Resources

Paleoanthropology Field Sites

These are field sites (co-)directed by NYCEP faculty. NYCEP faculty and students conduct paleoanthropologial research at many other sites as well.

Dr. Stephen Chester conducts paleontological fieldwork at Paleocene localities in the Fort Union Formation, Montana, and the Denver Formation, Colorado, as well as Early-Middle Eocene localities in the Wind River Formation, Wyoming.
Dr. Thomas Plummer is a co-director of the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropological Project, an interdisciplinary paleoanthropological project investigating archeological and paleontological occurrences on the Homa Peninsula, southwestern Kenya. Survey has documented sites ranging in age from the Holocene through the late Pliocene.
The Rusinga Paleoanthropology Project on Rusinga Island in western Kenya is co-directed by Dr. William Harcourt-Smith. On the periphery of an ancient, extinct volcano, Rusinga preserves a vast sample of living organisms that inhabited East Africa between 20-17 million years ago.
Dr. Chris Gilbert conducts research at field sites in India (Miocene Lower Siwaliks formations) and Wyoming (Early-Middle Eocene deposits of Wind River Basin).

Primate Field Sites

These are field sites (co-)directed by NYCEP faculty. NYCEP faculty and students conduct primatological research at many other sites as well.

The Filoha Hamadryas Project, based at the Filoha outpost of the Awash National Park in central lowland Ethiopia, was established by Dr. Larissa Swedell in 1996 and is currently co-directed by Drs. Larissa Swedell and Shahrina Chowdhury. This project focuses on the behavioral biology. socioecology, and socioendocrinology of wild hamadryas baboons.
The Kakamega Monkey Project in the Kakamega Forest of western Kenya has been directed by Dr. Marina Cords since 1979. Research in the Kakamega Forest has combined behavioral fieldwork with genetic and endocrinological techniques, undertaken in the laboratory, to gain a deeper understanding of primate behavior.
The Primate Ecology and Nutrition Project, directed by Dr. Jessica Rothman since 2007, conducts research out of the Makerere University Biological Field Station in the Kibale Forest of western Uganda and in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda.
The Ranomafana Ruffed Lemur Project, based at the Mangevo research site in southeastern Madagascar, is directed by Andrea Baden. The project, established in 2005, is focused on understanding the behavioral ecology and reproductive physiology of black-and-white ruffed lemurs by integrating behavior, genetics, endocrinology, and remote sensing techniques.

Human Biology Field Sites

Dr. Felicia Madimenos is a research coordinator for the Shaur Health and Life History Project based in southeastern Ecuador. This project is focused on investigating how cultural and economic changes in the region affect health and well-being.

Genetics Laboratories

Dr. Ryan Raaum directs the Laboratory of Human and Primate Evolutionary Genetics at Lehman College. Work in this laboratory is focused on gaining insight into fundamental questions in evolutionary genetics using computational and statistical analyses of human and primate population genetic data.
Dr. Andrea Baden directs the Primate Molecular Ecology Lab (PMEL) at Hunter College. Researchers working in this lab are investigating diverse aspects of primate behavioral ecology, evolution, and conservation using an integrative field & lab-based approach.

Morphology Laboratories

Dr. Shara Bailey directs the Dental Anthropology Laboratory at New York University, which houses an excellent collection of fossil casts ranging from Paleogene primates to Late Pleistocene hominids used for both teaching and research purposes.
Dr. Stephen Chester directs the Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory (MEML) at Brooklyn College, which primarily focuses on how primates and other mammals evolved following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. MEML is a fully operational fossil preparation facility, a 3D scanning, visualization, and printing studio, and a computing laboratory for morphometric and phylogenetic analyses.
Dr. Victoria M Dominguez directs the Skeletal Research Laboratory (SRL) at Lehman College. The SRL’s research centers on exploratory and applied skeletal biology from an anthropological perspective, with a particular focus on basic science questions about bone structure and function in modern humans and other species at the microscopic level.
Dr. Chris Gilbert directs the Primate Evolution Lab at Hunter College with a focus on cercopithecoid phylogeny and biogeography during the Plio-Pleistocene and its relationship to hominin biogeography.
Dr. Scott Williams directs the Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory at New York University, which focuses on visualization and quantification of bony morphology. In particular, Dr. Scott Williams and his students study the skeletons of living primates in order to understand how fossil primates behaved and interacted with their environments.
Dr. Susan Antón directs the Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies at New York University, which supports student and faculty research related to hominin skeletal development and evolution.
The NYCEP Morphometrics Group (NMG) is directed by Dr. Eric Delson, with major input from Jim Rohlf (SUNY, CUNY adjunct), in collaboration with Dr. William Harcourt-Smith and a number of recent NYCEP graduates and current students. The morphometrics group is developing new approaches to the 3-D analysis of morphology for application to studies of phylogeny, systematics, biogeography and ontogeny. The NMG has several pieces of data collection equipment available for student and faculty use at the American Museum of Natural History; if you are interested in borrowing any of these pieces of equipment, please check their availability on the calendar.

Human and Primate Biology Laboratories

Dr. James Higham directs the Primate Hormones and Behavior Laboratory at New York University, which is an enzyme immuno-assay laboratory, equipped to measure primate hormonal and immunological analytes, often measured as metabolites from excreta (feces and urine).
Dr. Stephanie Levy runs the Human Biology Lab at Hunter College, which investigates human evolution, adaptation, and health by integrating tools from energetics (such as equipment for measuring energy expenditure and brown adipose tissue) and endocrinology (including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays).
Dr. Jessica Rothman directs the Nutritional Ecology Laboratory at Hunter College, with equipment to analyze primate foods for basic nutrients (protein, sugar, fiber, fat, ash, energy) and some secondary compounds, such as tannins and alkaloids.

Research Groups

The Bones and Behavior Working Group, co-organized by Dr. Susan Antón, is dedicated to fostering a greater synthesis across biological anthropology with the specific aim of developing integrative approaches to research questions concerning human and primate adaptation.
The Center for the Study of Human Origins (CSHO) at New York University has the goal of enhancing and facilitating research on all fields of biological anthropology and archaeology that are broadly related to the study of human origins and evolution from a biological and cultural perspective.

Teaching Resources

Databases

PRIMO (PRImate Morphometrics Online), the NYCEP Primate Morphometric database, is a resource for researchers who use metrical (including 3D) data to study aspects of primate morphology and evolution.

Logos

There are EPS and JPG files of the NYCEP logo in various color combinations to add to your conference posters and presentations. Original logo design courtesy of Dr. Julia Zichello.