Steve Mithen

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+44 (0) 118 378 7363
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Professor
Areas of interest
Steven's research interests cover from the origin of Homo at c. 2 million years ago to the origin and spread of farming, and the use of heritage for sustainable development, individual and community wellbeing:
1. Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Hunter-Gatherers and Farmers. For this he directs major field projects in western Scotland and southern Jordan involving the survey and excavation of prehistoric settlements.
- Excavations at WF16
- People and Birds in the southern Levant
- Excavations at Rubha Port an t-Seilich.
2. Cultural heritage for sustainable development and community archaeology. Steven's interests have developed from wishing to make his own research have greater value for the local communities in the areas where his fieldwork has been based, to a more general concern about how heritage can support individual and community wellbeing. He has two geographic areas of particular interest, Islay and Faynan, and two specific projects underway: Our past, Our Future, and Dunyvaig castle:
- Islay Heritage
- Dunyvaig Castle
- Faynan Heritage
- Our past, Our Future, All Together in Faynan.
3. Evolution of the Human Mind, Language and Music. Steven has been one of the pioneers of cognitive archaeology, drawing on research within psychology, neuroscience and philosophy of mind for the interpretation of the archaeological record. His current project, Saying the word, focuses on the relationship between words, thought and cultural evolution.
Background
Steven Mithen has a BA (hons) in Prehistory & Archaeology from Sheffield University, an MSc in Biological Computation from York University, and a PhD in Archaeology from Cambridge University.
Between 1987 and 1992, he was a Research Fellow at Trinity Hall and then Lecturer in Archaeology at Cambridge. After moving to the University of Reading, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer (1996), Reader (1998) and then Professor of Early Prehistory (2000). In August 2002 he was appointed as the first Head of the School of Human & Environmental Sciences, formed by the Departments of Archaeology, Geography, Soil Science and the Postgraduate Institute of Sedimentology, a post he held until August 2008 when he became Dean of the Faculty of Science.
In 2010, he was appointed a Pro Vice Chancellor for Internationalisation, a position he held for four years during which he developed a series of research and teaching partnerships for Reading, notably the Reading-NUIST Academy in China. In 2014 he was appointed Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, during which he undertook a major reshaping or research leadership, management and organisation at the University. Between 2014 and 2018, Steven also held the post of Deputy Vice Chancellor. In 2018 Steven completed his management roles at the University and returned to the Department of Archaeology as Professor Early Prehistory. He was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.
Academic qualifications
- BA (hons) Prehistory & Archaeology – Sheffield University
- MSc, Biological Computation – York University
- PhD, Archaeology – Cambridge University.
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Fellow of the British Academy.
Publications
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Mithen, S.
ORCID: 0000-0002-3391-7443 , Richardson, A. , Finlayson, B. (2023) The flow of ideas: shared symbolism between WF16 in the south and Göbekli Tepe in the north during Neolithic emergence in south-west Asia. Antiquity ISSN: 1745-1744 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.67
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Regan, R.
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Maričević, D.
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Barnett, C.
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Mithen, S.
