Professor Andy I.R. Herries

Director of The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory and Professor of Palaeoanthropology, Head of Dept. Archaeology and History, La Trobe University

College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce
Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Archaeology and History

Martin Building and Biological Sciences 2, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BSc, Archaeological Science; MSc, Geoarchaeology; PhD, Archaeological Geophysics & Palaeoanthropology

Membership of professional associations

Paleoanthropology Society, Australian Archaeological Association, INQUA, South African Archaeological Society

Area of study

Archaeology

Brief profile

I am currently a Professor, Head of Dept. Archaeology and History and the Director of The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory (TAAL) at La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia) and the Australian-South African Palaeoanthropology and Geoarchaeology Field School at the Drimolen hominin site in South Africa. I undertook my BSc in Archaeological Science (Honours in Australian Stone Tools), MSc in Geoarchaeology (karst geology and cave stratigraphy), and PhD in Geochronology-Palaeoanthropology-Archaeological Geophysics (Palaeomagnetismand Magnetostratigraphy) at the Dept Archaeology and Geomagnetism Laboratory of the University of Liverpool (UK). Since that time I have worked at the Geophysical Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Science and the Anatomy Dept. at UNSW. I hold honorary positions in the Centre for Anthropological Research at the University of Johannesburg.

Early Hominins & Karst Palaeomagnetism in Africa: I am currently an ARC Future Fellow in the ‘Geochronology of Human Evolution and the Palaeolithic in Africa’. My work is focusing on the development of a chronological framework for Human Origins in southern Africa, independent of faunal correlation with East Africa and the cross correlation of different dating techniques (Palaeomagnetism, U-Pb, ESR, TT-OSL, Ar/Ar and Al/Be). Currently I am working on the dating of several hominin, Palaeolithic archaeological and fossil bearing sites in Africa ranging from caves (Drimolen, Haasgat, Hoogland, Cooper’s D, Bolt’s Farm, Malapa, Rising Star), dunefields (Elandsfontein), volcanic (Kilombe), tufa sequences (Taung), river sequences (Cornelia) and spring deposits (Amanzi Springs).

Human Origins in China: I have been working in southern China since 2007. Between 2008 and 2012 I worked on excavating and dating a series of sites in Yunnan Province that yielded the remains of human fossils with an unusual mix of traits, dubbed the Red Dear Cave people. In 2016 I will be starting a new collboration with Dr Chris Bae (University of Hawaii) in Guangxi Province.

Modern Human Origins, Archaeomagnetism & Pyrotechnology: I have worked extensively looking at the evolution of fire use and pyrotechnology,including the origin and spread of stone tool heat treatment. I have also worked towards the use of magnetic methods of analysis for reconstructing fire use, environmental change and sediment infill histories on archaeological sites, most notably caves. I am currently working on a range of sites in South Africa (Erfkroon, Varsch River, Pinnacle Point) and Australia (Lake Mungo, Wakool River, Brown’s Creek Midden, Yea, Arcadia Valley).

Archaeometry, Synchrotron Science and Ground Penetrating Radar: More recently I have also begun developing the use of Ground Penetrating Radar analysis on archaeological sites,particulalry in karst terrain; as well as the use of various geochemical analysis (pXRF), neutron microscopy and synchrotron radiaition for understanding archaeological sites and artefacts.

Marsupial Origins: I am also working on the dating of Plio-Pleistocene marsupial fossil sites throughout Australia (inc: Chinchilla, Parwan, Wellington Caves) using a similar multi-disciplinary approach.

Magnetic Excusrions, Events and Reversals: Other focuses of my ARC FT are a more detailed understanding of speleothem magnetism through combined palaeomagnetic and synchrotron radiation analysis, the direct dating of geomagnetic reversals, events and excursions (particularly in speleothems) and the understanding of the effects of geomagnetic field reversals on biological systems through a combined palaeomagnetic and isotopic analysis of speleothem.

THE AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOPHYSICS LABORATORY (TAAL)

www.archaeomagnetism.com or ON Facebook

I am the Director of the newly established (2012) Australian Archaeophysics Laboratory, one of the few archaeological geophysics and archaeomagnetic laboratories in the world with a focus on the archaeological and fossil record. The labs aim is to “Outlining and promote the use of geophysical methods of analysis in archaeology, palaeontology, palaeoanthropology, geochronology, cave science and hominin evolution”. The laboratory was built as a student training and collaborative facility and is currently undertaking a range of student projects. Adjacent to TAAL I also run La Trobe’s Palaeoanthropology Laboratory and a micromorphology laboratory.

