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Cambridge Language Sciences

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 

Professor Robert Foley FBA

Research

My research focuses on the evolutionary and ecological underpinnings of humans, their adaptations and behaviour, and their evolutionary history. This research has ranged from early hominins to the evolution of modern human and their diversity, and included archaeological, morphological and genetic approaches. I have a particular interest in the development and application of general evolutionary models to human evolution. Language, as a key element in human evolution, is an important area of research in this field, comprising both the origins and evolution of language itself, and also the processes of linguistic diversification. Current projects with Marta Mirazón Lahr, include the evolution of human diversity, modelling cultural boundaries, Late Quaternary human evolution in West Turkana, the prehistory of the Central Sahara (Libya), and the evolutionary ecology of lithic technology.

Publications

Key publications: 

Foley, R.A. & Lahr, M.M. (2011). The evolution of the diversity of cultures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 366, pp. 1080-1089.

Dunn, M., Terrill, A., Reesink, G., Foley, R.A. & Levinson, S.C. (2005). Structural phylogenetics and the reconstruction of ancient language history. Science 309, pp. 2072-2075.

Monnott, M., Foley, R.A. & Ross, E. (2004). Affective prosody: whence motherese? Behavioral & Brain Sciences 27, pp. 518-519.

Foley, R.A. (2004). The evolutionary ecology of linguistic diversity in human populations. In: Jones, M. (ed.) Traces of Ancestry: studies in honour of Colin Renfrew. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Foley, R., & Gamble, C. (2009). The ecology of social transitions in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1533), 3267–3279. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0136

Publications (from Symplectic)

Journal articles

2024

  • Walsen, K., Jofré, P., Buder, S., Yaxley, K., Das, P., Yates, RM., Hua, X., Signor, T., Eldridge, C., Rojas-Arriagada, A., Tissera, PB., Johnston, E., Aguilera-Gómez, C., Zoccali, M., Gilmore, G. and Foley, R., 2024. Assembling a high-precision abundance catalogue of solar twins in GALAH for phylogenetic studies Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 529
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae280
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  • van Holstein, LA. and Foley, RA., 2024. Diversity-dependent speciation and extinction in hominins. Nat Ecol Evol, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02390-z
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  • Goodman, JR., Crema, E., Nolan, F., Cohen, E. and Foley, RA., 2024. Evidence that cultural groups differ in their abilities to detect fake accents Evolutionary Human Sciences, v. 6
    Doi: 10.1017/ehs.2024.36
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  • Foley, RA. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2024. Ghosts of extinct apes: genomic insights into African hominid evolution. Trends Ecol Evol, v. 39
    Doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.12.009
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  • de Brito Silva, D., Jofré, P., Tissera, PB., Yaxley, KJ., Jara, JG., Eldridge, CJL., Sillero, E., Yates, RM., Hua, X., Das, P., Aguilera-Gómez, C., Johnston, EJ., Rojas-Arriagada, A., Foley, R. and Gilmore, G., 2024. On the Evolutionary History of a Simulated Disk Galaxy as Seen by Phylogenetic Trees Astrophysical Journal, v. 962
    Doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad036a
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    2023

  • Mounier, A., Manthi, FK., Bosch, MD., Galán, SSD., Chapon-Sao, C., Achyuthan, H., Bahain, JJ., Daujeard, C., Delagnes, A., Edung, JE., Falguères, C., Foley, RA., Hautavoine, H., Noens, G., Stoetzel, E., Tombret, O., Waithira, J., Van Baelen, A., Marín, J., Vidal, C. and Lahr, MM., 2023. Kanyimangin: the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition in the south-west of the Turkana Basin Antiquity, v. 97
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.107
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  • Dean, MC., Garrevoet, J., Van Malderen, SJM., Santos, F., Mirazón Lahr, M., Foley, R. and Le Cabec, A., 2023. The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy. Biology (Basel), v. 12
    Doi: 10.3390/biology12121455
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    2022

  • Gellis, J. and Foley, R., 2022. Patterns of variation in canal and root number in human post-canine teeth
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.01.478656
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  • Gellis, JJ. and Foley, RA., 2022. Patterns of variation in canal and root number in human post-canine teeth. J Anat, v. 241
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13729
    •
  • Ragsdale, G. and Foley, RA., 2022. Models of gene-culture evolution are incomplete without incorporating epigenetic effects. Behav Brain Sci, v. 45
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X21001588
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  • Leakey, LN. and Foley, RA., 2022. Kamoya Kimeu. Nat Ecol Evol, v. 6
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01900-1
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  • Gellis, J., Smith, C. and Foley, R., 2022. PyLithics: A Python package for stone tool analysis Journal of Open Source Software, v. 7
    Doi: 10.21105/joss.03738
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    2021

