Isabelle De Groote

Biography
In general, my research interest is human evolution, with a focus on modern human diversity and the emergence, evolution, and disappearance of Neanderthals, as well as the related question of the origins of anatomically and behaviorally modern humans. Currently, my research focuses on three topics: 1) understanding the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of food production in Northwestern Europe, 2) studying differences in post-cranial morphology between modern human populations and the influences of climate, activity, and heredity; and 3) applying models based on modern human diversity to contextualize the observed differences between Neanderthals and early modern humans. Through my research on post-cranial anatomy, I am also interested in the ontogeny of human skeletal diversity and the relationships between activity, environment, and growth patterns.