Current students and projects of the labs include:

  • Rhiannon Stammers (PhD; 2014-2017): An archaeometric analysis of the world’s oldest bone tools from the Drimolen hominin site, S. Africa
  • Brian Armstrong (PhD; 2014-2017): The use of Ground Penetrating Radar on South African hominin sites (Drimolen, Haasgat and Bolt’s Farm)
  • Katherine Crowder (PhD; 2015-2018): Human-environment interaction, migration and settlement in the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (Australia) using GIS
  • Elizabeth Foley (PhD; 2015-2018) Hunter-Gatherer Societies at Lake Mungo during the Last Glacial Maximum
  • Tara Edwards (PhD; 2016-2019) Geoarchaeological and geochronological investigations into the age and formation of the Bolt’s Farm fossil sites, South Africa.
  • Tom Mallett (PhD; 2016-2019) The age and formational history of the Amanzi Springs Acheulian site, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
  • Ashleigh Murszewski (PhD; 2016-2019) Formational history of the Drimolen hominin bearing cave sites, South Africa.
  • Angeline Leece (Masters; 2014-2016): The palaeodemography of the Drimolen hominins
  • Alex Blackwood (Honours; 2015): Identifying the heat treatment of stone tools in the archaeological record of South Africa and Australia using palaeomagnntism and mass gloss analysis
  • Ada Dinckal (Honours; 2015): Archaeomagentic analysis to understand spatial patterning in Middle Stone Age bearing cave sediments at Pinnacle Point, South Africa
  • Daniel Duers (Honours; 2015): Palaeomagnetic analysis and age of the Elandsfontein Acheulian and hominin bearing site, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Isobel Simpson (Honours 2016) Palaeomagnetism of the Makapansgat Limeworks hominin site, South Africa.
  • Lana Tanter-Edwards (Honours 2016) Geophysical analysis of purported combustion features at Lake Mungo.
  • David Crotty (Honours 2016) Reconstructing a GIS model of the Amanzi Springs Acheulian site based on legacy data.
  • Belle Leslie (Honours 2016) Using GIS and Magnetostratigraphy to reconstruct the formational history of the Drimolen palaeocave, South Africa.
  • Maddie Codling-White (Honours 2016) Analysis of micromammals from the Drimolen hominin site, South Africa.

Former Students

  • Tom Mallett (Honours; 2015; H1): Dating of the Drimolen hominin site, South Africa
  • James Donlon (Honours; 2015; H1): Using neutron tomography to understand fossil bearing breccia from South African hominin sites (AINSE Scholarship).
  • Emmy Frost (Honours; 2015; H1): An analysis of the Brown’s Creek 3 shell midden, Victoria, Australia (BIOSIS and Bill Bothwick Scholarships)
  • Daniel Barker (Honours 2015; H1); Mineral Magentic & pXRF analysis of ochre from lake Mungo, NSW.
  • Rhiannon Stammers (Honours 2013; H1) Identifying the heat treatment of stone tools in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area
  • Rhiannon Ashton (Honours 2013 H1) Palaeomagnetic dating of the Kilombe Acheulian site (Kenya)
  • Caroline Spry (PhD 2014) Stone tool technology at Lake Mungo, Australia

Reading Course Students & Volunteer Projects

  • Jesse Martin (3rd year reading course) South African Palaeoanthropology and the question of early Homo.
  • Richard Curtis (2nd year reading course) Archaeomagentic study of cave sediments from Kenya.
  • Maddie White (3rd Year reading course) Micromammal Palaeontology
  • Chris Silvester (3rd Year Reading Course) Archaeomagnetism
  • Kirsty Gater (3rd Year Reading Course) South African Early Stone Age
  • Tom Mallett (3rd Year Reading Course) Geoarcheology of South African early hominin sites.
  • Isobel Simpson: Magnetostratigraphy of the Chincilla marsupial fossil site, Queensland
  • Belle Leslie: Palaeomagnetism of Burnt Rocks and Heat retainers.
  • Jesse Martin: Using IRMs to identify ochre on shell beads from S.E. Asia.

Other topics available for students at Honours/PhD.

