W. Andrew Barr

W. Andrew Barr is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and CASHP Core Faculty specializing in paleoanthropology, focusing on the environmental context of early human evolution. His research integrates fieldwork in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Koobi Fora with quantitative methods analyzing bovid morphology to reconstruct paleoenvironments. He develops open-source tools like PaleoCore for geospatial data integration in paleoanthropology.

Education: PhD (2014), MA (2008) in Anthropology from University of Texas at Austin; B.S. (2005) in Anthropology and French from Tulane University.

Research emphasizes ecomorphology, paleoecology, and statistical methods to address gaps in understanding climate's role in hominin evolution. His field projects in Laikipia (Kenya) and Ethiopia's Mille-Logya target late Miocene-Pliocene transitions. Laboratory work employs 3D scanning and functional morphology to study locomotion and diet in recovered fauna.

Publications span 20 years, focusing on bovid limb morphology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and methodological innovations. His work challenges assumptions about habitat proxies and highlights sampling biases in hominin distribution studies.

Laboratory contributions include developing PaleoCore software for paleoanthropological data integration. Field projects emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to reconstructing ecological communities and their evolutionary implications.