  • Correia, MA., Foley, R. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2021. Applying dental microwear texture analysis to the living: Challenges and prospects. Am J Phys Anthropol, v. 174
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24133
    •
  • Jackson, H., Jofré, P., Yaxley, K., Das, P., De Brito Silva, D. and Foley, R., 2021. Using heritability of stellar chemistry to reveal the history of the Milky Way Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 502
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa4028
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    2020 (Accepted for publication)

  • Padilla-Iglesias, C., Foley, RA. and Shneidman, LA., 2020 (Accepted for publication). Language as a marker of ethnic identity among the Yucatec Maya Evolutionary Human Sciences,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/ehs.2020.39
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    2020

  • van Holstein, L. and Foley, RA., 2020. Terrestrial habitats decouple the relationship between species and subspecies diversification in mammals. Proc Biol Sci, v. 287
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2702
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  • Pomeroy, E., Hunt, CO., Reynolds, T., Abdulmutalb, D., Asouti, E., Bennett, P., Bosch, D., Burke, A., Farr, L., Foley, R., French, C., Frumkin, A., Goldberg, P., Hill, E., Kabukcu, C., Mirazon Lahr, M., Lane, R., Marean, C., Maureille, B., Mutri, G., Miller, C., Ali Mustafa, K., Nymark, A., Pettitt, P., Sala, N., Sandgathe, D., Stringer, C., Tilby, E. and Barker, G., 2020. Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior: a view from Shanidar Cave Evolutionary Anthropology, v. 29
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21854
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    2019 (Accepted for publication)

  • Yaxley, KJ. and Foley, RA., 2019 (Accepted for publication). Reconstructing the ancestral phenotypes of great apes and humans (Homininae) using subspecies-level phylogenies Biological Journal of the Linnean Society,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz140
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    2019

  • Correia, MA., Foley, R., O'Connell, TC., Ramírez-Rozzi, F. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2019. Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopic Signatures of Hair, Nail, and Breath from tropical African Human Populations Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8524
    •
  • Van Baelen, A., Wilshaw, A., Griffith, P., Noens, G., Maíllo-Fernández, JM., Foley, RA. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2019. Prospect Farm and the Middle and Later Stone Age Occupation of Mt. Eburru (Central Rift, Kenya) in an East African Context African Archaeological Review, v. 36
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-019-09342-0
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    2018

  • Mounier, A., Correia, M., Rivera, F., Crivellaro, F., Power, R., Jeffery, J., Wilshaw, A., Foley, RA. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2018. Who were the Nataruk people? Mandibular morphology among late Pleistocene and early Holocene fisher-forager populations of West Turkana (Kenya). J Hum Evol, v. 121
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.013
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  • Foley, RA., 2018. Evolutionary geography and the Afrotropical model of hominin evolution Bulletins et Memoires de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris, v. 30
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.3166/bmsap-2018-0001
    •
  • McColl, H., Racimo, F., Vinner, L., Demeter, F., Gakuhari, T., Moreno-Mayar, JV., van Driem, G., Gram Wilken, U., Seguin-Orlando, A., de la Fuente Castro, C., Wasef, S., Shoocongdej, R., Souksavatdy, V., Sayavongkhamdy, T., Saidin, MM., Allentoft, ME., Sato, T., Malaspinas, A-S., Aghakhanian, FA., Korneliussen, T., Prohaska, A., Margaryan, A., de Barros Damgaard, P., Kaewsutthi, S., Lertrit, P., Nguyen, TMH., Hung, H-C., Minh Tran, T., Nghia Truong, H., Nguyen, GH., Shahidan, S., Wiradnyana, K., Matsumae, H., Shigehara, N., Yoneda, M., Ishida, H., Masuyama, T., Yamada, Y., Tajima, A., Shibata, H., Toyoda, A., Hanihara, T., Nakagome, S., Deviese, T., Bacon, A-M., Duringer, P., Ponche, J-L., Shackelford, L., Patole-Edoumba, E., Nguyen, AT., Bellina-Pryce, B., Galipaud, J-C., Kinaston, R., Buckley, H., Pottier, C., Rasmussen, S., Higham, T., Foley, RA., Lahr, MM., Orlando, L., Sikora, M., Phipps, ME., Oota, H., Higham, C., Lambert, DM. and Willerslev, E., 2018. The prehistoric peopling of Southeast Asia. Science, v. 361
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat3628
    •
  • Grunstra, NDS., Mitteroecker, P. and Foley, RA., 2018. A multivariate ecogeographic analysis of macaque craniodental variation. Am J Phys Anthropol,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23439
    •
  • Versluys, TMM., Foley, RA. and Skylark, WJ., 2018. The influence of leg-to-body ratio, arm-to-body ratio and intra-limb ratio on male human attractiveness. R Soc Open Sci, v. 5
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171790
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    2017