  • Identifying fire use, spatial patterning and occupation intensity at Australian and South African archaeological sites ranging from caves to shell middens
  • Building an Australian Archaeomagnetic curve based on aboriginal heaths from sites such as Lake Mungo (with Nicola Stern) and Plio-Pleistocene Victorian volcanics (In collaboration with the University of Liverpool Geomagnetism Laboratory, UK).
  • Dating of the Taung Tufas and archaeological and fossil bearing cave deposits
  • Dating of caves at the hominin site of Coopers, S. Africa
  • Dating of marsupial fossil sites in Victoria
  • Palaeomagnetic study of Ar-Ar dated reversals in Australia
  • Analysis of lithics from the early modern human fossil site of Equus Cave, Taung, S. Africa
  • Taphonomic study of fossils from Black Earth Cave, Taung, S. Africa
  • Micromorphological study of drillcores from Taung, S. Africa.

 

AUSTRALIAN-SOUTH AFRICAN PALAEOANTHROPOLOGY & GEOARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL @ the DRIMOLEN HOMININ SITE

http://www.archaeomagnetism.com/drimolen-fieldschool​ and On Facebook

In 2013, 2014 & 2015 a joint field school was established at the Drimolen hominin site in South Africa between TAAL at LTU Archaeology and the Centre for Anthropological Research at the University of Johannesburg. The field school mainly caters for Australian based students but has taken students from other areas of the world. The field school runs from late June till mid July (24th-19th in 2016) and consists of excavation and survey training at Drimolen, trips to see the original hominin fossils and site in the Cradle of Humankind, a safari to see the extant local equivalents of the fossils being excavated at Drimolen and nightly lectures covering South African hominins and archaeology as well as geoarchaeological, geochronological, palaeontological and palaeoenvironmental methods, with a major focus on cave deposits. The field school has found hominin remains ever year and in 2014 & 2015 we excavated a new, much older fossil deposit at Drimolen, the Drimolen Makondo (Rovinsky et al., 2015). In 2015 we also found the most complete early Homo cranium yet discovered at Drimolen. Those interested in the field school should email me.

 

LTU PALEOSCIENCE LAB: La Trobe University Palaeosciences, Landscapes & Evolution.

https://www.facebook.com/LTUpalaeoscience/

In 2015 TAAL expanded to include a new laboratory that can undertake acid preperation of fossils, undertake 3D scanning and printing and has microscopes for micromorphological analysis. The lab staff and students also regulalry utilise the adjacent VisLaB2 for 3D GIS and visualisation applications related to their research.

Follow TAAL & the Palaeoscience Labs on Twitter

Research interests

Archaeological Science

– Archaeomagnetism, Archaeological Geophysics, Geochemistry, Synchrotron Radiation, Sourcing/residues

Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas

– Hominin occupation of southern Africa, the Geochronology of Human Origins, Early-Later Stone Age

Archaeology of Australia

– Pyrotechnology, Victorian Shell Middens, Archaeomagnetism, Stone Tool Heat Treatment, Geochronology

Teaching units

  • HUS3RS1 Reading Course: e.g. Palaeolithic Archaeology, Human origins, Palaeoanthropology
  • HU3RS2 Reading Course: e.g. Archaeological Geophysics and Geoarchaeology
  • ARC3SCI: Archaeological Science
  • HUM1THJ: The Human Jouney
  • Australian Geoarchaeological and Palaeoanthropological Field School at the Drimolen hominin site (South Africa; June-July annually)

Consulting

I currently work with heritage management companies such as: Vincent Clark and Associates, BIOSIS, Australian Cultural Heritage Management and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.

