Biography
In 2017 I completed my Bachelor of Archaeology at La Trobe University in Australia and my honours year project involved describing the DNH 134 Homo erectus cranium from Drimolen South Africa. I also undertook my PhD at La Trobe University which focused on hominin diversity and variation within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Area in South Africa.
While I was completing my PhD between 2018 and 2024, I was the Cultural Heritage General Manager for a Registered Aboriginal Party under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act in Victoria, Australia.
I have been a part of the Drimolen Research Project and Field School in South Africa since 2015, and I continue to play a senior leadership role as part of a multinational team.
Research
My research sits at the intersection between geochronology, anatomy, and evolutionary ecology. I am interested in identifying temporally distinct sub-populations within single hominin species to understand how microevolutionary processes have shaped hominin phenotypes through time. Identifying these populations helps to elucidate evolutionary trajectories at the sub-specific level within all branches of the human family tree. As part of the Ng’ipalajem Project I will be investigating variation with P. boisei by analysing new and existing fossils from the Turkana Basin.
Key Publications
Martin, J.M., Leece, A.B., Baker, S.E., Herries, A.I.R., Strait, D.S. 2024a. A lineage perspective on hominin taxonomy and evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology, 33, 1-13. https://doi:10.1002/evan.22018
Martin, J.M., Leece, A.B., Herries, A.I.R, Baker, S.E., Strait, D.S. 2024b. We the hunted. South African Journal of Science, 120, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2024/16387
Martin, J.M., Leece, A.B., Neubauer, S., Baker, S.E., Mongle, C.S., Boschian, G., Schwartz, G.T., Smith, A.L., Ledogar, J.A., Strait, D.S., Herries, A.I.R. 2021. Drimolen cranium DNH 155
documents microevolution in an early hominin species. Nature Ecology and Evolution.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01319-6
Herries, A.I.R., Martin, J.M., Leece, A.B., Adams, J.W., Boschian, G, Joannes-Boyau, R.,
Edwards, T.E., Mallett, T., Massey, J., Murszewski, A., Neubauer, S., Pickering, R., Strait, D.S.,
Armstrong, B., Baker, S., Caruana, M.E., Denham, T., Hellstrom, J., Moggi-cecchi, J., Mokobane, S., Penzo-Kajweski, P., Rovinsky, D.S., Schwartz, G.T., Stammers, R.C., Wilson, C., Woodhead, J., Menter, C., 2020. Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo erectus in South Africa. Science 368, 47. https://10.1126/science.aaw7293
Teaching and Supervisions
Principal Supervisor; Luca Morris-Obst; Latrobe University Masters Student
