BEAUDET Amélie
CNRS junior professor
Main research question
My research focuses on the paleobiology of Plio-Pleistocene hominins with a particular interest in the evolutionary and adaptive contexts from which the genus Homo emerged.
Methods
I use a wide range of imaging techniques (e.g., micro-focus X-ray tomography, synchrotron radiation, neutron-based tomography) and analytical tools (e.g., geometric morphometric) for non-invasively exploring the inner anatomy of fossil specimens.
Fieldwork
Since 2017, I have been a core member of the research team in charge of the study of the fossil material from the site of Sterkfontein, located in the « Cradle of Humankind » in South Africa. In addition, I am a member of the Human Origins in Namibia and Human Origins in Mozambique and Malawi Environments projects led by L. Bruxelles (INRAP & TRACES UMR 5608).
Projects
I am the co-PI of the project EndoMap (https://www.endomap.org/) funded by the French Embassy and the National Research Foundation of South Africa developped in collaboration with C. Fonta (CerCo UMR 5549).
Responsabilities
- Associated Editor of the Journal of Human Evolution
- Board Member of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution
Contact
- Bât. B35 – 3ème étage, aile sud – Bureau 418
- amelie.beaudet@univ-poitiers.fr
Iconic publications
Beaudet A. 2023 – The Australopithecus assemblage from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) and the concept of variation in palaeontology – Evolutionary Anthropology doi: 10.1002/evan.21972 – https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21972
Beaudet A., d’Errico F., Backwell L., Wadley L., Zipfel B., de la Peña P. & Reyes-Centeno H. 2022 – A reappraisal of the Border Cave 1 cranium (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) – Quaternary Science Reviews 282: 107452 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107452
de Jager E., 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: 4433-4443 – DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25964
Beaudet A. 2021 – The enigmatic origins of the human brain – Science 372: 124-125 – DOI: 10.1126/science.abi4661
Beaudet A., Atwood R.C., Kockelmann W., Fernandez V., Connolley T., Vo N.T., Clarke R.J. & Stratford D. 2021 – Preliminary paleohistological observations of the StW 573 (‘Little Foot’) skull – eLife 10: e64804 – https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64804
Beaudet A., Holloway R. & Benazzi S. 2021 – A comparative study of the endocasts of OH 5 and SK 1585: Implications for the paleoneurology of eastern and southern African Paranthropus – Journal of Human Evolution 156:103010 – DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103010
Dumoncel J., Subsol G., Durrleman S., Bertrand A., de Jager E., Oettlé A., 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: 480-488 – DOI: 10.1111/joa.13318
Beaudet A., Clarke R.J., Heaton J.L., Pickering T.R., Carlson K.J., Crompton R., Jashashvili T., Bruxelles L., Jakata K., Bam L., Van Hoorebeke L., Kuman K. & Stratford D. 2020 – The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human-like head mobility and brain metabolism – Scientific Reports 10: 4285 – – https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60837-2
Beaudet A., Clarke R.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 bony labyrinth of StW 573 (“Little Foot”): implications for hominin evolution and paleobiology – Journal of Human Evolution 127: 67-80 – DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.12.002
Beaudet A., Clarke R.J., de Jager E., 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: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.009
Beaudet A., Carlson K.J., Clarke R.J., de Beer F., Dhaene J., Heaton J., Pickering T.R. & Stratford D. 2018 – Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa – Journal of Human Evolution 121: 204-220 – – DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.004
Beaudet A., Dumoncel J., de Beer F., Durrleman S., Gilissen E., Oettlé A., Subsol G., Thackeray F. & Braga J. 2018 – The endocranial shape of Australopithecus africanus: surface analysis of the endocasts of Sts 5 and Sts 60 – Journal of Anatomy 232: 296-303 – DOI: 10.1111/joa.12745