Recent publications

  1. Herries, A.I.R. 2016.Archaeomagnetic Analysis of Sediments from Djadjiling rockshelter (HD07-1A-04), Pilbara, Western Australia. In Cropper and Boon (Ed.).British Archaeological Reports. Forthcoming.
  2. Pickering, R., Herries, A.I.R. 2016. New multidisciplinary age estimates for the Sterkfontein Member 4 australopithecines. In: Richmond BG, Ward CV, Zipfel B, editors. Hominin postcranial remains from Sterkfontein, South Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  3. Kuhn, B., Herries, A.I.R., Caruana, M., Hopley, P., Baker, S., Menter, C. 2015. Renewed investigations at Taung; 90 years after Australopithecus africanus. Palaeontologia Africana. Dec Vol.
  4. Stone, O., Laffan, S., Curnoe, D., Herries, A.I.R. 2015. Potential human impact on the environmental central niche of the chacma baboon. South African J. Science. Nov/Dec Vol.
  5. Lawler, M., Monk, R., Herries, A.I.R., Lise-Pronovost, A., Ashton, R., Terry, T., Berelov, I. 2015. Investigations of a Holocene floodplain landscape on the Goulburn River valley at Yea. In: Frankel, Spry, Lawrence (Eds) Excavations, Surveys & Heritage Management in Victoria 4, 15-24.
  6. Doran, T.L., Herries, A.I.R., Hopley, P., Sombroek, H., Hellstrom, J., Hodge, E., Kuhn, B.F. 2015. Assessing the palaeoenvironmental potential of Pliocene to Holocene tufa deposits along the Ghaap Plateau escarpment (South Africa) using stable isotopes. Quaternary Research. 84, 133-143.
  7. Rovinsky, D. S., Herries, A.I.R., Menter, C., Adams, J.W. 2015. First description of in situ primate and faunal remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Drimolen Makondo palaeocave infill, Gauteng, South Africa. Palaeontologia Electronica 18.2.34A: 1-21.
  8. Fisher, E., Akkaynak, D., Harris, J.A., Herries, A.I.R., Karkanas, P., Marean, C.W., McGrath, J., Jacobs, Z. 2015. Technical Considerations and Methodology for Creating High-resolution, Color-Corrected, and Georectified Photomosaics of Stratigraphic Sections at Archaeological Sites. J. Archaeological Science. 57, 380-394.
  9. Gowlett, J.A.J, Brink, J., Herries, A.I.R., Hoare, S., Onjala, I., Rucina, S.M. 2015. At the heart of the African Acheulean: the physical, social and cognitive landscapes of Kilombe. In: Coward et al. (EDs) Settlement, Society and Cognition in Human Evolution: Landscapes in the Mind. Cambridge University Press: 75-83.
  10. Lawler, M., Arnold, R., Robb, K.F., Herries, A.I.R., Lovett, T., Keogh, C., Phelan, M., Falconer, S.E., Fall, P.L., Tumney, J., Stammers, R., James-Lee, T., Berelov, I. 2014. The Browns Creek Community Archaeology Project: preliminary results from the survey and excavation of a late Holocene shell midden on the Victorian coast. In Spry, Frankel, Lawrence, Berelov, Canning (Eds)  Excavations, Surveys and Heritage Management in Victoria. Vol.  3: 43-52.
  11. Brack, N., Kappen, P., Herries, A.I.R., Trueman, A., Rider, A.N. 2014. Evolution of Magnetic and Structural Properties during Iron Plating of Carbon Nanotubes. J. Physical Chemistry C. 118, 13218−13227.
  12. Herries, A.I.R., Kappen, P., Kegley, A., Paterson, D., Howard, D.L., de Jonge, M.D., Potze, S., Adams, J.W. 2014. Palaeomagnetic and Synchrotron analysis of >1.95 Ma fossil bearing palaeokarst at Haasgat, Gauteng. South African J. Science. 110 (3/4; March/April) 1-12. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  13. Braun, D., Levin, N., Stynder, D., Herries, A.I.R., Archer, W., Forrest, F., Roberts, D., Bishop, L., Matthews, T.,  Lehmann, S.,  Pickering, R., Fitzsimmons, K. 2013. Mid-Pleistocene hominin occupation of Elandsfontein, Western Cape of South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 82, 145-166. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  14. Braun, D. R., Levin, N. E., Roberts, D., Stynder, D., Forrest, F. Herries, A.I.R., Mathews, T., Bishop, L. Archer, W., Pickering, R. 2013. Initial investigations of Acheulean hominin behaviour at Elandsfontein. In “Archaeology of the West Coast of South Africa” (eds.) Jerardino, A., Malan, A., Braun , D. R. BAR International Series 2526. Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 84: 10-23. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  15. Conner, S., Ross, S.A., Sobotkova, A., Herries, A.I.R., Mooney, S.D., Longford, C., Iliev, I. 2013. Environmental conditions in the SE Balkans since the Last Glacial Maximum and their influence on the spread of agriculture in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews. 68, 20-215. (Funded by ARC LP0989901)
