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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

A new ~2 Ma hominin cranium just discovered at the Drimolen hominin site in South Africa as part of a newly funded @arc-gov-au.bsky.social project to @ltuarchaeology.bsky.social @latrobe.edu.au and University of Johannesburg. The first year of joint Drimolen-Kromdraai excavations.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Latests open access paper from Amanzi Springs, with the oldest MSA on the southern African coast at ~230 ka & potential evidence for regional variability in the transition from the Acheulian along the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain compared to the Highvelt interior of S. Africa www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

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MU-Peter Shimon 🀄 @mu-peter.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Hominin postcranial remains from Drimolen Main Quarry, South Africa 🏺🧪 @caleyorr.bsky.social , @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social et al anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... These results might reflect taxonomic variation or evolutionary mosaicism of the postcrania.

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Latests paper from the ARC funded #Drimolen team in our aim to fully publish the hominin fossil material excavated from Drimolen in South Africa since 1994 ( @latrobeuni.bsky.social ). Scans of the postcranial material are available online: human-fossil-record.org/index.php?%2...

human-fossil-record.org

Publications / Orr et al Hominin postcranial remains from Drimolen Main Quarry South Africa | Human Fossil Record Archive

Publications / Orr et al Hominin postcranial remains from Drimolen Main Quarry South Africa

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The Anatomical Record @anatrecord.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Postcranial fossils from the site of Drimolen in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa provide further insights into hominin paleobiology at approximately 2.0 million years ago! New study by Caley M. Orr et al.: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

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Caley Orr @caleyorr.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

We've made our 3D scans of these Drimolen postcranial specimens available in the online archive at The Human Fossil Record. Hopefully access to these fossils contributes well to other studies of early hominin postcranial anatomy & variation. Meanwhile, fieldwork & analysis at Drimolen continue. 9/

human-fossil-record.org

Publications / Orr et al Hominin postcranial remains from Drimolen Main Quarry South Africa | Human Fossil Record Archive

Publications / Orr et al Hominin postcranial remains from Drimolen Main Quarry South Africa

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Caley Orr @caleyorr.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I'm happy to present our paper in which we describe hominin postcrania from Drimolen. Many of these specimens sat in a drawer at Wits Uni for > 20 years. It's amusing to me that the image here includes two fossils in that drawer that were labeled "hominin" but that we decided are not! 1/

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MU-Peter Shimon 🀄 @mu-peter.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

The StW 573 Little Foot Fossil Should Not Be Attributed to Australopithecus prometheus 🏺🧪 Jesse Martin, @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social et al onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Finds morphology does not support assigning specimen to A. prometheus because it does not share a unique suite traits.

MLD 1, StW 573 positioned in Frankfurt Horizontal in posterior view. Black dotted line demonstrates the configuration of the superior temporal lines, the red arrow indicates the configuration of the external occipital protuberance, and the blue line demonstrates the slope of the parietals relative to a vertical plane.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

ARC says they’ll announce Centres of Excellence outcomes tomorrow (Tuesday 9th Dec). This is more than 2 months late, most likely due to the new security checking requirements for ARC grants. Centres of Excellence grants also need to have been approved by the Minister.

Black text on white background under a square blue icon on the top left. Screenshot of tweet from the ARC saying they’ll announce outcomes of Centres of Excellence on Tuesday 9th Dec. 2025.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

“This feels like yet another attack on our research community that is already under siege” Senator @davidpocock.bsky.social has issued a media release about the ARC's proposed restructure and job cuts 👇

Black text on white background underneath the Australian coat of arms at the top. Larger text near the top says "SENATOR DAVID POCOCK", "MEDIA RELEASE" and the headline in the largest print says "ARC RESTRUCTURE RISKS JOBS"?.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo @whiterabbit36.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Happy to share the new virtual collection of comparative anatomy, SKELETONS ONLINE (cor.iphes.cat). The specimens come from the comparative anatomy collection of @iphes-cerca.bsky.social , in Tarragona (Spain). Please, use it and share!!!

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

This is quite an investigation into ARC’s proposed restructure & job cuts by @jennaprice.bsky.social. You know you’ve botched your “review” when several staff complain to a Senator! ARC also ran a witch hunt to find people who might’ve “leaked”. Ugly stuff.

canberratimes.com.au

Emails reveal planned job cuts at research funding body

Research council staff face jobs amid 'secret' restructure.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Amid all this, there seems to be no clear rationale given for either a restructure or, more importantly, cutting jobs right now. As Sen. @davidpocock.bsky.social said, the Strategic Examination of R&D hasn't been completed. And the ARC has proposed a massive overhaul of it's entire grants system.

