Robyn Pickering

I am an isotope geochemist with leanings towards palaeoanthropology and archaeology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. My research seeks to understand where, and most importantly when, our early prehuman relatives evolved and what the environment they lived in was like. I have spent the last 17 years at the forefront of development of the U-series technique, working out how to date cave rocks associated with early human (hominin) fossils. I lead a productive research group at UCT, focused on the age and development of Quaternary landscapes, as recorded by rivers, lakes and caves. We have established the first U-series dating laboratory in South Africa, and indeed Africa, as well as pioneering the U-series technique to include time and cost saving in situ analysis. I direct field programs in the Cradle of Humankind, at the Kalkkop meterorite impact crater palaeolake and in the southern Kalahari. I co-direct the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), which aims to disrupt, deconstruct and transform patriarchal narratives of human evolution. I am active in the transformation and decolonisation of the earth sciences and improving field experiences for women and underprivileged students.