ORCID: 0000-0002-3391-7443 (2022) Dun Fhinn, Islay: excavation, woodland exploitation and building an Iron Age chronology for Argyll. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland , 151 pp. 75-102. ISSN: 2056-743X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.9750/PSAS.151.1329
- Mithen, S. (2022) Shamanism at the transition from foraging to farming in Southwest Asia: sacra, ritual, and performance at Neolithic WF16 (southern Jordan). Levant , 54 (2). pp. 158-189. ISSN: 0075-8914 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2022.2104559
- Mithen, S. (2022) How long was the Mesolithic–Neolithic overlap in Western Scotland? Evidence from the 4th millennium BC on the Isle of Islay and the evaluation of three scenarios for Mesolithic–Neolithic interaction. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , 88 pp. 53-77. ISSN: 2050-2729 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2022.3
- Mithen, S. , White, J. , Finlayson, B. , Greet, B. , Khoury, F. (2022) Birds as indicators of Early Holocene biodiversity and the seasonal nature of human activity at WF16, an early Neolithic site in Faynan, Southern Jordan. Journal of Quaternary Science , 37 (6). pp. 1148-1163. ISSN: 0267-8179 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3429
- White, J. , Khoury, F. , Greet, B. , Mithen, S. (2021) The utilization of birds at neolithic WF16, southern Jordan: cut marks, body parts, and experimental skinning. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology , 31 (6). pp. 1203-1216. ISSN: 1099-1212 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oa.3031
- Mithen, S. and Wicks, K. (2021) Population level models for testing hunter-gatherer resilience and settlement response to the combined impact of abrupt climatic events and sea level change: a case study from the Holocene of northern Britain. Quaternary Science Reviews , 265 ISSN: 0277-3791 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107027
- White, J. , Finlayson, B. , Makarewicz, C. , Khoury, F. , Greet, B. , Mithen, S. (2021) The bird remains from wf16, an early neolithic settlement in southern Jordan: assemblage composition, chronology and spatial distribution. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology , 31 (6). pp. 1030-1045. ISSN: 1047-482X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oa.3016
- Savage, P. , Loui, P. , Tarr, B. , Schachner, A. , Glowacki, L. , Mithen, S. , Fitch, W. (2021) Music as a coevolved system for social bonding. Behavioral and Brain Sciences , 44 pp. 1-22. ISSN: 1469-1825 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20000333
- Jin, G. , Chen, S. , Li, H. , Fan, X. , Yang, A. , Mithen, S. (2020) The Beixin culture: archaeobotanical evidence for a population dispersal of Neolithic hunter-gatherer-cultivators in northern China. Antiquity , 94 (378). pp. 1426-1443. ISSN: 1745-1744 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.63
- Mithen, S. (2020) Lost for words: an extraordinary structure at the early Neolithic settlement of WF16. Humanities and Social Science Communications , 7 (1). ISSN: 2662-9992 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00615-7
- Mithen, S. , Wicks, K. , Berg-Hansen, I. (2020) The Mesolithic coastal exploitation of western Scotland The impacts of climate change and use of favoured locations. In: Schülke, A. , (eds.) Coastal Landscapes of the Mesolithic Human Engagement with the Coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. Routledge , London. pp. 147-178. ISBN: 9780203730942 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203730942
- Jin, G. , Chen, S. , Li, H. , Fan, X. , Yang, A. , Mithen, S. (2020) The Beixin Culture archaeobotanical evidence from Guanqiaocunnan indicates a population dispersal of hunter-gatherercultivators into and across the Haida region of northern China. Antiquity , 94 (378). pp. 1426-1443. ISSN: 0003-598X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.63
- Mithen, S. , Maričević, D. , Regan, R. (2020) The seal matrix of Sir John Campbell and the struggle for Dunyvaig Castle on the Isle of Islay. Antiquity , 94 (374). ISSN: 0003-598X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.15
- Mithen, S. , Khoury, F. , Greet, B. , White, J. , Maslamani, N. (2019) Birds of Faynan: past and present. Faynan Hertage University of Reading , Reading, UK. pp 177. ISBN: 9780704915909 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.17864/1926.87374
