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Indiana University Bloomington
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Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences
One Discipline, Four Fields

Nicholas Toth

Nicholas

Professor, Anthropology Department
Co-Director, Stone Age Institute

CV

(812) 876-0080, ext. 201 | Email | Office Hours

  • Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley. Anthropology: Old World Prehistory program (1982)
  • M.A. University of California, Berkeley. Anthropology (1978)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Prehistory with Distinction. Oxford University, England (1975)
  • B.A. with Distinction. Western College, Ohio. Anthropology (1974)

Geographical Areas of Specialization: Africa and China

Topical Interests: Human evolutionary studies, African prehistory, palaeolithic studies, the evolution of human intelligence, lithic technology, experimental archaeology, microscopic approaches to archaeology, faunal analysis and taphonomy, ethnoarchaeology, primate studies, history of evolutionary thought.

Profile

Nick received his Ph.D. in 1982 from The University of California at Berkeley. His research interests include African prehistory, palaeolithic studies, the evolution of human intelligence, lithic technology, experimental archaeology, microscopic approaches to archaeology, zooarchaeology, ethnoarchaeology, and primate studies. He is currently involved in experimental investigations of stone tool-making and tool-using behaviors of modern African apes and of the manufacture and use of early Palaeolithic tools. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2004.

Selected Publications

Books

2010 The Human Brain Evolving: Papers in Honor of Ralph L. Holloway. Douglas Broadfield, Michael Yuan, Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, Eds. Gosport, Indiana: Stone Age Institute Press. 312 pages.

2009 The Cutting Edge: New Approaches to the Archaeology of Human Origins. Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth, Eds. Gosport, Indiana: Stone Age Institute Press. 344 pages.

Articles and Chapters:

In press “Why the Acheulean? Experimental studies of the manufacture and function of Acheulean tools.” In (Henry de Lumley, Ed.), Les Cultures a Bifaces du Pleistocene Inferieur et Moyen dans la Monde. By Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick.

In press “Acheulean Industries of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene, Middle Awash, Ethiopia.” In (Henry de Lumley, Ed.), Les Cultures a Bifaces du Pleistocene Inferieur et Moyen dans la Monde. By Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth.

In press “Factors affecting variability in Early Stone Age lithic assemblages: Personal observations from actualistic studies.” In (David Pilbeam and Jeanne Sept, Eds.), Paleoanthropological Studies in Honor of Glynn Isaac. Cambridge, MA: American School of Prehistoric Research, Monographs in Archaeology and Paleoanthropology. By Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick.

In press “Origins and Evolution of Technology”. In (David Begun, ed.) Companion to
Paleoanthropology. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. By Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth.

2010 “Hominin brain reorganization, technological change, and cognitive complexity.” In (Douglas Broadfield, Michael Yuan, Kathy Schick, and Nicholas Toth, Eds.), The Human Brain Evolving: Papers in Honor of Ralph L. Holloway. Gosport, Indiana: Stone Age Institute Press. Pp. 293-312. By Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick.