Sheela Athreya

Sheela Athreya is a Professor and Chancellor’s EDGES Fellow at Texas A&M University’s Department of Anthropology. Her research focuses on Middle and Late Pleistocene hominin evolution, postcolonialism in biological anthropology, and human biological variation. She has conducted fieldwork in India, France, and Africa, with projects funded by NSF and Wenner-Gren. Current work examines Bhimbetka rock shelters burials to decolonize evolutionary models in South Asia.

• Education: PhD from Washington University in St. Louis (2003)

Research interests include craniofacial biology, quantitative methods, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. She critiques Eurocentric frameworks in anthropology through teaching and publications on inclusivity and decolonizing science.

Notable projects include Toba volcanic super-eruption studies in Gujarat and the Narmada Basin Paleoanthropology Project. Awards: Chancellor’s EDGES Fellow, Presidential Impact Fellow.

• Advising: Current students include Lori Fields, Missy Gandarilla, Harshita Jain, and Brittany Moody.
• Grants: NSF and National Geographic Society funding for India fieldwork.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with multidisciplinary teams in India on fossil analysis and genomic data integration.