Dr Simon Underdown

Reader in Biological Anthropology in the Human Origins and Paleo-Environments Research Group Oxford Brookes University

  • Oxford England

He researches human evolution - examining ancient DNA to reconstruct past human and animal life.

Contact

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Areas of Expertise

Public Engagement in Science
Human Evolution
Anthropology
Ancient DNA
Genetics

Biography

Dr Simon Underdown is Reader in Biological Anthropology in the Human Origins and Paleo-Environments (HOPE) Research Group at Oxford Brookes University. He researches human evolution - examining ancient DNA (drawn from soils at special archaeological sites, mostly in Africa and the Middle East) to reconstruct past human and animal life. He has particularly traced the origins, historical genetics and spread (from animals to humans) of certain viruses such as the herpes virus.

Simon is Chair of the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Education Committee and is involved in broader science education and public engagement (in science) initiatives, as well as explores how human evolution is taught. He is a member of the Society for the Study of Human Biology.

Media Mentions

Remains of Plymouth's 'first man' found by quarry workers

Plymouth Live  online

2020-04-14

Dr Simon Underdown, senior lecturer in biological anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, said that the fact human remains had been found among Ice Age animal fossils suggested they were more than 10,000 years old.

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From Anthropology to Social Theory: Rethinking the Social Sciences, by Arpad Szakolczai and Bjørn Thomassen

Times Higher Education  online

2019-03-04

Simon Underdown on a call for the discipline to reclaim its maverick heritage to rejuvenate itself and tackle dynamic real-world problems.

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We share even more DNA with Neanderthals than we thought

Wired UK  online

2017-10-05

This new study highlights how little really separates us from our extinct cousins, says Simon Underdown at Oxford Brookes University in the UK. It could have just as easily been us that ended up going extinct around 40,000 years ago, he says. “I think that it might have been bad luck – we could be having this conversation as Neanderthals and thinking about how lucky those Homo sapiens were to get wiped out.”

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Multimedia Appearances

Social

Education

University of Cambridge

Ph.D.

Biological Anthropology

2004

University of Leicester

B.Sc.

Archaeology

2000

Affiliations

  • Chair of the Royal Anthropological Institute Education Committee
  • Trustee of the Horniman Fund
  • Project mentor for the RAI-Leach Fellowship in the Public Understanding of Anthropology
  • QAA Anthropology Benchmark Review Panel member
  • Member of International Association for the Study of Arabia

Event Appearances

Seminar for Arabian Studies

Conference Paper (2020)  Cordoba, Spain

RLAHA Martin Aitken Seminar Series

Seminar (2020)  Oxford, England

Department of Archaeology

Seminar (2019)  Cambridge, England

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Articles

Human biology and ancient DNA: exploring disease, domestication and movement

Annals of Human Biology

2019

The development of ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has radically transformed how we think about and study the past. The use of aDNA technology has permeated almost every area of anthropology and archaeology and continues to radically alter how we understand the past.

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The relative roles of maternal survival and inter-personal violence as selection pressures on the persistence of Neanderthal hypercoagulability alleles in modern Europeans

Annals of Human Biology

2019

Simonti et al. reported variation in the frequency of Neanderthal alleles found in modern humans and argued that they may have provided an evolutionary advantage. One such allele is SNP rs3917862, associated with hypercoagulability. rs3917862 can be deleterious, but can also help prevent blood loss.

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Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology

The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology

2018

Biological anthropology is a subject that draws from a remarkably diverse range of sciences to explore the biological aspects of humanity. However, it is unique in its focus on the interplay between biological and cultural adaptations.

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