  16. Herries, A.I.R., Adams, J.W. 2013. Clarifying the context, dating and age range of the Gondolin hominins and Paranthropus in South Africa. J. Human Evolution. 65, 676–681. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  17. Herries, A.I.R., Pickering, R., Adams, J.W., Curnoe, D., Warr, G., Latham, A.G., Shaw, J. 2013. A multi-disciplinary perspective on the age of Australopithecus in southern Africa. In: Reed, K.E., Fleagle, J.G., Leakey, R. (Eds.) Paleobiology of Australopithecus: Contributions from the Fourth Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop, Diversity in Australopithecus: Tracking the First Bipeds. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology series. 21-48. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  18. Hopley, P., Herries, A.I.R., Baker, S., Kuhn, B., Menter, C. 2013. Beyond the South African Cave Paradigm – Australopithecus africanus from the Pliocene palaeosol deposits of Taung. American J. Physical Anthropology. 151, 316-324. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  19. Pickering, R., Jacobs, Z., Herries, A.I.R., Karkanas, P., Bar-Matthews,  M., Woodhead, J.D., Kappen, P., Fisher, E., Marean, C.W. 2013. Paleoanthropologically Significant South African Sea Caves dated to 1.1-1.0 Million Years using a combination of U-Pb, TT-OSL and palaeomagnetism. Quaternary Science Reviews. 65, 39-52. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  20. Roberts, D.L., Sciscio, L., Herries, A.I.R., Scott, L., Bamford, M.K., Musekiwa, C., Tsikos, H. 2013. Miocene Fluvial Systems and Palynofloras at the Southwestern Tip of Africa: Implications for Regional and Global Fluctuations in Climate and Ecosystems. Earth Science Reviews. 124, 184-201. (Funded by ARC FT120100399)
  21. Stone, O., Laffan, S., Curnoe, D., Herries, A.I.R. 2013. The Spatial Distribution of the Habitat of the Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) Based on an Environmental Envelope Model. International Journal of Primatology. 34, 407-422.
  22. Ji., X. Curnoe, D., Bao, Z., Herries, A.I.R., Fink, D., Zhu. Y., Hellstrom, J., Luo, Y., Tacon, P. 2013. Further geological and palaeoanthropological investigations at the Maludong hominin site, Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 58, 4472-4485 (Funded by ARC DP0877603).
  23. Brink, J., Herries, A.I.R., Moggi-Cecchi,, J., Gowlett, J., Adams, J.W., Hancox, J., Bousman, C.B., Grün, R., Eisenmann, V., Adams, J.W., Rossouw, L. 2012. First hominine remains from  ~1 Ma bone bed at Cornelia-Uitzoek, Free State Province, South Africa. J. Human Evolution. 63, 527-535.
  24. Curnoe, D., Xueping, J., Herries, A.I.R., Kanning, B., Taçon, P.S.C., Zhende, B., Fink, D., Zhende, B., Fink, D., Yunsheng, Z., Hellstrom, J., Yun, L., Wroe, S., Bing, S., Parr, W.C.H., Shengmin, H., Cassis, G., Rogers, N. accepted Jan 2012. Human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of southwest China suggest a complex evolutionary history for East Asians. Plos One. 7(3): e31918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031918. (Funded by ARC DP0877603)
  25. Cochrane, G.W.G., Habgood, P.J., Doelman, T., Herries, A.I.R., Webb, J. 2012. A Progress Report on Research into the Stone Artefacts of the Southern Arcadia Valley, Central Queensland. Australian Archaeology 75 104-109.
  26. Stone, O., Laffan, S., Curnoe, D.,Rushworth, I. Herries, A.I.R.2012. Distribution and population estimate for the Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Primates 53, 337-344.37
  27. Herries, A.I.R. 2012. Makapansgat: Three Million Years of Human Evolution. In MacKinnon, A. and MacKinnon, E. (Eds) Places of Encounter: Time, place and connectivity in world history. Volume 1: to 1600.
  28. Taçon, P.S.C., Aubert, M., Gang, L., Decong, Y., Hong, Y., May, S.K., Fallon, S., Xueping, J., Curnoe, D., Herries, A.I.R. 2012. First uranium-series minimum and maximum age estimates for rock art in China. J. Archaeological Science. 39, 492-499. (Funded by ARC DP0877603)
  29. Pickering, R., Dirks, P., Jinnah, Z.,de Ruiter, D.J, Churchill, S.E., Herries, A.I.R., Woodhead, J., Hellstrom, J., Berger, L.R. 2011. Australopithecus sediba at 1.977 Ma and implications for the origins of the genus Homo. Science. 333; 1421-1423.
  30. Herries, A.I.R.2011. A chronological perspective on the Acheulian and its transition to the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa: the question of the Fauresmith. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology Key Evolutionary Transformations in Homo sapiens. Volume 2011, ID 961401, 25pp doi: 10.4061/2011/961401.
  31. Herries, A.I.R., Shaw, J. 2011. Palaeomagnetic analysis of the Sterkfontein palaeocave deposits; age implications for the hominin fossils and stone tool industries. J. Human Evolution 60, 523-539.
  32. Roberts, D. Matthews, T., Herries, A.I.R., Boulter, C., Scott, L., Dondo, C., Ntembi, P., Browning, C., Smith, R., Haarhoff, P. 2011. Regional and Global Palaeoenvironmental and Sea Level Context of the Late Cenozoic Langebaanweg (LBW) Palaeontological Site: West Coast of South Africa. Earth Science Reviews. 106: 191-214.
  33. Matthews, T., Rector, A., Jacobs, Z., Herries, A.I.R., Marean., C. 2011. Environmental implications of micromammals accumulated close to the MIS 6 to MIS 5 transition at Pinnacle Point Cave 9, southern Cape coast, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 302, 213-229.