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

New open access paper in AJBA led by my former PhD student Jesse Martin now @cam-archaeology.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... "The StW 573 Little Foot Fossil Should Not Be Attributed to Australopithecus prometheus"

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Dr Jenny Allen @jennyallen13.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

To add context, part of why there were so many more applicants is because they moved DECRA back six months, effectively skipping funding the scheme for a year. They had to extend eligibility as a result, so this was essentially two years in one. But with no adjustment to number of grants awarded.

media.tenor.com

a man is sitting in front of a brick wall with the words awesome written on it

Alt: Jensen Ackles sitting in front of a brick wall with the words awesome written on it

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Here's a report from Jenny Sinclair @jsresearchpro.bsky.social on the low success rate for DECRAs this week, driven by high demand and low Government funding for early career researchers in Australia. [Free article in @resprofnews.bsky.social]

researchprofessionalnews.com

Low success rate in early career grants ‘deeply disappointing’ - Research Professional News

“Decay continues” as Australian Research Council’s Decra scheme announces 13.1 per cent success rate

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Wonderful to be part of this succesful ARC LIEF for building further luminesence dating infrastructure for archaeology at the University of Adelaide. Sorry to those that missed out.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

We’ve all seen the evidence that ARC are already stretched. They already outsource so much admin to university research offices – duplication across all unis – & have zero capacity to inform the public about what tax-payer money is funding. Their response? Reduce capacity further! Utter nonsense!

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

The “consultation” process is still going. ARC staff whose positions may be lost have been informed & the union has apparently been briefed. But the source says the rationale behind the restructure and the potential job losses is vague.

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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

ARC are considering a restructure in which jobs there will be lost, a source tells me. This seems ridiculous when they're about to completely overhaul the entire grants system – they've never undertaken anything so large before! I've long said ARC needs MANY MORE staff, & should do more, not less.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

#CentresOfExcellence #CE26 ARC has "postponed" announcement of Centres of Excellence outcomes! It says "due diligence checks" are still being carried out on some applications. www.arc.gov.au/news-publica...

Screenshot of ARC "network messages" webpage stating that Centres of Excellence outcomes are "postponed". Blue text on white background as a heading, above an image of concentric part circles, to make a sort-of whirlpool pattern, above black text on white background.

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

“CSIRO has announced it will slash up to 350 jobs as the national science agency grapples with long-term financial challenges … with current funding failing to keep pace with the rising costs of running a modern science agency.” Not “challenges”. They’re choices. 😡

abc.net.au

CSIRO to cut up to 350 research jobs in major overhaul

After 440 positions were slashed last year, the CSIRO has announced more staff cuts across the country in a bid to remain financially viable.

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Long form news article in @science.org covering our latest collaborations between the Drimolen and Kromdraai teams as part of a new 4 year @Australian Research Council Discovery Grant

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Science Magazine @science.org · 25/07/2025

The world’s greatest concentration of ancestral human remains, in South Africa, poses a 2-million-year-old riddle of coexistence. scim.ag/46xvUwV

scim.ag

Three ancient human relatives once shared the same valley. Did they meet—and compete?

The world’s greatest concentration of ancestral human remains, in South Africa, poses a 2-million-year-old riddle of coexistence

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MU-Peter Shimon 🀄 @mu-peter.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Uniform, circular, and shallow enamel pitting in hominins: Prevalence, morphological associations, and potential taxonomic significance 🏺🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Remarkable consistency across species, time and geography suggests these enamel pits may be something quite interesting.

Uniform, circular, and shallow pitting on two Paranthropus robustus teeth from Drimolen Main Quarry (DMQ; southern Africa).

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

Dept of Classics & Archaeology, Nottingham @uonclassarch.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

💥Job Alert!!💥 We’re seeking to appoint a permanent Assistant Professor of Archaeological Science (materials), following the retirement of Prof. Julian Henderson. Deadline May 5th 2025. #Archaeology #archeology #archaeologicalScience 🧪 Full details here: jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

jobs.nottingham.ac.uk

Job Vacancy at the University of Nottingham: Assistant Professor in Archaeological Science (Materials)

The Department of Classics and Archaeology seeks to appoint an Assistant Professor in Archaeological Science (Materials) from 1 September 2025. Following £1.6 million investment from UKRI in our Archa...

