Christopher Brian Stringer (born 1947) is a British
physical anthropologist
Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...
noted for his work on human evolution.
Biography
Growing up in a working-class family in the
East End of London, Stringer's interest in anthropology began in primary school, where he undertook a project on
Neanderthals. Stringer studied anthropology at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, holds a PhD in Anatomical Science and a DSc in Anatomical Science (both from
Bristol University).
Stringer joined the permanent staff of the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in 1973. He is currently Research Leader in Human Origins.
Research
Stringer is one of the leading proponents of the
recent African origin hypothesis or ″Out of Africa″ theory, which hypothesizes that modern humans originated in Africa over 100,000 years ago and replaced, in some way, the world's archaic humans, such as ''
Homo floresiensis
''Homo floresiensis'' also known as "Flores Man"; nicknamed "Hobbit") is an extinct species of small archaic human that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago.
The remains of an in ...
'' and
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
s, after migrating within and then out of Africa to the non-African world within the last 50,000 to 100,000 years. He always considered that some interbreeding between the different groups could have occurred, but thought this would have been trivial in the big picture. However, recent genetic data show that the replacement process did include some interbreeding. In the last decade he has proposed a more complex version of events within Africa, which he has termed ″multiregional African origin″.
He also directed the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project which ran for about 10 years from 2001. This consortium reconstructed and studied the episodic pattern of human colonisation of Britain during the Pleistocene. He is co-director of the follow-up project "Pathways to Ancient Britain".
Honours
He is a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
and Honorary Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries. He won the 2008
Frink Medal
The Frink Medal for British Zoologists is awarded by the Zoological Society of London "For significant and original contributions by a professional zoologist to the development of zoology." It consists of a bronze plaque (76 by 83 millimetres), de ...
of the
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park.
History
On 29 ...
and the
Rivers Memorial Medal
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
from the Royal Anthropological Institute in 2004
He was elected a Member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 2019.
Publications
Papers
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Books
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* "Introduction to the fiftieth anniversary edition of The Piltdown Forgery" (pp. vii–x , and "Afterword: Piltdown 2003" (pp. 188–201). In ''The Piltdown Forgery'' By J. S. Weiner (2003) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
* .
*
* , published in the United States in 2012 retitled as
See also
*
Happisburgh footprints
The Happisburgh footprints were a set of fossilized hominid footprints that date to the early Pleistocene, over 800,000 years ago. They were discovered in May 2013 in a newly uncovered sediment layer of the Cromer Forest Bed on a beach at Happ ...
References
External links
Prof Chris Stringer's Home Page at Natural History Museum*
ttp://www.ahobproject.org/ AHOB Home PageWorld Land Trust Supporter news (Wednesday, 25 June 2008)RESET Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Chris
British anthropologists
British paleoanthropologists
Human evolution theorists
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of University College London
Alumni of the University of Bristol
Recent African origin of modern humans
Fellows of the Royal Society
Employees of the Natural History Museum, London
Members of the American Philosophical Society