Philipp Gunz

PD Dr. Philipp Gunz is a prominent paleoanthropologist and Research Group Leader (W2) at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, where he leads the Cranial Evolution and Development research group. He has held this position since 2015 and is also a Fellow of the Max Planck School of Cognition since 2019. Additionally, he has been a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Vienna, Austria, since 2001.

Dr. Gunz's research focuses on the evolution of human development through the study of growth patterns and morphology in humans, fossil ancestors, and primate relatives. He is a specialist in virtual reconstruction of fossils and the statistical analysis of shape using geometric morphometrics. His work explores various aspects of developmental and evolutionary shape changes in living and fossil primates, with particular emphasis on the evolution of the face, teeth, bony labyrinth, and brain. One key research focus is the evolution of the brain and its endocranial imprint in the skull, where changes in endocranial shape observed in the hominin lineage may be linked to evolutionary changes in brain organization.

His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on comparative analyses of cranial morphology across hominins, with particular attention to Neanderthals versus modern humans. His work integrates multiple approaches including virtual reconstruction, geometric morphometrics, and interdisciplinary collaboration with neuroscientists, geneticists, and archaeologists to tackle complex questions about human evolution that cannot be addressed through fossil evidence alone.

Dr. Gunz has supervised numerous PhD students whose work has significantly contributed to paleoanthropology, with graduates spanning from 2009 to 2023. His research has been supported by substantial funding, including a 6 million euro grant for the Evolution of Hominoid Brain connectomics project since 2019, demonstrating the significance and interdisciplinary nature of his work.