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James Cole

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Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Brighton

I am a Palaeolithic Archaeologist with a focus on East African human origins, cognitive archaeology and the use of material culture in constructing hominin social relationships. I completed my Ph.D as part of the British Academy funded "Lucy to Language: the archaeology of the social brain" project which concentrated on testing the predictions of the social brain in regards to hominin cognition against the archaeological record. Since recieving my Ph.D I have taught Human Origins and Evolution at the Universities of Southampton, Bournemouth, Oxford, Royal Holloway, and Reading before accept a lecturership at the University of Brighton. I am a fieldwork active and am currently leading new field work at the famous Stone Age site of Isimila in Tanzania (known for its giant handaxes) with colleagues from the Universities of Dar es Salaam, Southampton, Wales Trinity St David, Gloucestershire and the National Museums of Tanzania.

Experience

  • –present
    Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Brighton
  • 2013–2014
    Visiting Lecturer, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • 2013–2014
    Visiting Lecturer, Bournemouth University
  • 2012–2013
    Lecturer, University of Oxford
  • 2013–2013
    Visiting Lecturer, University of Reading
  • 2011–2012
    Visiting Lecturer, University of Southampton
  • 2011–2012
    Visiting Lecturer, Bournemouth University
  • 2010–2011
    Teaching Fellow, University of Southampton

Education

  • 2011 
    University of Southampton, Ph.D in Palaeolithic Archaeology
  • 2007 
    University of Southampton, MA in Human Origins
  • 2004 
    University of Southampton, BA Archaeology

Publications

  • 2015
    Handaxe symmetry in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic: implications for the Acheulean gaze, In F. Wenban-Smith, F. Coward, R. Hosfield and M. Pope (eds). Settlement, Society and Cognition in Human Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • 2015
    Hominin language development: a new method of archaeological assessment, Biosemiotics 8: 67-90
  • 2014
    The Identity Model: a theory to access visual display and hominin cognition within the Palaeolithic, In R.I.M. Dunbar, C. Gamble and J.A.J. Gowlett (eds). Lucy to Language: Benchmark Papers. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • 2012
    The Identity Model: a method to access visual display within the Palaeolithic, Human Origins 1: 24 – 40
  • 2012
    Papers from the British Academy Lucy to Language: the Archaeology of the Social Brain Seminar Series on Visual Display in the Palaeolithic, Cole, J. and Ruebens, K (eds). Human Origins (1). (https://humanorigins.soton.ac.uk/issues/)
  • 2006
    Consuming Passions: Reviewing the Evidence for Cannibalism within the Prehistoric Archaeological Record, Assemblage (9)

Grants and Contracts

  • 2015
    Contextualising the Stone Age site of Isimila, Tanzania
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    University of Brighton School of Environment and Technology Research Initiative Award
  • 2014
    Dating the Early Stone Age site of Isimila, Tanzania
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    University of Brighton, Rising Stars Fund
  • 2014
    Dating the Early Stone Age site of Isimila, Tanzania
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    University of Brighton School of Environment and Technology Research Initiative Award
  • 2013
    Contextualising the Neanderthal Assemblage of Oosthoven (Belgium)
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    Society of Antiquaries (London)