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Department of Archaeology

 

Biography

Ashleigh completed her MA(Hons) Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh in 2014, and her MSc in Human Anatomy and Evolution at the Hull York Medical School, where she was involved in a project analysing craniodental biomechanics of primate mastication. Her interest in biomechanics led her to pursue a PhD in evolutionary biomechanics of locomotion in hominins at Liverpool John Moores University, whereby she reconstructed hominin limb posture from fossilised footprints. Ashleigh’s first postdoc was based at the Royal Veterinary College working on evolutionary biomechanics and computational simulations of archosaur locomotion. She is particularly interested in simulating locomotion from fossil data.

 

 

Ashleigh's currently funded & active research projects:

Leverhulme ECRF – ‘How to build a hominin’. Funded 2021-2024.

BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant – fossil footprints at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. Funded 2020-2022. Note: may expire due to Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions.

 

If you would like to collaborate, Ashleigh is interested and experienced in:

  • Musculoskeletal modelling
  • Evolutionary biomechanics
  • 3D modelling of soft tissues
  • Material segmentation
  • Ichnology (hominin/human)
  • 2D/3D geometric morphometrics
  • 3D motion capture implementation & software (QTM/Visual3D)
  • Software: XMALab, Opensim, Maya Autodesk, MATLAB, Avizo, Mimics & Rhino (+ Office suite etc)

Research

My research investigates how hominins moved using computational simulations of subject specific musculoskeletal models. This follows on from my first postdoc which was based at the Royal Veterinary College, in which I investigated archosaur locomotion.

Additionally, I am actively involved in several external projects, such as research/fieldwork on fossil footprints at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, funded by a BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant. I am also involved in excavations in Normandy, France on Neanderthal footprints. Finally, I am still actively involved in the DAWNDINOS project on which I was previously a postdoctoral researcher (2019-2021).

Key Publications

Key publications: 

If any articles listed below are behind a paywall inaccessible to you, please do email me for a copy. Articles marked by * are open access.

Wiseman ALA, Charles JP, Hutchinson JR. 2024. Static versus dynamic muscle modelling in extinct species: a biomechanical case study of the Australopithecus afarensis pelvis and lower extremity. PeerJ 12:e16821 

Wiseman ALA, Charles JP, Hutchinson JR. 2024. DATASET: Static versus dynamic muscle modelling in extinct species: a biomechanical case study of the Australopithecus afarensis pelvis and lower extremity. Apollo: Sympletic Elements

Wiseman*, A.L.A. 2023. Three-dimensional volumetric muscle reconstruction of the Australopithecus afarensis pelvis and limb, with estimations of limb leverage. Royal Society Open Science. 10230356230356

Demuth**, OE., Herbst**, E., Polet**, DT., Wiseman** *, ALA., Hutchinson, JR. 2023. Modern three-dimensional digital methods for studying locomotor biomechanics in tetrapods. Journal of Experimental Biology; 226: jeb245132. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245132**authorship list defined alphabetically.

Demuth OE, Wiseman*, A.L.A., Hutchinson JR. 2023. Quantitative biomechanical assessment of locomotor capabilities of the stem archosaur Euparkeria capensis. Royal Society Open Science. 10(1):221195. doi: 10.1098/rsos.221195. PMID: 36704253; PMCID: PMC9874271.

Wiseman*, A.L.A., 2022 (preprint). 3D volumetric muscle reconstruction of the Australopithecus afarensis pelvis and limb, with estimations of limb leverage. BioRxiv preprint.

Cuff**, A.R., Wiseman* **, A.L.A., Bishop, P.J., Michel, K.B., Gaignet, R. & Hutchinson, J.R. 2022. Anatomically grounded estimation of hindlimb muscle sizes in Archosauria. Journal of Anatomy, 00, 1– 23. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13767

**These authors contributed equally and share first authorship.

Wiseman*, A.L.A., Demuth, O.E., Pomeroy, E., De Groote, I. 2022. Reconstructing articular cartilage in the Australopithecus afarensis hip joint and the need for modelling six degrees of freedom. Integrative Organismal Biology, obac031. https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac031

Wiseman*, A.L.A., Vicari, D., Belvedere, M., De Groote, I. 2022. Neolithic track sites from Formby Point, England: New data and insights. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 44, 103546.

Cuff, A.R., Demuth, O.E., Michel, K., Otero, A., Pintoire, R., Polet, D., Wiseman*, A.L.A., Hutchinson, J.R. 2022. Walking—and Running and Jumping—with Dinosaurs and Their Cousins, Viewed Through the Lens of Evolutionary Biomechanics. Integrative and Comparative Biology. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icac049

Demuth, O.E., Wiseman*, A.L.A., van Beesel, J. Mallison, H., Hutchinson, J. R. 2022. Three-dimensional polygonal muscle modelling and line of action estimation in living and extinct taxa. Scientific Reports 12, 3358.

Wiseman* **, A. L. A., Demuth**, O.E., Hutchinson, J.R. 2022. A Guide to Inverse Kinematic Marker-Guided rotoscoping using IK Solvers. Integrative Organisimal Biology.
**These authors contributed equally and share first authorship.

Wiseman*, A. L. A., De Groote, I. 2021. One size fits all? Stature estimation from footprints and the effect of substrate and speed on footprint creation. The Anatomical Record 1-9.

Bennett, M.R., Budka, M., Wiseman*, A. L. A., Belvedere, M. 2021. When is enough, enough? Questions of sampling in vertebrate ichnology. Palaeontology.

Wiseman*, A. L. A., Bishop, P. J., Demuth, O. E., Cuff, A. R., Michel, K. B., Hutchinson, J. R. 2021. Musculoskeletal modelling of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) hindlimb: Effects of limb posture on leverage during terrestrial locomotion. Journal of Anatomy, 1-21.

Bennett, M.R., … Wiseman, A. L. A., … Reynolds, S. C. 2020. Walking in mud: remarkable Pleistocene human trackway from White Sands National Park (New Mexico). Quaternary Science Reviews, 106610.

Wiseman, A. L. A., Stringer, C. B., Ashton, N. Bennett M. R., Hatala, K. G., Duffy, S., O’Brien, T., De Groote, I. E. 2020. The morphological affinity of the early Pleistocene footprints from Happisburgh, England with other footprints of Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene age. Journal of Human Evolution, 144, 102776.

Wiseman, A. L. A., Bezombes, F., Moore, A. J., De Groote, I. E. 2020. Non-invasive recording methods: the applicability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology for recording fossilised footprints. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 16, e00137.

Wiseman, A. L. A., De Groote, I. E. 2018. A three-dimensional geometric morphometric study of the effects of erosion on the morphologies of modern and prehistoric footprints. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 17, 93-102.

Falkingham, P. L., … Wiseman*, A.L.A., … Belvedere, M., 2018. A standard protocol for documenting modern and fossil ichnological data. Palaeontology 61(4):469-480

Teaching and Supervisions

Teaching: 

Supervisor - B1 Humans in Biological Perspective

Supervisor - Pembroke College Semester Programme 2023

Supervisor - Fitzwilliam BioAnth/Archaeology students via the weekly Reading Group

 

Also assisting on the following modules occasionally:

B3 Human Evolution

Zoology 1A: Evolution and Behaviour

Other Professional Activities

Organiser for the Cambridge Biological Anthropology Seminar Series 2021-2023

 

Bye-Fellow at Fitzwilliam College (supervisory role for students)

Job Titles

Research Associate, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
Bye-Fellow, Fitzwilliam College

General Info

Not available for consultancy
Research Expertise / Fields of study: 
Osteoarchaeology
Paleoanthropology
Human Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology
Human Evolution
Computational and Quantitative Archaeology

Contact Details

McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
Cambridge
CB2 3ER

Affiliations

Person keywords: 
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Biomechanics
Locomotion
Subjects: 
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Themes: 
Human Evolutionary Studies
Geographical areas: 
Africa
Periods of interest: 
Other Prehistory
Palaeolithic/Mesolithic