- Mithen, S. (2019) Mesolithic fireplaces and the enculturation of early Holocene landscapes in Britain, with a case study from Western Scotland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , 85 pp. 131-159. ISSN: 2050-2729 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2019.6
- Berg-Hansen, I. , Wicks, K. , Mithen, S. (2019) A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland. Journal of Lithic Studies , 6 (1). ISSN: 2055-0472 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2218/jls.2892
- Mithen, S. , Najjar, M. , Finlayson, B. (2019) Archaeology of Faynan: A celebration and Guide. Faynan Hertage University of Reading , Reading, UK. pp 147. ISBN: 9780704915916 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.17864/1926.79395
- Mithen, S. (2019) Becoming Neolithic in words, thoughts and deeds. Journal of Social Archaeology , 19 (1). pp. 67-91. ISSN: 1469-6053 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1469605318793958
- Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Maricevic, D. , Smith, S. , Jenkins, E. , Najjar, M. (2018) WF16: excavations at an early Neolithic site in southern Jordan. Stratigraphy, chronology, architecture, burials. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant , London. pp 738. ISBN: 9780953910236
- Mithen, S. and Wicks, K. (2018) The interpretation of Mesolithic structures in Britain: new evidence from Criet Dubh, Isle of Mull, and alternative approaches to chronological analysis for inferring occupation tempos and settlement patterns. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , 84 pp. 77-110. ISSN: 0079-797X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2018.13
- Jenkins, E. , Jamjoum, K. , Nuimat, S. , Stafford, R. , Nortcliff, S. , Mithen, S. (2016) Identifying ancient water availability through phytolith analysis: an experimental approach. Journal of Archaeological Science , 73 pp. 82-93. ISSN: 0305-4403 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.07.006
- Wicks, K. , Finlayson, B. , Maricevic, D. , Smith, S. , Jenkins, E. , Mithen, S. (2016) Dating WF16: exploring the chronology of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlement in the Southern Levant. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , 82 pp. 73-123. ISSN: 0079-797X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2015.21
- Mithen, S. (2015) Taking a gamble: alternative approaches to the Mesolithic of western Scotland. Settlement, Society and Cognition in Human Evolution. Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp. 315-341. ISBN: 9781107026889 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139208697.018 45339
- Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Maricevic, D. , Smith, S. , Jenkins, E. , Al-Najjar, M. (2015) Death and architecture: the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A burials at WF16, Wadi Faynan, South Jordan. In: Renfrew, C. , Boyd, M. , Morley, I. , (eds.) Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: 'Death Shall Have No Dominion'. Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp. 82-110. ISBN: 9781107082731 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316014509.007
- Mithen, S. , Wicks, K. , Pirie, A. , Riede, F. , Lane, C. , Banerjea, R. , Cullen, V. , Gittins, M. , Pankhurst, N. (2015) A Lateglacial archaeological site in the far north-west of Europe at Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland: Ahrensburgian-style artefacts, absolute dating and geoarchaeology. Journal of Quaternary Science , 30 (5). pp. 396-416. ISSN: 0267-8179 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2781
- Flohr, P. , Finlayson, B. , Najjar, M. , Mithen, S. (2015) Building WF16: construction of a PPNA pisé structure in Southern Jordan. Levant , 47 (2). pp. 143-163. ISSN: 0075-8914 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1179/0075891415Z.00000000063
- Wicks, K. and Mithen, S. (2014) The impact of the abrupt 8.2 ka cold event on the Mesolithic population of western Scotland: a Bayesian chronological analysis using ‘activity events’ as a population proxy. Journal of Archaeological Science , 45 pp. 240-269. ISSN: 0305-4403 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.02.003
- Mithen, S. (2014) The cognition of Homo neanderthalensis and H.sapiens: does the use of pigment necessarily imply symbolic thought?. In: Akazawa, T. , Ogihara, N. , Tanabe, H. , Terashima, H. , (eds.) The Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans. , 2. Springer , London/New York. pp. 7-15. ISBN: 9784431545521
- Finlayson, B. , Makarewicz, C. , Smith, S. , Mithen, S. (2014) The transition from the PPNA to the PPNB in Southern Jordan. pp. 105-119.
