Sandrine is a paleoanthropologist and is a tenured Research Scientist at the unit Histoire naturelle de l’Homme préhistorique (UMR 7194) of the CNRS (http://hnhp.cnrs.fr/) in Paris, France, which is closely associated with the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN). She received her Ph.D. in Paleoanthropology from the University of Bordeaux 1 and has conducted fieldwork and specialist paleoanthropological analyses for over 25 years in France, Georgia, Crimea, South Africa and Kenya. Sandrine has been a permanent member of the WTAP since 1998.
Sandrine’s research focuses on the evolutionary origins of humanity and in particular on understanding the diversity of early Homo, Paranthropus and Australopithecus species across East Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. In addition, she is interested in the tempo and mode of dispersals out of Africa made by both early Homo and Paranthropines. Sandrine addresses these issues by performing detailed morpho-metric and cladistic analysis of hominin fossil material using comparative extant great ape specimens. As well as the WTAP, she has participated in fieldwork and research in Georgia (Dmanisi and Tsalka sites) and has worked on Upper Palaeolithic sites in Crimea that yielded the oldest Anatomically Modern Human remains in south-eastern Europe.
In her own words
What do you like about being in the field in Turkana?
“The beautiful landscapes, extraordinary geological outcrops, the unbelievable milky way at night, and the wonderful Turkana kids”What do you miss when you are in the field?
“French cheese and pickles, of course.”How would you describe your role in the WTAP team?
“Keeping my eyes peeled for hominin fossils, but also helping at the excavation. It’s a real pleasure!”
For more information about Sandrine’s research, or to contact her directly, visit her Researchgate page
West Turkana Archaeological Project 