Decolonising palaeoanthropology entry published in International Encyclopedia of Anthropology

The Wiley International Encyclopedia of Anthropology has included the entry, Paleoanthropology: Decolonizing and Building for the Future, in the 2025 edition of its International Encyclopedia of Anthropology.

The entry, contributed by HERI researchers and colleagues, is recognition of the growing attention those in the field are placing on questions of who conducts research, who gets recognition and reward, whose voices and worldviews get centered in paleoanthropological models.

“This entry recognises our leadership in working towards decolonising human evolution and palaeoanthropology, and we were delighted to take up the opportunity,” says HERI Co-director Dr Robyn Pickering.

Acknowledging that diverse teams bring a greater depth of thought and experience, the work was done with a team of authors including Pickering and HERI Co-Director Professor Rebecca Ackermann, as well as Wendy Black from Iziko Museums, Robyn Humphreys from University of the Western Cape, Sheela Athreya from Texas A&M University, University of Cape Town’s Yonatan Sahle, and Lauren Schroeder from the University of Toronto.

“We were able to write a detailed, nuanced entry on this important topic and put down what will be referred to as a key piece defining the problem and proposing solutions for a long time to come,” says Pickering.

The Wiley International Encyclopedia of Anthropology is widely used by the research community, playing an important role for setting the standard of what is accepted in this broad field.

“An entry like this in one of the biggest encyclopedias in our field demonstrates how the work of decolonising human evolution is becoming more mainstream,” Pickering says. “This gives researchers a point of reference for further work, discussion and actions.”