- Wicks, K. , Pirie, A. , Mithen, S. (2014) Settlement patterns in the late Mesolithic of western Scotland: the implications of Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates and inter-site technological comparisons. Journal of Archaeological Science , 41 pp. 406-422. ISSN: 0305-4403 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.07.003
- Mithen, S. (2013) Tiny objects writ large: the private world of ice age art made public. World Art , 3 (2). pp. 175-187. ISSN: 2150-0908 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21500894.2013.825312
- Mithen, S. (2013) Thirst: water and power in the ancient world. Thirst; water and power in the ancient world. Orion , London. pp 256. ISBN: 9780297864790
- Mithen, S. , Wicks, K. , Austin, P. , Black, S. , Cowie, T. , Elliott, S. , Ingrem, C. , Smith, S. (2012) Croig Cave: a late Bronze Age ornament deposition and 3,500 years of coastal foraging in NW Mull, Scotland. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland , 142 pp. 63-132. ISSN: 0081-1564
- Wang, T. , Surge, D. , Mithen, S. (2012) Seasonal temperature variability of the Neoglacial (3300–2500 BP) and Roman Warm Period (2500–1600 BP) reconstructed from oxygen isotope ratios of limpet shells (Patella vulgata), Northwest Scotland. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , 317-318 pp. 104-113. ISSN: 0031-0182 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.12.016
- Wade, A. , Smith, S. , Black, E. , Brayshaw, D. , Holmes, P. , El-Bastawesy, M. , Rambeau, C. , Mithen, S. (2012) A new method for the determination of Holocene palaeohydrology. Journal of Hydrology , 420-421 pp. 1-16. ISSN: 0022-1694 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.10.033
- Finlayson, B. , Mithen, S. , Najjar, M. , Smith, S. , Maricevic, D. , Pankhurst, N. , Yeomans, L. (2011) Architecture, sedentism, and social complexity at Pre-Pottery Neolithic A WF16, Southern Jordan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 108 (20). pp. 8183-8188. ISSN: 0027-8424 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1017642108
- Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Smith, S. , Jenkins, E. , Najjar, M. , Maricevic, D. (2011) An 11,600 year old communal structure from the Neolithic of southern Jordan. Antiquity , 85 (328). pp. 350-364. ISSN: 0003-598X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00067806 27941
- Finlayson, B. , Kuijt, I. , Mithen, S. (2011) New evidence from Southern Jordan: rethinking the role of architecture in changing societies at the beginning of the Neolithic process. Paleorient (371). pp. 123-135. ISSN: 0153-9345
- Finlayson, B. , Mithen, S. , Smith, S. (2011) On the edge: Southern Levantine Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic chronological succession . Levant , 43 (2). pp. 127-138. ISSN: 0075-8914 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175638011X13112549592961
- Smith, S. , Wade, A. , Black, E. , Brayshaw, D. , Rambeau, C. , Mithen, S. (2011) From global climate change to local impact in Wadi Faynan, southern Jordan: ten millennia of human settlement in its hydrological context. In: Mithen, S. and Black, E. , (eds.) Water, Life and Civilisation: Climate, Environment and Society in the Jordan Valley. International Hydrology Series Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp. 218-244. ISBN: 9780521769570
- Wade, A. , Holmes, P. , El Bastawesy, M. , Smith, S. , Black, E. , Mithen, S. (2011) The hydrology of the Wadi Faynan. In: Mithen, S. and Black, E. , (eds.) Water, Life and Civilisation: Climate, Environment and Society in the Jordan Valley. International Hydrology Series Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp. 157-174. ISBN: 9780521769570
- Mithen, S. and Black, E. , eds. (2011) Water, life and civilisation: climate, environment and society in the Jordan Valley. International Hydrology Series Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp 543. ISBN: 9780521769570
- Mithen, S. (2010) Excavating the prehistoric mind: the brain as a cultural artefact and material culture as biological extension.. In: Dunbar, R. , Gamble, C. , Gowlett, J. , (eds.) Social brain, distributed mind. Proceedings of the British Academy Proceedings of the British Academy (158). pp. 481-503. ISBN: 9780197264522
- Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Najjar, M. , Jenkins, E. , Smith , S. , Hemsley, S. , Maricevic, D. , Pankhurst, N. , Yeomans, L. , Al-Almarat, H. (2010) Excavations at the PPNA site of WF16: a report on the 2008 season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (53). pp. 115-126. ISSN: 0449-1564
- Mithen, S. (2010) The domestication of water: water management in the ancient world and its prehistoric origins in the Jordan Valley. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A , 368 (1931). pp. 5249-5274. ISSN: 5249-5274 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0191
- Black, E. , Mithen, S. , Hoskins, B. , Cornforth, R. (2010) Water and society: past, present and future. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences , 368 (1931). pp. 5107-5110. ISSN: 1364-503X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0216
- Mithen, S. (2009) The music instinct: the evolutionary basis of musicality. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , 1169 pp. 3-12. ISSN: 1749-6632 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04590.x
- Smith, S. , Hughes, J. , Mithen, S. (2009) Explaining global patterns in Lower Palaeolithic technology: simulations of hominin dispersals and cultural transmission using 'Stepping Out'. In: Shennan, . , (eds.) Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution. University of California Press , Berkeley and Los Angeles. pp. 175-190.
