© Jana Ilgner
Curriculum Vitae
Patrick Roberts received a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology, an MSc in Archaeological Science, and DPhil in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford. As Independent W2 Research Group Leader of the isoTROPIC Research Group and Lead Scientist of the Department of Archaeology, Patrick is committed to pioneering and applying multidisciplinary approaches to studying past human interactions with climatic and environmental change as well as the deep roots of the Anthropocene and our species’ influencing of Earth systems. As PI of the ERC-funded PANTROPOCENE project and the isoTROPIC Research Group, Patrick is particularly interested in exploring the degree to which past human land use and landcover change in the tropics led to major shifts in the operation of different Earth systems on local, regional, and global scales, as well as what this means for contemporary conservation and sustainability challenges. He is author of the academic monograph ‘Tropical; Forests in Prehistory, History Modernity’ published by Oxford University Press and the popular book ‘Jungle: How Tropical Forests Shaped the World and Us’ published by Penguin/Viking Random House.
As part of his research, Patrick applies a variety of different methodologies to the study of human and planetary history, including stable isotope analysis, palaeoecology, dendrochronology, remote sensing, and land use and land cover modelling. He set up and oversees the isotope laboratory, dendrochronology unit, and remote sensing facility at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Patrick is also committed to close collaboration with Indigenous and local stakeholder communities and has coordinated repatriation processes and the adaptation of research into policy. He has taken part in UNESCO symposia that bring together archaeologists and anthropologists together to discuss potential solutions for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in global tropical forest environments. Patrick is also co-founder of the Pantropica Research Network. In 2021, Patrick was awarded the Heinz Maier Leibniz Prize, the top award for early career investigators in Germany and the first time that it has been awarded to an archaeologist. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.
As part of his research, Patrick applies a variety of different methodologies to the study of human and planetary history, including stable isotope analysis, palaeoecology, dendrochronology, remote sensing, and land use and land cover modelling. He set up and oversees the isotope laboratory, dendrochronology unit, and remote sensing facility at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Patrick is also committed to close collaboration with Indigenous and local stakeholder communities and has coordinated repatriation processes and the adaptation of research into policy. He has taken part in UNESCO symposia that bring together archaeologists and anthropologists together to discuss potential solutions for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in global tropical forest environments. Patrick is also co-founder of the Pantropica Research Network. In 2021, Patrick was awarded the Heinz Maier Leibniz Prize, the top award for early career investigators in Germany and the first time that it has been awarded to an archaeologist. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.
Full Academic Publication List
Book (3)
1.
Book
Die Wurzeln des Menschen: wie der Dschungel die Erde formte, das menschliche Leben hervorbrachte und unsere Zukunft bestimmt. dtv Verlagsgesellschaft, München (2021), 495 pp.
2.
Book
Jungle: how tropical forests shaped the world - and us. Basic Books, New York (2021), 432 pp.
3.
Book
Tropical forests in prehistory, history, and modernity. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2019), XVI, 350 pp.
Book Chapter (6)
4.
Book Chapter
Prehistoric human development and sustainability. In: The Palgrave handbook of global sustainability, 1st edition Ed., pp. 2195 - 2234 (Ed. Brinkmann, R.). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham (2023)
5.
Book Chapter
Climate Proxies. In: The encyclopedia of ancient history: Asia and Africa, eahaa00609 (Eds. Potts, D. T.; Harkness, E.; Neelis, J.; McIntosh, R.) (2021)
6.
Book Chapter
Foreword [to Bioarchaeology and Dietary Reconstruction across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany, Central Italy / Giulia Riccomi]. In: Bioarchaeology and Dietary Reconstruction across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany, Central Italy, pp. x - xi. Archaeopress, Summerville (2021)
7.
Book Chapter
Hunting and gathering in prehistoric rainforests: insights from stable isotope analysis. In: Foraging in the past: archaeological studies of Hunter-Gatherer Diversity, pp. 119 - 158 (Ed. Lemke, A. K.). University Press of Colarado, Louisville (2019)
8.
Book Chapter
Scientific Practice. In: The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, pp. 1526 - 1530 (Ed. López Varela, . L.). Wiley, Hoboken (2018)
9.
Book Chapter
Bone Technology from Late Pleistocene Caves and Rockshelters of Sri Lanka. In: Osseous Projectile Weaponry, pp. 173 - 188 (Ed. Langley, M. C.). Springer (2016)
Journal Article (167)
1.
Journal Article
12, 1470577 (2024)
Addressing the Anthropocene from the Global South: integrating paleoecology, archaeology and traditional knowledge for COP engagement. Frontiers in Earth Science 2.
