolution. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). Tracing further the behavioural evolution of Homo sapiens in southern Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2016). The behavioural origins of early Homo sapiens in southern Africa. (external link)

2015

• d'Errico, Francesco; Vanhaeren, Marian; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2015). Assessing the accidental versus deliberate color modification of shell beads. A case study on perforated Nassarius kraussianus from Blombos Cave Middle Stone Age levels. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2015). Tracing the behavioural evolution of Homo sapiens in southern Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2015). New archaeological excavations of Later and Middle Stone Age deposits at the Klipdrift Complex, southern Cape, South Africa: 2010-2013. (external link)
• Van Niekerk, Karen Loise; Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). The engraved ostrich eggshell from the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, southern Cape, South Africa.. (external link)
• Delagnes, Anne; Douze, Katja; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah et al. (2015). Heating silcrete: innovation, invention or simple opportunistic behavior for the MSA groups?. (external link)
• Discamps, Emmanuel; Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). Intra-site variability in the still bay fauna at Blombos cave: Implications for explanatory models of the middle stone age cultural and technological evolution. (external link)
• Douze, Katja; Wurz, Sarah Jacoba Deborah; Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). Techno-cultural characterization of the MIS 5 (c. 105 - 90 Ka) lithic industries at Blombos Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa. (external link)
• Harvati, Katerina; Bauer, Catherine C.; Grine, Frederick E. et al. (2015). A human deciduous molar from the Middle Stone Age (Howiesons Poort) of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. (external link)
• Soriano, Sylvain; Villa, Paola; Delagnes, Anne et al. (2015). The still bay and howiesons poort at Sibudu and Blombos: Understanding middle stone age technologies. (external link)
• Archer, Will; Gunz, Philipp; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise et al. (2015). Diachronic change within the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, South Africa. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher; Lauritzen, Stein-Erik (2015). The Origins of Modern Human Behaviour. Dating human occupations and reconstructing the palaeoenvironment in the Middle Stone Age, southern Cape, South Africa. National Research Foundation/Norwegian Research Council, South Africa – Norway Programme of Research Cooperation Conference, Kameeldrift, South Africa, 21st September.. (external link)
• Armitage, Simon; Henshilwood, Christopher; Van Niekerk, Karen Loise (2015). Single-grain OSL dating of the Howiesons Poort layers at Klipdrift Shelter, Southern Cape, South Africa. AFQUA, Inaugural Conference and Workshops, 30 Jan - 7 Feb, 2015, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.. (external link)
• Thompson, Jessica; Towers, J; Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). Tortoises as indicators of diet, site formation, and palaeoenvironments in the Middle Stone Age record of the Southern African coast. April 15-19.. (external link)
• Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). Symbolic Decoration. (external link)
• Rifkin, Riaan; Henshilwood, Christopher; Haaland, Magnus Mathisen (2015). Pleistocene figurative art mobilier from Apollo 11 Cave, Karas Region, Southern Namibia. (external link)
• Haaland, Magnus Mathisen; Rifkin, Riaan F.; Henshilwood, Christopher (2015). Late Pleistocene figurative art mobilier From Apollo II Cave, southern Namibia. Poster Session. and Workshops, 30 Jan - 7 Feb, 2015, , Cape Town, South Africa.. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE)

Abstract

Homo sapiens was anatomically modern by c. 200,000 years ago in Africa, but there is no archaeological evidence to demonstrate that behaviour was modern at the time. Attributes of modern behaviour, inspired by changes in the human brain, are only recognisable after 100,000 years ago. Before we can study the process, we must critically define the criteria for the term 'modern behaviour' and then find a means to recognise such behaviour in the record. This seemingly simple research statement involves complex exploration by a team of specialists. In this highly competitive research field, our centre is rising rise to the challenge by combining the skills of cutting-edge scientists in archaeology, climate reconstruction and modelling, and the cognitive and social sciences. Currently we are synthesising approaches from different disciplines to contribute to a sophisticated understanding of early human behaviour. Our highly ambitious research programme focuses on rare, well-preserved archaeological sites occupied between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, as these contain the 'keys' for unlocking the past. A major competitive edge is the SapienCE Director’s 30 years of archaeological experience and his long-term exclusive access, with permits, to a number of the best-preserved sites in the southern Cape, South Africa - a region regarded as a major locus for vital evidence that could inform on the behaviour of early humans. Our planned excavations at existing and new sites and our ground-breaking interdisciplinary approaches, including climate and cognitive research, to understanding the processes that shaped human cultures is consolidating Norway’s position as a world leader in early human origins research.