- Mithen, S. (2009) The prehistory of the religious mind. In: Spurway, . , (eds.) Theology, Evolution and the Mind. Cambridge Scholars Press , Cambridge. pp. 10-41.
- Finlayson, B. , Mithen, S. , Jenkins, E. , Smith, S. (2009) New excavations at WF16, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site in southern Jordan. Antiquity , 83 (319). ISSN: 0003-598X
- Whitehead, P. , Smith, S. , Wade, A. , Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Sellwood, B. , Valdes, P. (2008) Modelling of hydrology and potential population levels at Bronze Age Jawa, Northern Jordan: a Monte Carlo approach to cope with uncertainty. Journal of Archaeological Science , 35 (3). pp. 517-529. ISSN: 0305-4403 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.05.001
- Mithen, S. and Parsons, L. (2008) The Brain as a Cultural Artefact. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 18 (3). pp. 415-422. ISSN: 0959-7743 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959774308000450
- Mithen, S. , Jenkins, E. , Jamjoum, K. , Nuimat, S. , Nortcliff, S. , Finlayson, B. (2008) Experimental crop growing in Jordan to develop methodology for the identification of ancient crop irrigation. World Archaeology , 40 (1). pp. 7-25. ISSN: 0043-8243 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438240701843561
- Mithen, S. (2008) 'Whatever turns you on': a response to Anna Machin, 'Why handaxes just aren't that sexy'. Antiquity , 82 (317). pp. 766-769. ISSN: 0003-598X
- Finlayson, B. and Mithen, S. , eds. (2007) The early prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: excavations at the pre-pottery Neolithic A site of WF16 and archaeological survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and Al Bustan. Wadi Faynan Series 1, Levant Supplementary Series 4, Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp 640. ISBN: 9781842172124
- Pinkett, S. and Mithen, S. (2007) Rock art at WF400. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 115-133.
- Mithen, S. , Wicks, K. , Hill, J. (2007) Fiskary Bay: a Mesolithic fishing camp on Coll. Scottish Archaeology News , 55 pp. 14-15.
- Mithen, S. , Pirie, A. , Whiting, C. , Finlayson, B. (2007) Archaeological survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Levant Supplementary Series 4 Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 46-114. ISBN: 1-84217-212-3
- Mithen, S. , Pirie, A. , Smith, S. , Wicks, K. (2007) The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in western Scotland: a review and new evidence from Tiree. In: Whittle, . and Cummings, . , (eds.) Going Over: the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in North-West Europe. Oxford University Press/British Academy , Oxford. pp. 511-541. ISBN: 9780197264140
- Mithen, S. and Finlayson, B. (2007) The Dana-Faynan-Ghuwayr early prehistory project. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 1-12. ISBN: 9781842172124
- Mithen, S. , Austin, P. , Kennedy, K. , Lancaster, N. , Emberson, H. , Finlayson, B. (2007) Neolithic woodland composition and exploitation in the Southern Levant: a comparison between archaeobotanical remains from WF16 and present day woodland at Hammam Adethni. Environmental Archaeology: the Journal of Human Palaeoecology , 12 pp. 49-70. ISSN: 1461-4103 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174963107x172741
- Mithen, S. (2007) Return to Staosnaig. British Archaeology , 97 pp. 28-31. ISSN: 1357-4442
- Mithen, S. (2007) General intellectual ability. In: Gangestad, . and Simpson, . , (eds.) The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies. Guilford Publications Inc , New York. pp. 319-324. ISBN: 9781593854089
- Mithen, S. (2007) Creations of Pre-modern human minds: stone tool manufacture. In: Margolis, . and Laurence, . , (eds.) Creations of the Mind: Theories of Artifacts and their Representation. Oxford University Press , Oxford. pp. 289-311. ISBN: 978-0-19-925099-8
- Mithen, S. (2007) Did farming arise from a misapplication of social intelligence?. In: Emery, . , Clayton, . , Frith, . , (eds.) Social Intelligence: from brain to culture. Oxford University Press , Oxford. pp. 353-374. ISBN: 9780199216543
- Mithen, S. (2007) Music and the origin of modern humans. In: Mellars, . , Boyle, . , Bar-Yosef, . , Stringer, . , (eds.) Re-thinking the Human Revolution. McDonald Institute , Cambridge. pp. 107-117. ISBN: 9781902937465
- Mithen, S. (2007) The network of brain, body, language and culture. In: Henke, . and Tattersall, . , (eds.) Handbook of Palaeoanthropology. Vol. 3. Phylogeny of Hominines. Springer Verlag , Heidelberg. pp. 1965-1999. ISBN: 9783540324744
- Mithen, S. , Pirie, A. , Smith, S. (2007) The Inner Hebrides Archaeological project 2006. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland , 7 pp. 28.
