© Jana Ilgner
Curriculum Vitae
Patrick Roberts received a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology, an MSc in Archaeological Science, and DPhil in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford. As Independent W2 Research Group Leader of the isoTROPIC Research Group and Lead Scientist of the Department of Archaeology, Patrick is committed to pioneering and applying multidisciplinary approaches to studying past human interactions with climatic and environmental change as well as the deep roots of the Anthropocene and our species’ influencing of Earth systems. As PI of the ERC-funded PANTROPOCENE project and the isoTROPIC Research Group, Patrick is particularly interested in exploring the degree to which past human land use and landcover change in the tropics led to major shifts in the operation of different Earth systems on local, regional, and global scales, as well as what this means for contemporary conservation and sustainability challenges. He is author of the academic monograph ‘Tropical; Forests in Prehistory, History Modernity’ published by Oxford University Press and the popular book ‘Jungle: How Tropical Forests Shaped the World and Us’ published by Penguin/Viking Random House.
As part of his research, Patrick applies a variety of different methodologies to the study of human and planetary history, including stable isotope analysis, palaeoecology, dendrochronology, remote sensing, and land use and land cover modelling. He set up and oversees the isotope laboratory, dendrochronology unit, and remote sensing facility at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Patrick is also committed to close collaboration with Indigenous and local stakeholder communities and has coordinated repatriation processes and the adaptation of research into policy. He has taken part in UNESCO symposia that bring together archaeologists and anthropologists together to discuss potential solutions for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in global tropical forest environments. Patrick is also co-founder of the Pantropica Research Network. In 2021, Patrick was awarded the Heinz Maier Leibniz Prize, the top award for early career investigators in Germany and the first time that it has been awarded to an archaeologist. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.
As part of his research, Patrick applies a variety of different methodologies to the study of human and planetary history, including stable isotope analysis, palaeoecology, dendrochronology, remote sensing, and land use and land cover modelling. He set up and oversees the isotope laboratory, dendrochronology unit, and remote sensing facility at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Patrick is also committed to close collaboration with Indigenous and local stakeholder communities and has coordinated repatriation processes and the adaptation of research into policy. He has taken part in UNESCO symposia that bring together archaeologists and anthropologists together to discuss potential solutions for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in global tropical forest environments. Patrick is also co-founder of the Pantropica Research Network. In 2021, Patrick was awarded the Heinz Maier Leibniz Prize, the top award for early career investigators in Germany and the first time that it has been awarded to an archaeologist. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.
Full Academic Publication List
Book (2)
1.
Book
Jungle: how tropical forests shaped the world - and us. Basic Books, New York (2021), 432 pp.
2.
Book
Tropical forests in prehistory, history, and modernity. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2019), XVI, 350 pp.
Book Chapter (5)
3.
Book Chapter
Climate Proxies. In: The encyclopedia of ancient history: Asia and Africa, eahaa00609 (Eds. Potts, D. T.; Harkness, E.; Neelis, J.; McIntosh, R.) (2021)
4.
Book Chapter
Foreword [to Bioarchaeology and Dietary Reconstruction across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany, Central Italy / Giulia Riccomi]. In: Bioarchaeology and Dietary Reconstruction across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany, Central Italy, pp. x - xi. Archaeopress, Summerville (2021)
5.
Book Chapter
Hunting and gathering in prehistoric rainforests: insights from stable isotope analysis. In: Foraging in the past: archaeological studies of Hunter-Gatherer Diversity, pp. 119 - 158 (Ed. Lemke, A. K.). University Press of Colarado, Louisville (2019)
6.
Book Chapter
Scientific Practice. In: The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, pp. 1526 - 1530 (Ed. López Varela, . L.). Wiley, Hoboken (2018)
7.
Book Chapter
Bone Technology from Late Pleistocene Caves and Rockshelters of Sri Lanka. In: Osseous Projectile Weaponry, pp. 173 - 188 (Ed. Langley, M. C.). Springer (2016)
Journal Article (133)
1.
Journal Article
13 (1), 17913 (2023)
Bayesian regression versus machine learning for rapid age estimation of archaeological features identified with lidar at Angkor. Scientific Reports 2.
