Annemieke Milks

Could anything be more exciting than puzzling together how our human ancestors lived? Why did Homo sapiens ultimately thrive while other species of humans disappeared? What kind of a role did the use of wood, which we see so rarely archaeologically, play in early technologies? What can this understanding of human evolution and the development of technology help us in understanding our own current dependence on technology?

I spend my time as a PhD research student in Palaeolithic Archaeology at UCL's Institute of Archaeology researching these questions, and have been an avid experimenter for over 5 years. My research interest in early weaponry ultimately relates to questions about human cognition and palaeodiets, social group structures and use of raw materials and the landscape. In addition to experimental research I am also researching the archaeological artefacts (both spears and lesions to bone), and studies of ethnographic examples of plain wooden spears.

I help run the Archaeology of Human Evolution network and the Evolutionary Weapons Research Group. I have a chapter in the recently published 'Multidisciplinary Approaches to Stone Age Weaponry'.

In my 'free' time I'm a parent to a little person! I used to be a professional violinist so music is still a big part of my life, and I love running, gardening and traveling.

You can follow me on twitter: @AnnemiekeMilks

February 2016