  • Jofre Pfeil, P., Das, P., Bertranpetit, J. and Foley, R., 2017. Cosmic phylogeny: reconstructing the chemical history of the solar neighbourhood with an evolutionary tree Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 467
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx075
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  • Sikora, M., Seguin-Orlando, A., Sousa, VC., Albrechtsen, A., Korneliussen, T., Ko, A., Rasmussen, S., Dupanloup, I., Nigst, PR., Bosch, MD., Renaud, G., Allentoft, ME., Margaryan, A., Vasilyev, SV., Veselovskaya, EV., Borutskaya, SB., Deviese, T., Comeskey, D., Higham, T., Manica, A., Foley, RA., Meltzer, DJ., Nielsen, R., Excoffier, L., Mirazon Lahr, M., Orlando, L. and Willerslev, E., 2017. Ancient genomes show social and reproductive behavior of early Upper Palaeolithic foragers Science, v. 358
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1807
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    2016

  • Mirazon Lahr, MB., Rivera, F., Power, RK., Mounier, A., Copsey, B., Crivellaro, F., Edung, JE., Maillo Fernandez, JM., Kiarie, C., Lawrence, J., Leakey, A., Mbua, E., Miller, H., Muigai, A., Mukhongo, DM., Van Baelen, A., Wood, R., Schwenninger, J-L., Grün, R., Achyuthan, H., Wilshaw, A. and Foley, RA., 2016. Reply to Stojanowski et al. Nature,
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/nature19779
    •
  • Mirazón Lahr, M., Rivera, F., Power, RK., Mounier, A., Copsey, B., Crivellaro, F., Edung, JE., Maillo Fernandez, JM., Kiarie, C., Lawrence, J., Leakey, A., Mbua, E., Miller, H., Muigai, A., Mukhongo, DM., Van Baelen, A., Wood, R., Schwenninger, J-L., Grün, R., Achyuthan, H., Wilshaw, A. and Foley, RA., 2016. Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya. Nature, v. 529
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/nature16477
    •
  • Foley, RA., 2016. Mosaic evolution and the pattern of transitions in the hominin lineage. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, v. 371
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0244
    •
  • Foley, RA., Martin, L., Mirazón Lahr, M. and Stringer, C., 2016. Major transitions in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences, v. 371
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0229
    •
  • Malaspinas, A-S., Westaway, MC., Muller, C., Sousa, VC., Lao, O., Alves, I., Bergström, A., Athanasiadis, G., Cheng, JY., Crawford, JE., Heupink, TH., Macholdt, E., Peischl, S., Rasmussen, S., Schiffels, S., Subramanian, S., Wright, JL., Albrechtsen, A., Barbieri, C., Dupanloup, I., Eriksson, A., Margaryan, A., Moltke, I., Pugach, I., Korneliussen, TS., Levkivskyi, IP., Moreno-Mayar, JV., Ni, S., Racimo, F., Sikora, M., Xue, Y., Aghakhanian, FA., Brucato, N., Brunak, S., Campos, PF., Clark, W., Ellingvåg, S., Fourmile, G., Gerbault, P., Injie, D., Koki, G., Leavesley, M., Logan, B., Lynch, A., Matisoo-Smith, EA., McAllister, PJ., Mentzer, AJ., Metspalu, M., Migliano, AB., Murgha, L., Phipps, ME., Pomat, W., Reynolds, D., Ricaut, F-X., Siba, P., Thomas, MG., Wales, T., Wall, CM., Oppenheimer, SJ., Tyler-Smith, C., Durbin, R., Dortch, J., Manica, A., Schierup, MH., Foley, RA., Lahr, MM., Bowern, C., Wall, JD., Mailund, T., Stoneking, M., Nielsen, R., Sandhu, MS., Excoffier, L., Lambert, DM. and Willerslev, E., 2016. A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia. Nature, v. 538
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/nature18299
    •
  • Mirazon Lahr, M., Rivera, F., Power, RK., Mounier, A., Copsey, B., Crivellaro, F., Edung, JE., Maillo Fernandez, JM., Kiarie, C., Lawrence, J., Leakey, A., Mbua, E., Miller, H., Muigai, A., Mukhongo, DM., Van Baelen, A., Wood, R., Schwenninger, J-L., Grün, R., Achyuthan, H., Wilshaw, A. and Foley, R., 2016. Mirazón Lahr et al. reply. Nature, v. 539
    Doi: 10.1038/nature19779
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    2015