- Mithen, S. and Finlayson, B. (2007) WF16 and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A of the southern Levant. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, . , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 470-486.
- Mithen, S. and Finlayson, B. (2007) The radiocarbon dates. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow , Oxford. pp. 460-469.
- Mithen, S. (2007) Did farming arise from a misapplication of social intelligence?. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences , 362 (1480). pp. 705-718. ISSN: 0962-8436 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.2005
- Mithen, S. (2007) Searching for the origins of language at Blombos Cave. British Archaeology , 93 pp. 17-19.
- Mithen, S. (2007) The singing and dancing Neanderthals. Dig Magazine , 9 pp. 16-17.
- Mithen, S. (2007) How the evolution of the human mind can be reconstructed. In: Gangestad, . and Simpson, . , (eds.) The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies. Guildford Publications Inc. , New York. pp. 60-66.
- Mithen, S. (2007) Key changes in the evolution of human psychology. In: Gangestad, . and Simpson, . , (eds.) The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies. Guildford Publications, Inc. , New York. pp. 256-266.
- Mithen, S. (2007) Seven steps in the evolution of the human imagination. In: Roth, . , (eds.) Imaginative Minds. Oxford University Press for The British Academy , Oxford. pp. 3-29.
- Machin, A. , Hosfield, R. , Mithen, S. (2007) Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness. Journal of Archaeological Science , 34 (6). pp. 883-893. ISSN: 0305-4403 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.09.008
- Lancaster, N. , Emberson, H. , Mithen, S. (2007) Modern vegetation survey of Hammam Adethni and its palaeoeconomic implications. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 437-446.
- Hughes, J. , Haywood, A. , Mithen, S. , Sellwood, B. , Valdes, P. (2007) Investigating early hominin dispersal patterns: developing a framework for climate data integration. Journal of Human Evolution , 53 (5). pp. 465-474. ISSN: 0047-2484 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.12.011
- Finlayson, B. and Mithen, S. (2007) Excavations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of WF16. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 145-202.
- Finlayson, B. and Mithen, S. (2007) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Wadi Faynan Series 1, Levant Supplementary Series 4 Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp 600. ISBN: 978-1-84217-212-4
- Clegg, E. and Mithen, S. (2007) A comparative study of bifaces from Wadis Faynan and Al Bustan. In: Finlayson, . and Mithen, S. , (eds.) The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and El Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site of WF16. Council for British Archaeology in the Levant/Oxbow Books , Oxford. pp. 134-142. ISBN: 978-1-84217-212-4
- Pirie, A. , Mellars, P. , Mithen, S. (2006) Cnoc Coig: a Mesolithic shell midden assemblage. Lithics , 27 pp. 4-11. ISSN: 0262-7817
- Mithen, S. , Pirie, A. , Smith, S. (2006) Newly discovered chipped stone assemblages from Tiree. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland , 6 pp. 22.