Older publications

  1. Herries, A.I.R., Hopley, P., Adams, J., Curnoe, D., Maslin, M. 2010. Geochronology and palaeoenvironments of the South African early hominin bearing sites. Am. J. Phys. Anthrop. 143, 640–646.
  2. Herries, A.I.R., Fisher, E., 2010. Multi-dimensional modelling of magnetic mineralogy as a proxy for fire use and spatial patterning: evidence from the Middle Stone Age sea cave site of Pinnacle Point 13B (Western Cape, South Africa). J. Human Evolution 59, 306-320.
  3. Adams, J.W., Herries, A.I.R., Hemingway, J., Kegly, A., Kgazi, L., Hopley, P., Reede, H., Potze, S., Thackeray, F., 2010. Initial fossil discoveries from Hoogland, a new Pliocene primate-bearing karstic system in Gauteng Province, South Africa, South Africa. J. Hum Evol.. 59, 685-691.
  4. Marean, C.W., Bar-Matthews, M., Fisher, E., Goldberg, P. Herries, A.I.R. Karkanas, P., Nilssen, P., Thompson E., 2010. The stratigraphy of the Middle Stone Age sediments at Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Mossel Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa). J. Human Evol.. 59, 234-255.
  5. Bar-Matthews, M., Marean, C.W., Jacobs, Z., Karkanas, P., Fisher, E., Herries, A.I.R., Brown, K., Williams, H.M., Bernatchez, J., Ayalon, A., Nilssen, P. 2010. A high resolution and continuous isotopic speleothem record of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment from 90-53 ka from Pinnacle Point on the south coast of South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews. 29, 2131-2145.
  6. Braun, D.R., Harris, J.W.K., Levin, N.E., McCoy, J.T., Herries, A.I.R., Bamford, M., Bishop, L., Richmond, B.R., Kibunjia, M., 2010. Early hominin diet included diverse terrestrial and aquatic animals 1.95 Ma ago in East Turkana, Kenya.  PNAS. 107, 10002-10007.
  7. Dirks, P.H.D.M., Kibii, J.N., Kuhn, B.F., Steininger, C., Churchill, S.E., Kramers, J.D., Pickering, R., Farber, D.L., Mériaux, S-A., Herries, A.I.R., King, G.C.P., Berger, L.R. 2010. Geological setting and age of Australopithecus sediba from southern Africa. Science 328, 205-208.
  8. Taçon, P.S.C, Gang, L., Decong, Y., May, S.K., Hong, L., Aubert, M., Xueping, J., Curnoe, D., Herries, A.I.R. 2010. Naturalism and style in Jinsha River rock art, China and the Magdalenian art of Europe: creative cognates or curious coincidence? Cambridge Archaeology Journal 20, 1, 67-86. (Funded by ARC DP0877603)
  9. Brown, K.S., Marean, C.W., Herries, A.I.R., Jacobs, Z., Tribolo, C., Braun, D., Roberts, D.L., Meyer, M.C., Bernatchez, J., 2009. Fire as an Engineering Tool of Early Modern Humans. Science 325, 859-862.
  10. Herries, A.I.R., Curnoe, D. Adams, J.W. 2009. A multi-disciplinary seriation of early Homo and Paranthropus bearing palaeocaves in southern Africa. Quaternary International 202, 14-28.
  11. Herries, A.I.R. 2009. New approaches for integrating palaeomagnetic and mineral magnetic methods to answer archaeological and geological questions on Stone Age sites. In Fairbrain, A., O’Conner, S., Marwick, B. (Eds.) Terra Australis 28 – New Directions in Archaeological Science.The Australian National University Press, Canberra, Australia. Chapter 16: 235-253.
  12. Herries, A.I.R., Latham, A.G. 2009. Chapter 5: Archaeomagnetic studies at the Cave of Hearths. In: McNabb, J., Sinclair, A.G.M. (Eds.) The Cave of Hearths: Makapan Middle Pleistocene Research Project. University of Southampton series in archaeology (Archaeopress; Oxford), 1: 59-64.
  13. Latham, A.G., Herries, A.I.R. 2009. Chapter 4. The formation and sedimentary infilling of the Cave of Hearths and Historic Cave Complex. In: McNabb, J., Sinclair, A.G.M. (Eds.) The Cave of Hearths: Makapan Middle Pleistocene Research Project. University of Southampton series in archaeology (Archaeopress; Oxford),1: 49-58.
  14. Herries, A.I.R., Kovacheva, M., Kostadinova, M., 2008. Mineral magnetism and archaeomagnetic dating of a mediaeval oven from Zlatna Livada, Bulgaria. Physics Chem. Earth. A/B/C. 33, 496-510.