  • Foley, RA. and Lahr, MM., 2015. Lithic landscapes: early human impact from stone tool production on the central Saharan environment. PLoS One, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116482
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  • Rasmussen, S., Allentoft, ME., Nielsen, K., Orlando, L., Sikora, M., Sjögren, K-G., Pedersen, AG., Schubert, M., Van Dam, A., Kapel, CMO., Nielsen, HB., Brunak, S., Avetisyan, P., Epimakhov, A., Khalyapin, MV., Gnuni, A., Kriiska, A., Lasak, I., Metspalu, M., Moiseyev, V., Gromov, A., Pokutta, D., Saag, L., Varul, L., Yepiskoposyan, L., Sicheritz-Pontén, T., Foley, RA., Lahr, MM., Nielsen, R., Kristiansen, K. and Willerslev, E., 2015. Early divergent strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 years ago. Cell, v. 163
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.009
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  • Foley, RA., 2015. Evolution, archaeology and the social brain ANTIQUITY, v. 89
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2014.47
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    2014

  • Vegvari, C. and Foley, RA., 2014. High selection pressure promotes increase in cumulative adaptive culture. PLoS One, v. 9
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086406
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  • Foley, R. and Lahr, MM., 2014. The role of "the aquatic" in human evolution: constraining the aquatic ape hypothesis. Evol Anthropol, v. 23
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21405
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  • Seguin-Orlando, A., Korneliussen, TS., Sikora, M., Malaspinas, A-S., Manica, A., Moltke, I., Albrechtsen, A., Ko, A., Margaryan, A., Moiseyev, V., Goebel, T., Westaway, M., Lambert, D., Khartanovich, V., Wall, JD., Nigst, PR., Foley, RA., Lahr, MM., Nielsen, R., Orlando, L. and Willerslev, E., 2014. Paleogenomics. Genomic structure in Europeans dating back at least 36,200 years. Science, v. 346
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa0114
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    2013

  • Foley, RA., MAILLO-FERNANDEZ, J. and MIRAZON LAHR, M., 2013. The Middle Stone Age of the Central Sahara: biogeographical opportunities and technological strategies in later human evolution Quaternary International,
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    2012

  • Ragsdale, G. and Foley, RA., 2012. Testing the imprinted brain: Parent-of-origin effects on empathy and systemizing Evolution and Human Behavior, v. 33
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.12.002
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    2011

  • Foley, RA. and Lahr, MM., 2011. The evolution of the diversity of cultures. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, v. 366
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0370
    •
  • Lahr, MM., Foley, R., Crivellaro, F., Fernandez, JM., Wilshaw, A., Copsey, B., Rivera, F. and Mattingly, D., 2011. DMP XIV: Prehistoric sites in the Wadi Barjuj, Fazzan, Libyan Sahara Libyan Studies, v. 42
    Doi: 10.1017/s0263718900004866
    •
  • Ragsdale, G. and Foley, RA., 2011. A maternal influence on Reading the mind in the Eyes mediated by executive function: differential parental influences on full and half-siblings. PLoS One, v. 6
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0023236
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  • Rasmussen, M., Guo, X., Wang, Y., Lohmueller, KE., Rasmussen, S., Albrechtsen, A., Skotte, L., Lindgreen, S., Metspalu, M., Jombart, T., Kivisild, T., Zhai, W., Eriksson, A., Manica, A., Orlando, L., De La Vega, FM., Tridico, S., Metspalu, E., Nielsen, K., Ávila-Arcos, MC., Moreno-Mayar, JV., Muller, C., Dortch, J., Gilbert, MTP., Lund, O., Wesolowska, A., Karmin, M., Weinert, LA., Wang, B., Li, J., Tai, S., Xiao, F., Hanihara, T., van Driem, G., Jha, AR., Ricaut, F-X., de Knijff, P., Migliano, AB., Gallego Romero, I., Kristiansen, K., Lambert, DM., Brunak, S., Forster, P., Brinkmann, B., Nehlich, O., Bunce, M., Richards, M., Gupta, R., Bustamante, CD., Krogh, A., Foley, RA., Lahr, MM., Balloux, F., Sicheritz-Pontén, T., Villems, R., Nielsen, R., Wang, J. and Willerslev, E., 2011. An Aboriginal Australian genome reveals separate human dispersals into Asia. Science, v. 334
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1211177
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    2010