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Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

🏺 There is actually a perfume range called "Neanderthal" and it's gorgeous - I did a book giveaway with them! (also I would totally be up for a real Viking scent)

Photograph of white interior space with light diagonal shadow in background, and white surface in front, on which is a copy of the book Kindred: Neanderthal Life Love Death and Art, and next to it a white ceramic perfume bottle in the shape of a handaxe. Image Kentaro Yamada, Neanderthal Perfume.

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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com reporting on the proposed changes to the ARC grants system. There’s concern that getting rid of standalone fellowships will have lots of unintended consequences, especially for Early-Career Researchers. By @donnadlu.bsky.social

theguardian.com

Changes to ARC grants will make it harder for Australia to combat Trump chaos, researchers warn

Plan to cut most standalone positions in favour of shorter fellowships will hurt international recruitment, critics say

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

Tom Higham @tommyhigham.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

We are happy to share our pre-print on dating bone using a novel non-destructive protocol we developed. The paper is on the Biorxiv here (Luftensteiner et al. 2025): www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

biorxiv.org

Non-destructive radiocarbon dating of bone

Since the 1950s, radiocarbon measurements have anchored archaeological chronologies dating back to 50,000 years, with bone collagen being a commonly dated material. Despite advances in collagen extrac...

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

Michael Wong @miquai.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

I received a heartbreaking email today: A paper in a special issue I’m editing is being retracted because one of its authors is afraid of losing their job and their legal status in the U.S. if they publish a scientific study on evolution. Yes, on evolution, nature's engine of diversity.

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Latest paper out from the Drimolen team about the ~2 million year old DNH 43 Paranthropus pelvis from Drimolen Cave in South Africa. @ltuarchaeology.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy

sajournalofscience.bsky.social @sajournalofscience.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Analysis of an understudied 2-million-year-old fossil pelvis from the site of Drimolen, South Africa provides additional insights into the anatomy of early human relatives. doi.org/10.17159/saj... @caleyorr.bsky.social @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social

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Caley Orr @caleyorr.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

New paper from my lab & Drimolen team (@ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social) on the DNH 43 hominin pelvis. I first saw it in 2019. Given the importance of the pelvis in the evolution of human locomotion and birth, I was surprised only a basic description had been published. 1/ #paleoanthropology 🏺🧪

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Not a single mention of all tne job losses in the University sector caused by these constantly shifting targets on international student numbers. FYI that bit about “Plugging holes in university budgets” = job losses. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...

abc.net.au

International student numbers hit record highs last year, but a shift is underway

The past year has seen the international education sector thrown into turmoil, as Labor targeted students in their plan to drive down migration. That uncertainty is set to continue into 2025.

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

One of the many new MIS 11 Acheulian large cutting tools from Amanzi Springs Area 1. As we enter the last week of excavation we switch from collecting more of these to sampling for micromorphology/geochronology/palaeoenvironments

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Eileen Shepherd @eileenshepherd.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

#AmanziSprings

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Eslem Ben Arous (She/Her) @eslembenarous.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

I am so thrilled to share our last paper on the WAfrica MSA sites "Constraining the age of the Middle Stone Age locality of Bargny (Senegal) through a combined OSL-ESR dating approach" (doi.org/10.1016/j.qe...)!

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

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Eleanor Scerri @elliescerri.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

Our new article led by @eslembenarous.bsky.social on the MSA site of Bargny, where new investigations headed by Dr Khady Niang have yielded samples that show its Middle Pleistocene age. The West African MSA keeps getting older (watch this space!). www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Constraining the age of the Middle Stone Age locality of Bargny (Senegal) through a combined OSL-ESR dating approach

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) is the major chrono-cultural phase associated with the emergence and evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa. Despite its impor…

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Andy I.R. Herries at La Trobe Archaeoogy @ozarchaeomaglab.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

La Trobe Archaeology student Jaz with her first handaxe discovery from Amanzi Springs Area 1 in South Africa. This central layer has actually been interesting for yielding lots of small flaking debris, and wood, but glad the students finally also got to excavate an Acheulian icon as well.

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