Primary and Secondary Tasks

Primarily, SapienCE is directly addressing unanswered, first-order questions about Homo sapiens: a) what defines the switch to 'modern behaviour', exactly how should this term be defined and then, when, why and how did the 'switch' occur; b) were there changes in the human brain at that time that accelerated behavioural variability and how can these be measured now? Secondary linked tasks address the social organisation of these early humans: was social cohesion enhanced by symbolic material culture or vice-versa and did it lead to innovation; what cognitive skills had to be in place in order for other skills to develop; how adaptable were humans to environmental change and did climate act as a driver for technological innovation, social change and subsistence adaptations? 

Introduction

The study of the origins of human behavioural development began in Europe and focused on the Upper Palaeolithic that started at 45 ka (thousand years ago). For many decades it was accepted that these developments originated in Europe. These studies set the standard against which the behaviour of earlier non-European humans was compared. Over the past 25 years, archaeological evidence from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Africa, especially after 100 ka, has rapidly changed perceptions of the behavioural variability and adaptive strategies of these early humans. Research led by the SapienCE Director in the southern Cape since 1991, including his ERC-funded Tracsymbols Project (2010-2015), uncovered unprecedented new evidence at Blombos Cave (BBC) and Klipdrift Shelter (KDS), the latter located in De Hoop Nature Reserve, for the behavioural evolution of early H. sapiens in southern Africa. Major discoveries, highly cited, relate to advanced technology and include the earliest evidence for the making of a pigmented compound and the use of containers (100 ka) and the first known use of pressure flaking to create finely crafted stone tools (75 ka). Items of symbolic material, directly linked to cognitive advances, include the earliest geometric engravings on ochre (100-75 ka), personal ornaments made from marine shell (75 ka), and among the earliest engraved ostrich eggshell (66 ka). This research laid the foundation for the need to establish a centre of excellence in human origins research.

Through integrating the unique breadth of competence available at UiB with top international collaborators, we are delivering transformative results. This is being achieved by adopting a holistic approach (integrating Science and Humanities) that focuses on early Homo sapiens in more depth than previously possible and that extends beyond previously limiting intradisciplinary boundaries. To achieve this goal, we have attracted leading scientists from top research groups, including the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, UiB Psychosocial Sciences, U. Tubingen, CNRS Bordeaux, the Max Planck Institute and Royal Holloway. Thus, in SapienCE we are able to co-ordinate and integrate expertise and the analytical and computational facilities available to our team of archaeologists, zooarchaeologists, micromorphologists, palaeoclimatologists, climate dynamicists, dating experts, cognitive and neuroscientists as well as geneticists. We believe this is providing the competitive edge that for our highly innovative CoE.

Vision and Strategic Intent

SapienCE continues to be firmly embedded among the top three humanities-oriented palaeo-science institutes globally. The focus of SapienCE is on key fields related to early Homo sapiens that are of international importance and interest. In this regard, SapienCE is uniquely positioned as our research area in the southern Cape lays the basis for groundbreaking excavations followed by globally significant interdisciplinary research we are carrying out at UiB, in South Africa and with our partners. We believe this is allowing for an ideal, yet rare, marriage of the humanities and sciences. To ensure that SapienCE continues to have top research status, visionary, determined and practical leadership is needed. Hence we have just appointed Dr Karen van Niekerk (UiB/Wits) as Deputy Director and Prof. Simon Armitage (Royal Holloway) as Deputy Director. SapienCE will continue to embark on bold strategies that will:

• Fully exploit its competitive advantages by continuing to build on existing strengths and by nurturing new avenues for intense engagement where it can produce top quality research results
• Sustain and increase research output in high impact journals
• Continue to pursue ambitious internationalisation to embed SapienCE as a world-class centre of intellectual engagement and a preferred destination for top-class international scholars and students
• Encourage our ECRs to continue with or initiate groundbreaking research that will lead to publications in top journals. 
• Continue to provide a high-quality support environment and top-class infrastructure for our core functions
• Build on our recognition among academics globally that SapienCE offers a gateway to human origins research and to knowledge and understanding of early H. sapiens evolution in southern Africa

 