  15. Marean, C.W., Bar-Matthews, M, Bernatchez, J., Fisher, E., Goldberg, P., Herries, A.I.R., Jacobs, Z., Jerardino, A., Karkanas, P., Minichillo, T., Nilssen, P.J., Thompson, E., Watts, I., Williams, H.W. 2007. Early Human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene. Nature. 449, 905-908.
  1. Herries, A.I.R., Kovacheva, M., Kostadinova, M., Shaw, J., 2007. Archaeo-directional and -intensity data from burnt structures at the Thracian site of Halka Bunar (Bulgaria): The effect of magnetic mineralogy, temperature and atmosphere of heating in antiquity. Phys. Earth. Planet. Interiors. 162, 199-216.
  2. Adams, J.W., Herries, A.I.R., Conroy, G.C., Kuykendall, K.L., 2007. Taphonomy of a South African cave: geological and hydrological influences on the GD 1 fossil assemblage at Gondolin, a Plio-Pleistocene paleocave system in the Northwest Province, South Africa. Quat. Sci. Revs. 26, 2526-2543.
  3. Hopley, P.J., Marshall, J.D., Weedon, G.P., Latham, A.G., Herries, A.I.R., Kuykendall, K.L., 2007. Orbital forcing and the spread of C4 grasses in the late Neogene: stable isotope evidence from South African speleothems. J. Hum. Evolution. 53, 620-634.
  4. Hopley, P.J., Weedon, G.P., Marshall, J.D., Herries, A.I.R., Latham, A.G., Kuykendall, K.L., 2007. High- and low-latitude orbital forcing of early hominin habitats. Earth Planet. Sci. Letts. 256, 419-432.
  5. Herries, A.I.R., Kovacheva, M., 2007. Using Archaeomagnetism to Answer Archaeological Questions about Burnt Structures at the Thracian Site of Halka Bunar, Bulgaria. Archaeologia Bulgarica 11. 2007/3, 25-46.
  6. Herries, A.I.R., Adams, J.W., Kuykendall, K.L., Shaw, J., 2006. Speleology and magnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the GD 2 locality of the Gondolin hominin-bearing paleocave deposits, North West Province, South Africa. J. Hum. Evol. 51, 617-631.
  7. Herries, A.I.R., Reed, K., Kuykendall, K.L., Latham, A.G., 2006. Speleology and Magnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the Buffalo Cave fossil bearing palaeodeposits, Makapansgat, South Africa. Quaternary Research. 66, 233-245.
  8. Herries, A.I.R., 2006. Archaeomagnetic evidence for climate change at Sibudu Cave. Southern African Humanities. 18, 131-147.
  9. Curnoe, D., Herries, A.I.R., Brink, J, Hopley, P., Van Reynveld, K, Henderson, Z., Morris, D., 2006. Discovery of Middle Pleistocene fossil and stone tool-bearing deposits at Groot Kloof, Ghaap Escarpment, Northern Cape Province. South African J. Science. 102, 180-184.
  10. Latham, A.G., Herries. A.I.R., 2004. The formation and sedimentary infilling of the Cave of Hearths and Historic Cave Complex. Geoarchaeology 19, 323-342.
  11. Herries, A.I.R., Latham, A.G., 2003. `Environmental Archaeomagnetism’: evidence for climatic change during the later Stone Age using the magnetic susceptibility of cave sediments from Rose Cottage Cave, South Africa.  pp 25-35 in P. Mitchell, Haour, A and Hobart, J (Eds) Researching Africa’s Past: New contributions from British Archaeologists. Oxford University School of Archaeology Monograph 57. Oxford UK.
  12. Latham, A.G., Herries, A.I.R., Kuykendall, K., 2003. The formation and sedimentary infilling of the Limeworks Cave, Makapansgat, South Africa.  Palaeontologia Africana. 39, 69-82.
  13. Lacruz, R.S, Brink, J.S., Hancox, J., Skinner, A.S., Herries, A., Schmidt, P., Berger, L.R., 2002. Palaeontology, geological context and palaeoenvironmental implications of a Middle Pleistocene faunal assemblage from the Gladysvale Cave, South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana. 38, 99-114.
  14. Latham, A.G., Herries, A.I.R., Sinclair, A.G.M., Kuykendall, K., 2002. Re-examination of the lower stratigraphy in the classic section, Limeworks site, Makapansgat, South Africa. Human Evolution 17, 207-214.
  15. Latham, A.G, Herries. A, Quinney, P, Sinclair, A, Kuykendall, K, 1999. The Makapansgat Australopithecine Site from a Speleological Perspective. In: Pollard, A.M., (Ed.) Geoarchaeology: exploration, environments, resources. Royal Geological Society, London. Special Publications. 165, 61-77

