Camille is a PhD student in paleoecology and carnivore paleontology at the TRACES laboratory (Toulouse University, France). She joined the WTAP team during in 2024 and manages the faunal materials found at the excavation sites. Camille also conducts surveys with WTAP team member and expert fossil and stone tool hunter Sammy Lokorodi near to archaeological sites to find fossils relating to the period when hominins occupied the sites.
Camille’s role is to manage all the bones discovered during each field campaign. In her paleontological work, she identifies each of the bones to produce a list of the fauna that was living around each site. Camille also undertakes taphonomic study of the bones by identifying marks on their surfaces (in collaboration with J.-B. Fourvel) that show whether they were butchered by hominins or gnawed on by other animals, for example. All of this information combined allows us to reconstruct (as completely as possible) the environment in which the hominins lived, as well as their interactions with prey and predator communities.
In her own words
What do you like about being in the field in Turkana?
“Going prospecting in search of fossils because it’s like a scientific treasure hunt!”What do you miss when you are in the field?
“French cheese (obviously!) and my pillow from home”How would you describe your role in the WTAP team?
“taking care of all the ancient dead animals we find and trying not to fall in love with each one too much”
West Turkana Archaeological Project 