Dr Penny Spikins, Lecturer

I studied for my first degree at Cambridge and my Masters at Leeds before returning to Cambridge and carrying out research in Argentina for my PhD. I have been a lecturer in Early Prehistory at the University of York since 2004. I am fascinated by many issues in early prehistoric archaeology and small-scale ethnographic societies, particularly those concerned with social and cognitive evolution and prehistoric social dynamics - basically I'm interested in how everyone managed to get on, or not, with each other in prehistory. Recently I have directed an excavation project at Mesolithic sites in the Pennines, and underwater archaeological fieldwork in the North-East.

It’s a great privilege to work with such fun, enthusiastic and dedicated students at the University of York, and I also love finding out about new and exciting ideas in early prehistory through my research. The calm atmosphere in the city of York is really conducive to being able to think clearly, and we are really lucky to be able to get out and go for a walk along the river nearby too.