Research projects

  1. Drimolen (S. Africa): 2.0-1.4 Ma hominin and Palaeolithic cave. Excavations and Field School with Colin Menter (University of Johannesburg; S. Africa).
  2. Haasgat (S. Africa): ~2 Ma primate fossil site. With Justin Adams (Monash University, Australia).
  3. Bolt’s Farm (S. Africa): Plio-Pleistocene fossil site. With Stephanie Potze (Distsong National Museum of Natural History, S. Africa) and Dominique Gommery (CNRS, France).
  4. Taung (S. Africa): Excavation of a series of Pliocene and Pleistocene fossil and archaeological sites including the Taung Chid type site, Equus Cave and Black Earth Cave; With Brian Kuhn and Matt Caruana (University of the Witwatersrand, S. Africa).
  5. Cornelia-Uitzoek (S. Africa); Excavations of a hominin and Acheulian bearing landscape in the Free State. With James Brink (National Museum,Bloemfontein).
  6. Elandsfontein (S. Africa) Excavations of a hominin and Acheulian bearing landscape on the western Cape coast. With Naomi Levin (John Hopkins University, US) and David Braun (George Washington University, US)
  7. Duinefontein (S. Africa). Excavations of an Acheulian site in the Western Cape. With Deano Stynder (University of Cape Town)
  8. Pinnacle Point (S. Africa). Excavation of a series of early MSA sites on the southern Cape coast. With Curtis Marean (Arizona State University).
  9. Kilombe (Kenya) Geochronology of an Acheulian landscape in the Central Rift. With John Gowlett (University of Liverpool).
  10. Koobi Fora (Kenya) Geochronology of an Oldowan, Acheulian and hominin landscape on the shore of Lake Turkana. With David Braun (George Washington University, US).
  11. Chinchilla (Australia). Geochronology and excavation of a Pliocene marsupial site on the Darling Down, Queensland. With Julien Louys (Australian National University) and Gilbert Price (University of Queensland)
  12. Archaeomagnetic and Pyrotechnological studies at Lake Mungo, NSW (Australia); With Nicola Stern (La Trobe University).
  13. Browns Creek (Australia).Excavation of a shell midden near Apollo Bay, Victoria. With BIOSIS and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.
  14. Ulco (S. Africa). Excavations and dating of a series of Later Stone Age rock shelters and tufa flows along the Ghaap Plateau escarpment, Northern Cape.
  15. Ubeidiya (Israel). Geochronology of this early Acheulian site in northern Israel. With Miriam Belmaker (University of Tulsa, US).
  16. Varsche River (S. Africa).Phyrotechnology in the Middle stone age of the western Cape. With Terresa Steele (University of California at Davis, US) and Alex Mackay (University of Wollongong, Australia).
  17. Marsupial Fossil sites of eastern Victoria (Australia). Geochronology of marsupial fossil sites in eastern Victoria. With Gavin Prideaux (Flinders University).
  18. Wellington Caves fossil sites (Australia). Geochronology of Pliocene and Pleistocene marsupial fossil sites near Wellington, NSW. With Armstrong Osborne (University of Sydney, Australia)
  19. Palaeomagnetic analysis of Pliocene to Pleistocene volcanics in Victoria (Australia). With University of Melbourne,  Earth Science.
  20. Archaeomagnetic analysis of aboriginal hearths in Victoria (Australia). With BIOSIS and Vincent Clark & Associates.
  21. Synchrotron Analysis of iron in speleothems. With Peter Kappen (Australian Synchrotron).