CURRENT POSITIONS 

• Director: Research Council of Norway Centre of Excellence: SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE): 2017-2026, University of Bergen
• Professor of African Prehistory – Institutt for arkeologi, historie, kulturvitenskap og religionsvitenskap, University of Bergen, Norway 2008-2022
• Distinguished Professor, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa  2007-2022

Researcher ID

• Thomson Reuters Web of Science ResearcherID: K-3806-2014. Link http://www.researcherid.com/rid/K-3806-2014
• ORCID ID:Link http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2818-293X
• Research Gate: Christopher Henshilwood: Link https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_Henshilwood?ev=hdr_xprf
• Academia.edu: Christopher Henshilwood: Link https://uib.academia.edu/ChrisHenshilwood

 

DEGREES

B.A. (Distinction in Archaeology), University of Cape Town, 1989

B.A. Hons. (with Distinction), University of Cape Town, 1990

Ph. D. (Archaeology), University of Cambridge, U.K. 1995

 

CURRENT AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH GRANTS (2000 – 2022)

• Director of Research Council of Norway Centre of Excellence in Early Human Behaviour 2017-2026
• South African Research Council Chair Initiative: Chair in ‘Origins of modern human behaviour’ at University of the Witwatersrand funded by National Research Foundation/ Department of Science and Technology, South Africa (2018-2022)
• Principal Investigator for European Research Council, FP7 Advanced Grant - TRACSYMBOLS Project Grant 2010 - 2015 
• Franco/South Africa (National Research Foundation grant (2008 – 2010). 
• Leakey Foundation, (1997, 1998, 1999, 2008)
• Norwegian Research Council /National Research Foundation – South Africa (2007-2010)
• Wenner Gren (1998,1999, 2007/2008)
• National Geographic Research and Exploration Grants (2006-2007, 2012-2014)
• University of Bergen Research Grant (2008-2015)
• National Science Foundation Grant, Stony Brook University, USA (1997-2000)

CREDITS & AWARDS

National (South Africa)

• Dr. Nelson Mandela: accepts patronage of the Blombos Cave Project, 2000.
• President Thabo Mbeki: Honourable mention in the ‘The State of the Nation’ address to the joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, South Africa, February 8, 2002 and presentation by Henshilwood of Blombos Cave artefacts to Members of the Houses of Parliament, including Nelson Mandela. 
• Academy of Science of South Africa – admitted in 2009
• The 75 000 year old engraved ochre and beads from Blombos Cave officially recognised as ‘Symbols of South Africa Culture’. In honour of this recognition a set of stamps featuring these artefacts was issued by the South Africa Post Office in 2013.
• A-rated Scientist by National Research Foundation, South Africa, 2015-2020.
• Vice-Chancellors Research Award, 2015. University of the Witwatersrand. Listed as the pinnacle of recognition in the realm of research achievement at the University.
• Ranked in Top 10 of South Africa’s most influential scientific minds for 2002–2012. Award published in 2014, South African Journal of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2015/a0121
•  A1-rated Scientist by National Research Foundation, South Africa, 2021-2025.
• Archaeology Ambassador -UNESCO Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve, Riversdale, southern Cape, South Africa. https://gouritz.com/

International

• Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques medal and order awarded by the French Prime Minister in 2004 for distinguished contributions to French education and culture; conferred, June, 2005.
• Colenso Invited Visiting Fellow, St. John’s College, Cambridge, 2013
• Academia Europaea - Elected Member in 2013.
• Thompson Reuters Lifetime Research Award in 2014 for being among the top 1% most cited for their subject field and year of publication for the period 2002 - 2012. 
• Thompson Reuters Research Award for being in the top 1% most cited in the ‘Social Sciences and General’ Category for 2013 and 2014.
• Thompson Reuters Award for inclusion in ‘The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds’ in 2014
• Thompson Reuters Research Award for being in the top 1% most cited in the ‘Social Sciences and General’ Category for 2016
• NSTF-South32 Awards – National Science and Technology Forum Communication Award- Finalist 2019/2020.
• Elected as Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, April 2020
• Awarded the Hjernekraftprisen (Brain Power Award) 2020 from the The Norwegian Association of Researchers (Forskerforbundet) for research, development and outreach
• Awarded Univ. Witwatersrand Vice Chancellors Impact and Innovation Award – 6^th October 2022

SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS

Association of Heritage Assessment Practitioners, Society for Africanist Archaeologists, Association of South African Professional Archaeologists.