DE JAGER Edwin
Postdoctoral researcher
Main research question
I am funded by the Fyssen Foundation to explore how the human brain evolved. More specifically, what was the cortical organisation of the earliest hominins, and how did key human-like brain features emerge and change over time?
Topics of study
My work investigates cortical imprint variation in fossil hominins to identify major shifts in frontal and occipital lobe organisation and reconstruct patterns of cerebral reorganisation across Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo. I use high-resolution micro-CT and synchrotron imaging to extract and analyse endocasts, improving anatomical detail beyond earlier low-resolution scans and enabling reassessment of key specimens like Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
My research applies automated sulcal detection and density-mapping protocols that I developed to quantify variability and reduce the subjectivity that has long hindered palaeoneurological interpretations. Broadly, I integrate palaeontology, neuroanatomy, and computational imaging to clarify when derived human-like cortical features first appeared and how early hominins’ brains were organised.
Fieldworks
Contact
- Build. B35 – 3rd floor, south wing – Room 422b
- edwinj.dejager@gmail.com
Iconic publications
De Jager E. J., Risser L., Mescam M., Fonta C., Beaudet A. 2022 – Sulci 3D mapping from human cranial endocasts: A powerful tool to study hominin brain evolution – Human Brain Mapping 43 (14), 4433-4443 – DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25964
De Jager E. J., AN van Schoor, Hoffman J. W., Oettlé A. C., Fonta C., Mescam M., Risser L., Beaudet A. 2019 – Sulcal pattern variation in extant human endocasts – Journal of anatomy 235 (4), 803-810 – doi: 10.1111/joa.13030
Beaudet A., De Jager E. J. 2023 – Broca’s area, variation and taxic diversity in early Homo from Koobi Fora (Kenya) – Elife 12, RP89054 – doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89054.3
Beaudet A., de Jager E. J., Tawane M., Billings B. 2025 – Looking for the origins of the human brain: The role of South Africa in the history of palaeoneurology – South African Journal of Science 121 (1/2) – doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2025/18604
Dumoncel J., Subsol G., Durrleman S., Bertrand A., de Jager E. J., Oettlé A. C., Lockhat Z., Suleman F. E., Beaudet A. 2021 – Are endocasts reliable proxies for brains? A 3D quantitative comparison of the extant human brain and endocast – Journal of Anatomy 238 (2), 480-488 – doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.009
Beaudet A., Clarke R. J., De Jager E. J., Bruxelles L., Carlson K. J., Crompton R., de Beer F., Dhaene J., Heaton J. L., Jakata K., Jashashvili T., Kuman K., McClymont J., Pickering T. R., Stratford D. 2019 – The endocast of StW 573 (“Little Foot”) and hominin brain evolution – Journal of human evolution 126, 112-123 – doi.org/10.1111/joa.13318
Govender S., Cronjé J. Y., Keough N., Oberholster A. J., AN van Schoor, de Jager E. J., Naicker J. 2022 – Emerging Imaging Techniques in Anatomy: For Teaching, Research and Clinical Practice – Biomedical Visualisation: Volume 13–The Art, Philosophy and Science of Observation and Imaging – doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13021-2_2
De Jager E. J. 2024 – Revolutionising palaeoneurology: Advanced analytics of sulcal imprints in fossil brain endocasts – Lien web…