  • Foley, RA., 2010. Evolution and Human Cognitive Diversity: What Should We Expect? INTERDISCIPL SCI REV, v. 35
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1179/030801810X12772143410007
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  • Mirazon Lahr, MB., Foley, R., Crivellaro, F., Fernandez, J., Wilshaw, A., Purdon, A., Halladay-Garrett, C., Veldhuis, D. and Mattingly, D., 2010. DMP XI: Preliminary results from 2010 fieldwork on the human prehistory of the Libyan Sahara Libyan Studies, v. 41
    •
  • Ricaut, FX., Thomas, T., Mormina, M., Cox, MP., Bellatti, M., Foley, RA. and Mirazon-Lahr, M., 2010. Ancient Solomon Islands mtDNA: assessing Holocene settlement and the impact of European contact J ARCHAEOL SCI, v. 37
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.12.014
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  • Buck, LT., Stock, JT. and Foley, RA., 2010. Levels of Intraspecific Variation Within the Catarrhine Skeleton INT J PRIMATOL, v. 31
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-010-9428-0
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    2009

  • McGrew, WC. and Foley, RA., 2009. Palaeoanthropology meets primatology. J Hum Evol, v. 57
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.07.002
    •
  • Lahr, MM., Foley, R., Crivellaro, F., Okumura, M., Maher, L., Davies, T., Veldhuis, D., Wilshaw, A. and Mattingly, D., 2009. DMP VI: Preliminary results from 2009 fieldwork on the human prehistory of the Libyan Sahara Libyan Studies, v. 40
    Doi: 10.1017/s0263718900004532
    •
  • Foley, RA. and Gamble, C., 2009. The ecology of social transitions in human evolution Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,
    •
  • Clutton-Brock, T., West, S., Ratnieks, F. and Foley, R., 2009. The evolution of society. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, v. 364
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0207
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    2008

  • Chaubey, G., Karmin, M., Metspalu, E., Metspalu, M., Selvi-Rani, D., Singh, VK., Parik, J., Solnik, A., Naidu, BP., Kumar, A., Adarsh, N., Mallick, CB., Trivedi, B., Prakash, S., Reddy, R., Shukla, P., Bhagat, S., Verma, S., Vasnik, S., Khan, I., Barwa, A., Sahoo, D., Sharma, A., Rashid, M., Chandra, V., Reddy, AG., Torroni, A., Foley, RA., Thangaraj, K., Singh, L., Kivisild, T. and Villems, R., 2008. Phylogeography of mtDNA haplogroup R7 in the Indian peninsula. BMC Evol Biol, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-8-227
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  • Ricaut, FX., Thomas, T., Arganini, C., Staughton, J., Leavesley, M., Bellatti, M., Foley, R. and Lahr, MM., 2008. Mitochondrial DNA variation in Karkar Islanders ANN HUM GENET, v. 72
    Doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1809.2008.00430.x
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  • Wall-Scheffler, CM. and Foley, RA., 2008. Digital cementum luminance analysis (DCLA): A tool for the analysis of climatic and seasonal signals in dental cementum INT J OSTEOARCHAEOL, v. 18
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/oa.918
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  • Lahr, MM., Foley, R., Armitage, S., Barton, H., Crivellaro, F., Drake, N., Hounslow, M., Maher, L., Mattingly, D., Salem, M., Stock, J. and White, K., 2008. DMP III: Pleistocene and Holocene palaeonvironments and prehistoric occupation of Fazzan, Libyan Sahara Libyan Studies, v. 39
    Doi: 10.1017/s0263718900010098
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    2007

