Rate My Professor Thomas Higham

Higham's work has significantly advanced understanding of human evolution, including the timing of Neanderthal disappearance, the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic, and the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa into Eurasia. He has secured two ERC Advanced Grants: PalaeoChron (2013-2019), which investigated Neanderthal extinction and Initial Upper Palaeolithic beginnings, and Disperse (2025-2029), examining Homo sapiens movements via key sites like Ksar Akil in Lebanon. He is the author of the book 'The World Before Us: How Science is Revealing a New Story of our Human Origins' published by Penguin. Recent key publications include 'Dogs were widely distributed across western Eurasia during the Palaeolithic' in Nature (2026), 'Molecular and zooarchaeological identification of 5000 year old whale-bone harpoons in coastal Brazil' in Nature Communications (2026), and 'Re-examining the Chronological Framework and Human Occupation Pattern of the North Loess Plateau Using Bayesian Modelling' in Journal of World Prehistory (2025). Higham presented his inaugural lecture at the University of Vienna's Main Ceremonial Hall, overviewing his research on Neanderthals, Denisovans, and early Homo sapiens.