Journal Article
13 (1), 16360 (2023)
Isotopic and proteomic evidence for communal stability at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Jericho in the Southern Levant. Scientific Reports 3.
Journal Article
157, 105836, pp. 1 - 12 (2023)
Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand: constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers. Journal of Archaeological Science 4.
Journal Article
13 (1), 12477 (2023)
Biomolecular characterization of 3500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummification balms from the Valley of the Kings. Scientific Reports 5.
Journal Article
Multi-isotopic investigation of population dynamics and mobility among rural medieval Christian communities at Ghazali, Northern Sudan. Journal of African archaeology, 10028, pp. 1 - 23 (2023)
6.
Journal Article
Assessing Pleistocene–Holocene climatic and environmental change in insular Near Oceania using stable isotope analysis of archaeological fauna. Journal of Quaternary Science, 3555 (2023)
7.
Journal Article
18 (2), s13752-022-00413-1, pp. 134 - 151 (2023)
Bearing fruit: Miocene Apes and Rosaceous Fruit evolution. Biological theory 8.
Journal Article
11, 1133281 (2023)
Of forests and grasslands: human, primate, and ungulate palaeoecology in Late Pleistocene-Holocene Sri Lanka. Frontiers in Earth Science 9.
Journal Article
7, s41559-023-01998-x, pp. 632 - 636 (2023)
Mapping our reliance on the tropics can reveal the roots of the Anthropocene. Nature Ecology & Evolution 10.
Journal Article
4 (1), 129 (2023)
Ecological stability of Late Pleistocene-to-Holocene Lesotho, southern Africa, facilitated human upland habitation. Communications Earth & Environment 11.
Journal Article
9 (15), eadf0345 (2023)
Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau. Science Advances 12.
Journal Article
48, 103847 (2023)
To the field of stars: stable isotope analysis of medieval pilgrims and populations along the Camino de Santiago in Navarre and Aragon, Spain. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 13.
Journal Article
48, 103900, pp. 1 - 14 (2023)
Living in the dry zone: stable isotope insights into palaeodiet in ancient Myanmar. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14.
Journal Article
26 (3), 106153 (2023)
Human interactions with tropical environments over the last 14,000 years at Iho Eleru, Nigeria. iScience 15.
Journal Article
13 (1), 4078 (2023)
A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy). Scientific Reports 16.
Journal Article
379 (6639), adc9691, pp. 1316 - 1323 (2023)
Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies. Science 17.
Journal Article
18 (2), e0280347 (2023)
Ecological flexibility and adaptation to past climate change in the Middle Nile Valley: a multiproxy investigation of dietary shifts between the Neolithic and Kerma periods at Kadruka 1 and Kadruka 21. PLoS One 18.
Journal Article
120 (4), e2210611120, pp. 1 - 12 (2023)
Isotopic and DNA analyses reveal multiscale PPNB mobility and migration across Southeastern Anatolia and the Southern Levant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 19.
Journal Article
251, 123757, pp. 1 - 11 (2023)
Comparison of Mg/Ca concentration series from Patella depressa limpet shells using CF-LIBS and LA-ICP-MS. Talanta 20.
Journal Article
9 (15), eadf0345 (2023)
Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau. Science Advances 21.
Journal Article
12 (1), 22517 (2022)
Ancient Great Wall building materials reveal environmental changes associated with oases in northwestern China. Scientific Reports 22.
Journal Article
298, 107855, pp. 1 - 12 (2022)
New multi-proxy record shows potential impacts of precipitation on the rise and ebb of Bronze Age and imperial Persian societies in southeastern Iran. Quaternary Science Reviews 23.
Journal Article
12 (1), 18504 (2022)
Cutmarked bone of drought-tolerant extinct megafauna deposited with traces of fire, human foraging, and introduced animals in SW Madagascar. Scientific Reports 24.
Journal Article
1, 650 (2022)
From forests to the coast: multidisciplinary investigation of human adaptations at the Mini-athiliya Shell Midden, Sri Lanka. Ancient Lanka 25.
Journal Article
14 (11), 214, pp. 1 - 28 (2022)
Multi-isotopic study of the earliest mediaeval inhabitants of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences