William Kimbel
Professor
Director, Institute of Human Origins
Ph.D., Physical Anthropology, Kent State University
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
SHESC Theme: Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity
Field Specializations: Human-Environment Interaction, Human Osteology, Lithic Technology, Paleoanthropology, Physical Anthropology
Regional Focus: Africa (East, North, Southern)
Contact: William H. Kimbel, SS 220A
Research:
Kimbel is science director in the Institute of Human Origins. He conducts field, laboratory and theoretical research in paleoanthropology, with a primary focus on Plio-Pleistocene hominid evolution in Africa. He has undertaken field and/or laboratory research in Ethiopia (Hadar) and Tanzania (Olduvai Gorge), as well as in Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia. He also has research interests in Late Pleistocene hominid evolution and has collaborated with Israeli colleagues in excavations in the Middle Paleolithic Neandertal-bearing cave of Amud.
On the theoretical side, Kimbel is interested in the application of evolutionary and systematic theory to paleoanthropological problems. He served as joint editor of the Journal of Human Evolution from 2003 to 2008.
Select Publications:
Kimbel, W. H. (2007). The species and diversity of australopiths. In W. Henke & I. Tattersall (Eds.), Handbook of paleoanthropology. New York: Springer Verlag.
Kimbel, W. H., Lockwood, C., Ward, C., Leakey, M., Rak, Y. & Johanson, D. (2006). Was Australopithecus anamensis ancestral to A. afarensis? A case of anagenesis in the hominin fossil record. Journal of Human Evolution.
Kimbel, W. H., Rak, Y. & Johanson, D. (2004). The skull of Australopithecus afarensis. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kimbel, W. H., Johanson, D. & Rak, Y. (1997). Systematic position of a maxilla of Homo from Hadar, Ethiopia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 103(2), 235-262.
Kimbel, W. H. & Martin, L. (Eds.) (1993). Species, species concepts and primate evolution. New York: Plenum.