  • Foley, RA. and Mirazón Lahr, M., 2007. Ancient DNA closes on human uniqueness: The base nature of Neanderthals Heredity, v. 98
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/sj.hdy.6800953
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  • Mattingly, D., Lahr, M., Armitage, S., Barton, H., Dore, J., Drake, N., Foley, R., Merlo, S., Salem, M., Stock, J., White, K., Ahmed, M., Cole, F., Crivellaro, F., Rodriguez, MG., Guagnin, M., Jones, S., Karloukovski, V., Leitch, V., Maher, L., Moussa, F., Radini, A., Reeds, I., Savage, T. and Sterry, M., 2007. Desert Migrations: people, environment and culture in the Libyan Sahara Libyan Studies, v. 38
    Doi: 10.1017/s0263718900004283
    •
  • Foley, RA. and Lahr, MM., 2007. The base nature of Neanderthals HEREDITY, v. 98
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/sj.hdy.6800953
    •
  • Dunn, M., Foley, R., Levinson, S., Reesink, G. and Terrill, A., 2007. Statistical reasoning in the evaluation of typological diversity in Island Melanesia Oceanic Linguistics, v. 46
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2008.0016
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    2006

  • Lycett, SJ., von Cramon-Taubadel, N. and Foley, RA., 2006. A crossbeam co-ordinate caliper for the morphometric analysis of lithic nuclei: a description, test and empirical examples of application J ARCHAEOL SCI, v. 33
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.10.014
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  • Bunker, DE. and Naeem, S., 2006. Species diversity and ecosystem functioning. Science, v. 312
    Doi: 10.1126/science.312.5775.846a
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    2005

  • Foley, R., 2005. Species diversity in human evolution: Challenges and opportunities Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, v. 60
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/00359190509520479
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  • Dunn, M., Terrill, A., Reesink, G., Foley, RA. and Levinson, SC., 2005. Structural phylogenetics and the reconstruction of ancient language history SCIENCE, v. 309
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1114615
    •

    2004

  • Bateson, P., Barker, D., Clutton-Brock, T., Deb, D., D'Udine, B., Foley, RA., Gluckman, P., Godfrey, K., Kirkwood, T., Lahr, MM., McNamara, J., Metcalfe, NB., Monaghan, P., Spencer, HG. and Sultan, SE., 2004. Developmental plasticity and human health NATURE, v. 430
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/Nature02725
    •
  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, R., 2004. Human evolution writ small Nature, v. 431
    Doi: 10.1038/4311043a
    •
  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, RA., 2004. Palaeoanthropology: Human evolution writ small Nature, v. 431
    •
  • Monnot, M., Foley, R. and Ross, E., 2004. Affective prosody: Whence motherese Behavioral and Brain Sciences, v. 27
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x04390114
    •

    2003

  • Foley, R. and Lahr, MM., 2003. On stony ground: Lithic technology, human evolution, and the emergence of culture EVOL ANTHROPOL, v. 12
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.10108
    •

    2002

  • Collard, IF. and Foley, RA., 2002. Latitudinal patterns and environmental determinants of recent human cultural diversity: do humans follow biogeographical rules? EVOL ECOL RES, v. 4
    •
  • Foley, R., 2002. Adaptive Radiations and Dispersals in Hominin Evolutionary Ecology Evolutionary Anthropology, v. 11
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.10051
    •

    2001

  • Underhill, PA., Passarino, G., Lin, AA., Shen, P., Lahr, MM., Foley, RA., Oefner, PJ. and Cavalli-Sforza, LL., 2001. The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations ANN HUM GENET, v. 65
    •
  • Foley, R., 2001. In the shadow of the modern synthesis? Alternative perspectives on the last fifty years of paleoanthropology Evolutionary Anthropology, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6505(2001)10:1<5::AID-EVAN1008>3.0.CO;2-Y
    •

    1999

  • Eeley, HAC. and Foley, RA., 1999. Species richness, species range size and ecological specialisation among African primates: Geographical patterns and conservation implications Biodiversity and Conservation, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008831320469
    •

    1998

  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, RA., 1998. Towards a theory of modern human origins: Geography, demography, and diversity in recent human evolution YEARB PHYS ANTHROPOL, v. 41
    •
  • Elton, S., Foley, R. and Ulijaszek, SJ., 1998. Habitual energy expenditure of human climbing and clambering. Ann Hum Biol, v. 25
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/03014469800006762
    •
  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, RA., 1998. Towards a Theory of Modern Human Origins: Geography, Demography, and Diversity in Recent Human Evolution Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, v. 41
    •
  • Foley, R., 1998. The context of human genetic evolution. Genome Res, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1101/gr.8.4.339
    •

    1997

  • Foley, RA., 1997. Multiple dispersals and the environment in hominid evolution Human Evolution, v. 12
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/BF02437370
    •
  • Foley, R. and Lahr, MM., 1997. Mode 3 technologies and the evolution of modern humans CAMB ARCHAEOL J, v. 7
    •

