Emma Pomeroy

Dr. Emma Pomeroy is an Associate Professor in the Evolution of Health, Diet and Disease at the University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology. She is an active researcher with expertise spanning anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and paleoanthropology. Her work combines human bioarchaeology with human biology and paleoanthropology, conducting research across South America, South Asia, Europe, and the Near East.

Dr. Pomeroy's research focuses on understanding how past and present variation in human health, growth, and morphology is influenced by evolutionary processes including adaptation, neutral variation, and plasticity, as well as interactions with natural and social environments. Her specific interests in reproduction include the evolution and adaptation of the human pelvis, impacts of evolutionary and environmental factors on pelvic morphology and birth complications, and how early life conditions affect later growth and health which may influence birth complication risks. A significant portion of her recent work has investigated the evolutionary origins of low lean tissue mass among contemporary South Asians, which is implicated in elevated risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Dr. Pomeroy leads important archaeological projects including serving as the paleoanthropologist at renewed excavations at Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2016, where her team has made significant new Neanderthal discoveries. She also co-directs the Old St Bernard's Hospital Project in Gibraltar with Dr. Kevin Lane and Professor Clive Finlayson, investigating health, diet, and migration among skeletons from a 16th-17th century mariner's hospital.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on human skeletal variation, Neanderthal studies, human adaptation, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Her work spans multiple geographical regions including the Americas, Europe, Mesopotamia and the Near East, and South Asia, examining periods from the Paleolithic through to contemporary populations.

Dr. Pomeroy contributes to interdisciplinary research networks including Cambridge Reproduction, where she investigates the evolutionary aspects of human reproduction. Her methodological approaches integrate skeletal biology, archaeological science, and evolutionary theory to address fundamental questions about human variation and adaptation.