Journal Article
Cultivating Wheat in the Philippines, ca. 1600–1800 CE: why a Grain Was Not Adopted by Local Populations. International journal of historical archaeology, s10761-024-00753-7 (2024)
3.
Journal Article
Human dispersal and plant processing in the Pacific 55,000–50,000 years ago. Antiquity, 83 (2024)
4.
Journal Article
Unveiling Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia?: an attempt to identify the discoverer of St James's tomb through osteological and biomolecular analyses (Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain). Antiquity, 91 (2024)
5.
Journal Article
16, 141 (2024)
To waste or not to waste: a multi-proxy analysis of human-waste interaction and rural waste management in Indus Era Gujarat. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 6.
Journal Article
16 (8), 127 (2024)
Reconstructing dietary practices at Tell Kamid el-Loz (Lebanon) during the Bronze and Iron Age III / Persian to Hellenistic periods using plant micro-remains from dental calculus and stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 7.
Journal Article
11 (1), 839 (2024)
Colonial policy, ecological transformations, and agricultural “improvement”: comparing agricultural yields and expansion in the Spanish and U.S. Philippines, 1870–1925 CE. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8.
Journal Article
Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá. Nature, s41586-024-07509-7 (2024)
9.
Journal Article
694, 2024.05.002, pp. 1 - 12 (2024)
Expedient Bayesian prediction of subfossil bone protein content using portable ATR-FTIR data. Quaternary International 10.
Journal Article
41 (2), s10437-024-09579-4, pp. 271 - 291 (2024)
Isotopic evidence for socio-economic dynamics within the capital of the Kingdom of Alwa, Sudan. African Archaeological Review 11.
Journal Article
Stable isotope variation in East and Southeast Asian marine ecosystems and its relevance for archaeological analysis. Environmental archaeology: the journal of human palaeoecology, 2352666 (2024)
12.
Journal Article
19 (5), e0302334 (2024)
Diets, stress, and disease in the Etruscan society: isotope analysis and infantile skeletal palaeopathology from Pontecagnano (Campania, southern Italy, 730–580 BCE). PLOS ONE 13.
Journal Article
7 (1), 568 (2024)
Multi-isotope reconstruction of Late Pleistocene large-herbivore biogeography and mobility patterns in Central Europe. Communications Biology 14.
Journal Article
14 (1), 11074 (2024)
Unravelling social status in the first medieval military order of the Iberian Peninsula using isotope analysis. Scientific Reports 15.
Journal Article
16 (5), 76, pp. 1 - 16 (2024)
Seasonal exploitation of intertidal resources at El Mazo (N Iberia) reveals optimized human subsistence strategies during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16.
Journal Article
16 (5), 64, pp. 1 - 17 (2024)
Human-cattle interactions in PPNB and Early / Middle Bronze Age Cyprus: integrating zooarchaeological and stable isotope data. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 17.
Journal Article
14, s41558-024-01996-2, pp. 436 - 447 (2024)
Interactions between climate change and urbanization will shape the future of biodiversity. Nature Climate Change 18.
Journal Article
14 (1), 9528 (2024)
Increasing obsidian diversity during the Chalcolithic Period at Yeghegis-1 Rockshelter (Armenia) reveals shifts in land use and social networks. Scientific Reports 19.
Journal Article
12, 1352099 (2024)
Initial upper paleolithic in the Zagros Mountains. Frontiers in Earth Science 20.
Journal Article
330, 108559, pp. 1 - 22 (2024)
Multiproxy evidence for environmental stability in the lesser caucasus during the late pleistocene. Quaternary Science Reviews 21.
Journal Article
98 (398), 2023.201 , pp. 1 - 8 (2024)
Yeghegis-1 rockshelter site: new investigations into the late Chalcolithic of Armenia. Antiquity 22.
Journal Article
66 (2), 2024.39 , pp. 306 - 325 (2024)
Insights into growth, ring formation and maximum ages of Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) using 14C dating and tree-ring analysis. Radiocarbon 23.
Journal Article
39 (3), 3597, pp. 349 - 358 (2024)
Preservation of plant-wax biomarkers in deserts: implications for Quaternary environment and human evolutionary studies. Journal of Quaternary Science 24.
Journal Article
54, 104410, pp. 1 - 8 (2024)
Exploring the potential of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of perennial plants from archaeological sites: a case study of olive pits and grape pips from Early Bronze Age Qedesh in the Galilee. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 25.
Journal Article
14 (1), 4382 (2024)
Biomolecular evidence for changing millet reliance in Late Bronze Age central Germany. Scientific Reports