    1996

  • Foley, RA. and Fitzgerald, CM., 1996. Is reproductive synchrony an evolutionarily stable strategy for hunter-gatherers? CURR ANTHROPOL, v. 37
    •
  • Foley, RA., 1996. Paleoanthropology and human diversity. AM J HUM BIOL, v. 8
    •
  • Hammer, MLA. and Foley, RA., 1996. Longevity and life history in hominid evolution Human Evolution, v. 11
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/BF02456989
    •

    1995

  • Foley, R., 1995. The adaptive legacy of human evolution: A search for the environment of evolutionary adaptedness Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, v. 4
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.1360040603
    •
  • Foley, R., 1995. Causes and consequences in human evolution Journal - Royal Anthropological Institute, v. 1
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.2307/3034229
    •

    1994

  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, R., 1994. Multiple dispersals and modern human origins Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, v. 3
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/evan.1360030206
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1994. SPECIATION, EXTINCTION AND CLIMATIC-CHANGE IN HOMINID EVOLUTION J HUM EVOL, v. 26
    •

    1993

  • Foley, R., 1993. Striking parallels in early hominid evolution. Trends Ecol Evol, v. 8
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(93)90097-9
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1993. ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL VARIANCE AND THE EVOLUTION OF INCREASED NEOCORTICAL SIZE BEHAV BRAIN SCI, v. 16
    •

    1992

  • Foley, R., 1992. Language gap [12] Nature, v. 355
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/355404b0
    •
  • FOLEY, RA. and LAHR, MM., 1992. BEYOND OUT OF AFRICA - REASSESSING THE ORIGINS OF HOMO-SAPIENS J HUM EVOL, v. 22
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1992. SKULL SHAPES AND THE MAP - CRANIOMETRIC ANALYSES IN THE DISPERSION OF MODERN HOMO - HOWELLS,WW J FIELD ARCHAEOL, v. 19
    •
  • Foley, RA., 1992. Pproblems in the early evolution of Homo: the East African fossil record and the evolutionary relationships of the early hominids The African Archaeological Review, v. 10
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/BF01117695
    •

    1991

  • Foley, RA., 1991. The silence of the past Nature, v. 353
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/353114a0
    •
  • Foley, RA. and Lee, PC., 1991. Ecology and energetics of encephalization in hominid evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, v. 334
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1991.0111
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1991. THE HUMAN CAREER - HUMAN BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ORIGINS - KLEIN,RG ANTIQUITY, v. 65
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1991. HOW MANY SPECIES OF HOMINID SHOULD THERE BE J HUM EVOL, v. 20
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1991. LANGUAGE ORIGINS - THE SILENCE OF THE PAST NATURE, v. 353
    •

    1990

  • Foley, R., 1990. The causes of brain enlargement in human evolution Behavioral and Brain Sciences, v. 13
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00079103
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1990. EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE ROBUST AUSTRALOPITHECINES - GRINE,FE AM J PHYS ANTHROPOL, v. 82
    •

    1989

  • Foley, RA. and Lee, PC., 1989. Finite social space, evolutionary pathways, and reconstructing hominid behavior. Science, v. 243
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.2493158
    •
  • Foley, R., 1989. Ecological and social factors in hominid evolution Behavioral and Brain Sciences, v. 12
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00025358
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1989. THE SEARCH FOR EARLY MAN - BY 2050, GENETICISTS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS WILL HAVE JOINED THE FOSSIL HUNTERS IN PIECING TOGETHER THE PUZZLE OF OUR REMOTE PAST ARCHAEOLOGY, v. 42
    •
  • FOLEY, RA., 1989. BEHAVIORAL AND BIOGEOGRAPHICAL MODELS FOR THE ORIGINS OF MODERN HUMANS AM J PHYS ANTHROPOL, v. 78
    •

    1987

  • Foley, R., 1987. Hominid species and stone-tool assemblages: How are they related? Antiquity, v. 61
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00072938
    •

    1982

  • Foley, R., 1982. A reconsideration of the role of predation on large mammals in tropical hunter-gatherer adaptation. Man, v. 17
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.2307/2801704
    •

    1981

  • Foley, R., 1981. Off-site archaeology: an alternative approach for the short-sited. Pattern of the past: studies in honour of David Clarke,
    •
  • Foley, R., 1981. A Model of Regional Archaeological Structure Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, v. 47
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00008823
    •
  • Foley, R., 1981. Anti-social? [3] Nature, v. 293
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1038/293506c0
    •
    Book chapters

    2020 (No publication date)

  • Foley, R., 2020 (No publication date). Variable cognition in the evolution of Homo: biology and behaviour in the African Middle Stone Age.

