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Samuel Griffiths

I am a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Southampton and a member of the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins. My research is currently concentrating on hominin interaction to climate and environment throughout the Pleistocene. I have become particularly interested with early human behaviour within the wider landscape, looking at habitat change and resource strategies connected. More specifically my Ph.D. research concentrates on the Quaternary record of Jersey and its connection with Northern France, using the paleoenvironmental record from archaeological sites such as La Cotte de St. Brelade and associated geology. This project is supervised by Dr. John McNabb (Advisor Dr. Matt Pope, UCL & QAEJ) and look to tie this evidence in with behavioural evidence associated with lithic analysis.

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Postcard from South Africa #2.

Monday 4th May. Another emotional day in South Africa. We drove up from Joburg this morning heading for Mokopane and the archaeological and palaeontological sites at Makapansgat, now known as Makapan. The name will need little introduction to human origins students. The Limeworks cave is famous throughout the world. It was here that Raymond Dart identified Australopithecus prometheus, a fire using Australopith, later reclassified as A. africanus. Continue reading →

Postcard from South Africa, #1.

Saturday 2nd May. I’m here in South Africa helping Andante Travels, who specialise in heritage and historical tourism, design a tour that would reflect some of the key aspects of South Africa’s rich archaeological heritage. It goes without saying that no tour could ever hope to fully reflect the sheer scale and diversity of this beautiful country and its history. So our job is to pick a few key moments from it. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A postcard from Africa 4

Sadly this is my last postcard from Africa. We had a quiet weekend reading and discussing various plans for the future. Today (Monday 5th) on the other hand was a busy one. Pastory, James and I had a productive meeting this morning with colleagues and collaborators from the National Museum. @JamesColeArch with a Large LCT at the National Museum in Dar. This afternoon was another memorable one. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A postcard from Africa 3

Today (Thursday 1st May) is a national holiday in Tanzania so James and I had a more relaxed day visiting the galleries of the National Museum of Tanzania. The museum is an impressive place with really up to date galleries on human evolution and rock art. I took a lot of photos which will make their way into my lectures. The ethnographic collection also impressed me with the range and variety of material on display, reflecting Tanzaniaā€™s rich cultural heritage both past and present. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr. John McNabb: A Postcard from Africa

Saturday was a really memorable day. We finally got to see the Isimila Acheulean site. Iā€™d been reading about it for decades so I was very excited and James, who told me he had been literally dreaming about the place for years, was like a kid on Christmas Eve. Itā€™s the rainy season at the moment and Tanzania is very green, particularly in the highlands. The mountains and kopjes are blanketed in forest and dense thorn bush. Continue reading →

Update from Tanzania by Dr John McNabb

A few months ago CAHO was invited to form a collaboration through Dr James Cole of the University of Brighton (James is a CAHO alumni) and Dr Pastory Bushozi of the University of Dar-es-Salaam. The project is to re-examine the famous Acheulean site of Isimila in Tanzania. Picture taken from Dr James Cole twitter feed (@JamesColeArch) So James and I flew out on the 23rd of April to meet Pastory and to plan our campaign at Isimila. Continue reading →