Amy Egeland
Professor
a_egelan@uncg.edu
M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008
My broad interest in anthropology lies in early human evolution and subsistence patterns, with a specific focus on the zooarchaeology and taphonomy of hominid-bearing sites of Plio-Pleistocene Africa. I am particularly interested in the competitive interactions among early members of the genus Homo and the large carnivore guild over meat resources. We know that hominids began incorporating meat into their diets significantly by 2 million years ago, and I work toward an understanding of the significance of that dietary shift to the evolution of modern human characteristics such as large brains and complex behavioral patterns that arise after this crucial time.
I am especially committed to combining research on fossil faunas with a complementary program of actualistic research, essential for the proper paleoanthropological interpretation of those faunas. I have conducted fieldwork at sites such as Swartkrans in South Africa and BK in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, as well as actualistic fieldwork in Africa and with captive carnivores here at home. Currently, I am preparing to begin work of this nature at the Plio-Pleistocene site of Kromdraai in South Africa, where the type specimen of Australopithecus robustus was found in 1938. This work, in addition to a series of hammerstone butchery and carnivore actualistic studies, will comprise my dissertation work for my PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.