    • 2020

  • Mirazon Lahr, MB. and Foley, RA., 2020. Variable cognition in the evolution of Homo: biology and behaviour in the African Middle Stone Age
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvx5w983.12
    •

    2019

  • Foley, R., 2019. Untangling causality: multiple levels of explanation for human cognitive evolution.

    • 2018

  • Ragsdale, G. and Foley, RA., 2018. Epigenetics and the Evolution of Human Social Cognition
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93776-2_11
    •

    2017

  • Foley, RA., 2017. Evolutionary ecology of fossil hominids
    Doi: 10.4324/9780203792704-5
    •

    2016

  • Foley, RA. and Mirazon, M., 2016. Human Evolution in Late Quaternary Eastern Africa

    • 2012 (No publication date)

  • Foley, RA., 2012 (No publication date). Comparative evolutionary models and the ‘australopithecine radiations’

    • 2012

  • Foley, RA., 2012. Music, Language, and Human Evolution

    • 2005

  • Foley, R. and Lee, P., 2005. Finite social space and the evolution of human social behaviour
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.4324/9780203974131
    •

    2003

  • Foley, RA., 2003. Introduction: Investigating the origins of human behaviour
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.4324/9780203168752-6
    •
  • Foley, RA., 2003. How useful is the culture concept in early hominid studies?
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.4324/9780203168752-8
    •
    Conference proceedings

    2020

  • Van Holstein, LA. and Foley, RA., 2020. Subspecies in human evolution AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, v. 171
    •

    2017

  • Grunstra, NDS., Foley, RA. and Mitteroecker, P., 2017. Signals of Ecogeography and Phylogeny in the Macaque Dentition (Cercopithecidae: <i>Macaca</i>) AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, v. 162
    •
  • Correia, MA., Foley, RA., O'Connell, T., Ramirez-Rozzi, F. and Mirazon Lahr, M., 2017. Modern human hair, nail and breath isotopic signals and their relevance to diet assessment in the past American Journal of Physical Anthropology, v. 162
    Doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23210
    •

    2016

  • Mirazón Lahr, M. and Foley, RA., 2016. Human evolution in late quaternary Eastern Africa
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7520-5_12
    •

    2012

  • Cirak, S., Foley, RA., Herrmann, R., Willer, T., Elisabeth, S., Yau, M., Brodd, L., Torelli, S., Kamynina, A., Vondracek, P., Roper, H., Longman, C., Korinthenberg, R., Marrosu, G., Nurnberg, P., Plagnol, V., Hurles, M., Sewry, CA., Campbell, KP., Voit, T. and Muntoni, F., 2012. Mutations in the human isoprenoid synthase domain containing gene are a common cause of congenital and limb girdle muscular dystrophies NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS, v. 22
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.nmd.2012.06.036
    •

    2001

  • Foley, RA. and Lahr, MM., 2001. The anthropological, demographic and ecological context of human evolutionary genetics GENES, FOSSILS AND BEHAVIOUR, v. 310
    •
  • Foley, RA. and Donnelly, P., 2001. Towards an integrated approach to human evolution GENES, FOSSILS AND BEHAVIOUR, v. 310
    •
  • Lahr, MM. and Foley, RA., 2001. Genes, fossils and behaviour: When and where do they fit? GENES, FOSSILS AND BEHAVIOUR, v. 310
    •

    1998

  • Foley, RA. and Elton, S., 1998. Time and energy: The ecological context for the evolution of bipedalism PRIMATE LOCOMOTION,
    •

    1993

  • FOLEY, RA., 1993. THE INFLUENCE OF SEASONALITY ON HOMINID EVOLUTION SEASONALITY AND HUMAN ECOLOGY, v. 35
    •
    Books

    2012

  • Foley, R., 2012. Foreword

    • 2006

  • Foley, RA., 2006. Unknown boundaries: Exploring human evolutionary studies
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511542398
    •

    2003

  • Foley, RA., 2003. The origins of human behaviour
    Doi: http://doi.org/10.4324/9780203168752
    •
    Senior Fellow McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
    Leverhulme Professor of Human Evolution Emeritus
    Life Fellow of King’s College
    Departments and institutes: 
    Department of Archaeology
    The Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies
    Professor Robert Foley

    Affiliations

    Classifications: 
    Academic Staff

    Study at Cambridge

    About the University

    Research at Cambridge