Phoebe Heddell-Stevens
Main Focus
Phoebe is a research associate in the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena. She undertook her doctoral studies in the same department. Her research uses multi-isotope analysis (δ18O, δ13C and 87Sr/86Sr) of sequentially sampled herbivore tooth enamel in conjunction with the use of isoscapes and spatial assignment tools to reconstruct the palaeoecology of prey-species exploited by hominin groups during the last glaciation in Germany. Her goal is to use this data to identify the temporal and spatial distribution of major prey-species on the landscape, with a focus on reconstructing mobility patterns of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) during this period.
Understanding the spatial ecology of mobile prey species is key to interpreting Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer lifeways. This includes not only hunting and subsistence strategies, but also patterns of mobility, site occupation and land use, providing insight into how ecological and environmental conditions shaped hominin decision-making and adaptations.
Curriculum Vitae
Phoebe received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Auckland and a BA (Hons) in Ancient World Studies from the University of Melbourne before earning her MSc in Environmental Archaeology from University College London. For her dissertation, Exploring Optimal Foraging and Niche Construction Theories in the Early Neolithic of Anatolia, Phoebe received the Jonathan Rowe Prize for work in human palaeoecology.
Phoebe gained further research experience within the Pathways to Ancient Britain project based at the Natural History Museum, London. She undertook excavation, as well as identification and analysis of small vertebrate remains from different Middle Palaeolithic sites in Britain.
Additionally, Phoebe has taken part in a number of research excavations in New Zealand, Australia and Britain, and has worked as a consultant archaeologist in both Australia and the UK.
Publications
Spies, M. J., Alblas, A., Ambrose, S. H., Barakat, S., Barberena, R., Bataille, C., Bowen, G. J., Britton, K., Cawthra, H., Diamond, R., Dosseto, A., Evans, J. A., Fisher, E., Gray, K., Heddell-Stevens, P., Holt, E., James, H. F., Janzen, A., Le Corré, M., le Roux, P., Lee-Thorp, J., Mackay, A., McNeill, P. J., Montgomery, J., Mugabe, B., Oelze, V. M., Pfab, M., Richards, M. P., Samec, C. T., Santana-Sagredo, F., Serna, A., Stantis, C., Snoeck, C., Stewart, B., Stuurman, C., Tarrant, D., West, A. G., Winter-Schuh, C., Sealy, J. 2025. "Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward". Royal Society Open Science 12: 250283. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250283
Heddell-Stevens, P., Barakat, S., Pastoors, A., Lucas, M., Scott, E., Le Roux, P. and P. Roberts. 2024. "Spatial palaeoecology of large-herbivore hominin prey-species at Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany: multi-isotope analysis of sequentially-sampled tooth enamel from Rangifer tarandus and Equus sp.". Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology 3: 1458040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2024.1458040.
Roberts, P., Caetano-Andrade, V. L., Fisher, M., Hamilton, R., Rudd, R., Stokes, F., Amano, N., Antonosyan, M., Dugmore, A., Findley, D. M., Zuccarelli Freire, V., Pereira Furquim, L., Fletcher, M.-S., Hambrecht, G., Heddell-Stevens, P., Iminjili, V., Jha, D. K., Jha, G., Kinyanjui, R. N., Maezumi, S. Y., Morrison, K. D., Renn, J., Stevenson, J., Winkelmann, R., Ziegler, M., Scarborough, V. L., White, S., Degroot, D., Green, A. S., Isendahl, C. 2024. "Uncovering the Multibiome Environmental and Earth System Legacies of Past Human Societies". Annual Review of Environment and Resources 46: 21-50. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112321-101257
Heddell-Stevens, P., Jöris, O., Britton, K., Matthies, T., Lucas, M., Scott, E., Le Roux, P., Meller, H. and P. Roberts. 2024. "Multi-isotope reconstructions of Late Pleistocene large-herbivore biogeography and mobility patterns in Central Europe". Communications Biology 7: 568. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06233-2
Patalano, R., Hamilton, R., Finestone, E., Amano, N., Heddell-Stevens, P., Itambu, M., Petraglia, M. D. and P. Roberts. 2021. "Microhabitat Variability in Human Evolution. Frontiers in Earth Science. Special Issue: Extreme Events in Human Evolution: From the Pliocene to the Anthropocene". 9: 787669. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.787669.