Maria Martinon-Torres

Maria Martinon-Torres serves as an Honorary Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University College London, where she maintains an active research profile in dental anthropology and human evolution. Her work focuses on the analysis of fossil hominin dentition from key archaeological sites across Europe and Asia, particularly the Sima de los Huesos site in Spain's Atapuerca Mountains and various locations in China.

Dr. Martinon-Torres specializes in dental morphology, with research spanning sexual dimorphism in dental tissues, enamel-dentine junction analysis, perikymata studies, and comparative dental morphology across different hominin species. Her work bridges biological anthropology with paleontology, examining how dental features can reveal evolutionary relationships, population dynamics, and adaptation patterns among Pleistocene hominins. She employs advanced techniques including morphometric analysis, tissue proportion studies, and increasingly, machine learning applications for reconstructing worn dental features.

Her recent publication record demonstrates significant productivity, with numerous high-impact articles in journals like the Anatomical Record, American Journal of Biological Anthropology, and Journal of Human Evolution. Her research shows a clear trajectory toward integrating traditional morphological analysis with computational approaches, while maintaining strong field connections to major paleoanthropological sites. Notably, she has contributed to understanding human dispersal patterns in relation to paleoclimate changes, particularly regarding early modern human migration into East Asia.

Dr. Martinon-Torres maintains an extensive collaborative network, frequently working with researchers including Bermúdez de Castro JM, Martinez de Pinillos M, and Martin-Francés L. She has contributed to special issues on critical transitions in human evolution and has developed community-engaged approaches to dental anthropology through projects like the Raton Perez collection of deciduous teeth. Her ORCID identifier (0000-0002-2750-4554) documents her substantial scholarly output across multiple dimensions of dental anthropology and human evolution research.