Erik Trinkaus is a prominent paleoanthropologist and expert on Neanderthal biology and evolution. Trinkaus researches the evolution of the genus homo sapiens and recent human diversity, focussing on the paleoanthropology and emergence of late archaic and early modern humans, and the subsequent evolution of 'anatomically modern' humanity. Trinkaus is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a contributor to publications including Natural History and Scientific American, and is frequently quoted in the popular media. Trinkaus is the Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor of Physical Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis Paeloanthropology is the branch of physical anthropology that focuses on the study of human evolution. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (the Middle Palaeolithic and Lower Paleolithic, in the Pleistocene epoch). ... Main articles: Life All organisms (viruses not included) consist of cells, which in turn, are based on a common carbon-based biochemistry. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... Paleoanthropology is the branch of physical anthropology that focuses on the study of human evolution, tracing the anatomic and genetic linkages of pre-humans from millions of years ago, up to modern times. ... Adjective archaic (more archaic, most archaic) From an earlier period and no longer in common use; of or characterized by antiquity or archaism, antiquated. ... Modern can simply mean something that is up-to-date, trendy, new, or from the present time. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... Scientific American is one of the oldest and most serious popular-science magazines. ... Washington University in St. ...

Education

Trinkaus received his Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Wisconsin, and his master's degree and PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, the latter in 1975. Art history usually refers to the history of the visual arts. ... The University of Wisconsin was founded in 1848 and is the largest university in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn, although the former is the preferred and recognized nickname of the University) is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Scientific influence

Trinkaus' research findings and analyses of archaeological materials have made significant contributions to our understanding of early modern human biology, particularly in the areas of Neanderthal extinction and intelligence, the mitochondrial Eve theory, and the contributions of Neanderthal DNA to the human gene pool. Human biology is an academic field of biology which focuses on humans; it is closely related to medicine, primate biology, and a number of other fields. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Intelligence has two different common meanings : Intelligence (trait) Animal intelligence Artificial intelligence Intelligence (information gathering) Business intelligence Military espionage This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens For other uses, see Human (disambiguation). ... The gene pool of a species or a population is the complete set of unique alleles that would be found by inspecting the genetic material of every living member of that species or population. ...

Trinkaus' research emphasizes the biological implications of behavioural shifts that could have been caused by interactions between Neanderthals and anatomically modern Pleistocene humans. His research addresses the 'origins of modern humans' debate, the interpretation of the archaeological record, and patterns of recent human anatomical variation, principally through his analysis of human fossil remains. His research involves biomechanical analysis of crania and post-cranial remains, respiratory and thermal adaptations, interpretations of ecogeographical patterning, evaluations of neuroanatomical evolution, life history parameters, and differential levels and patterns of stress, and interrelationships between these anatomically-based patterns. Main articles: Life All organisms (viruses not included) consist of cells, which in turn, are based on a common carbon-based biochemistry. ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. ... Biomechanics is the research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms. ...

In 1999, Trinkaus and collegues documented that Neandertals roamed central Europe as recently as 28,000 years ago, the latest date ever recorded for Neandertal fossils worldwide. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ...

As findings of potentially hybrid Neanderthal/modern fossils in places like Portugal have emerged in recent years, Trinkaus has broadened his research to include the complex patterns of human evolutionary change through the Early and especially Middle Pleistocene, especially with regard to the diversity, paleobiology and behaviour of early modern humans. In biology, hybrid has three meanings. ... Human evolution is a hypothesis, or a theory, that purports a process of change and development, or evolution, by which human beings emerged as distinct species. ... Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ...

Research projects

Trinkaus' recent research has primarily focused on three projects. The first involved the early Upper Paleolithic (ca.25,000 B.P.) child's skeleton from the Abrido do Lagar Velho in Portugal, a specimen which indicates some degree of admixture between the Neandertals and early modern humans in Iberia. The second concerns the largest known sample of early modern human remains, of the Paleolithic Gravettian culture, from the Dolni Vestonice and in the vicinity of Pavlov in southern Moravia, Czech Republic, dated between 25,000 and 27,000 B.P. The third began in 2002 with the discovery in Romania of early modern human remains in the Pestera cu Oase, dated to 35,000 B.P., which represent the earliest modern humans yet discovered in Europe. Iberia can mean: The Iberian peninsula of southwest Europe; That part of it once inhabited by the Iberians, who spoke the Iberian language. ... The Gravettian was an industry of the European Upper Palaeolithic. ... . Dolní Věstonice is small village in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. ... Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: Mähren, Polish: Morawy, Hungarian: Morvaország) is an historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• BBC.co.uk - 'Neanderthals "mated with modern humans"', British Broadcasting Company (April 21, 1999)
• Eurekalert.org - 'Earliest European modern humans found' (September 22, 2003)
• Eurekalert.org - 'Neandertal femur suggests competition with hyenas and a shift in landscape use' (May 2, 2005)
• NIU.edu - 'Meaty discovery: Neandertal bone chemistry provides food for thought', Tom Parisi, Ann Nicholson, Northern Illinois University
• WUStL.edu - 'Erik Trinkaus, PhD', Washington University in St. Louis
• WUStL.edu - 'Erik Trinkaus: Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor of Physical Anthropology', Washington University in St. Louis