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'Çatalhöyük : the Leopard's Tale. Revealing the mysteries of Turkey's ancient town' by Ian Hodder. Times Higher Educational Supplement , 18 August
- Mithen, S. (2006) Overview and response to reviewers of The Singing Neanderthals. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 16 (1). pp. 97-112. ISSN: 0959-7743 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0959774306000060
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'The Metaphysics of Apes: negotiating the animal-human boundary' by Raymond Corby. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 16 (8). pp. 257-258. ISSN: 0959-7743 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0959774306220158
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'Understanding Early Civilisations' by Bruce Trigger. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute , 12 (3). pp. 683-684. ISSN: 1359-0987 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00359_9.x
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'The Quest for the Shaman' by M & S Aldhouse Green. Times Higher Educational Supplement , 26 August ISSN: 0379-7724
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'Before the Dawn: recovering the lost history of our ancestors' by Nicholas Wade. New Scientist , 8 April ISSN: 0262-4079
- Mithen, S. (2006) Review of 'The Archaeology of Warfare: prehistories of raiding and conquest', edited by Elizabeth Arkush and Mark Allen. New Scientist , 21 July (2561). pp. 54-55. ISSN: 0262-4079
- Mithen, S. (2006) The evolution of social information transmission in Homo. In: Wells, . , Strickland, . , Laland, . , (eds.) Social Information Transmission and Human Biology. CRC Press , London. pp. 151-170.
- Mithen, S. (2006) The 'Singing Neanderthals': the origins of music, language, mind and body. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 16 (1). pp. 97-112. ISSN: 0959-7743 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959774306000060
- Mithen, S. (2006) Ethnobiology and the evolution of the human mind. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE , 12 (S1). pp. S45-S61. ISSN: 1359-0987 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00272.x
- Mithen, S. (2006) Exploring human : ape relationships through time. Cambridge Archaeological Journal , 16 (2). pp. 257-258. ISSN: 0959-7743 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959774306220158
- Machin, A. , Hosfield, R. , Mithen, S. (2006) Quantifying the Functional Utility of Handaxe Symmetry: an experimental butchery approach. ADS , York.
- Mithen, S. , Finlayson, B. , Shaffrey, R. (2005) Sexual symbolism in the Early Neolithic of the southern Levant: pestles and mortars from WF16. Documenta Prahistorica , XXXII pp. 103-110. ISSN: 1408-967X
- Mithen, S. (2005) The Singing Neanderthals: the Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body. Weidenfeld & Nicolson , London. pp 374.
- Mithen, S. (2005) Comments V: The need for an evolutionary perspective on the human mind. Archaeometry , 47 pp. 189-192. ISSN: 0003-813X
- Mithen, S. (2005) The goddess and the bull - Catalhoyuk: An archaeological journey to the dawn of civilization. Science , 308 (5723). pp. 794-795. ISSN: 0036-8075 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1110796
- Mithen, S. (2005) Moved by the music. New Scientist , 187 (2508). pp. 46-47. ISSN: 0262-4079
- Machin, A. , Hosfield, R. , Mithen, S. (2005) Testing the functional utility of handaxe symmetry: fallow deer butchery with replica handaxes. Lithics: the Journal of the Lithic Studies Society , 26 pp. 23-37.
- Mithen, S. (2004) Contemporary Western art and archaeology. In: Renfrew, . , DeMarrais, . , Gosden, . , (eds.) Substance, Memory, Display: archaeology and art. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research , Cambridge. pp. 153-168.
- Mithen, S. (2004) The Mesolithic experience in Scotland. In: Saville, . , (eds.) Mesolithic Scotland: The Early Holocene Prehistory of Scotland and its European Context. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland , Edinburgh. pp. 243-260.
- Mithen, S. (2004) From Ohalo to Çatalhöyük: the development of religiosity during the early prehistory of Western Asia, 20,000-7000 BC. In: Whitehouse, . and Martin, . , (eds.) Theorizing Religions Past. AltaMira Press , Walnut Creek CA. pp. 17-43.
- Mithen, S. (2004) ‘Stone Tools’, ‘Fire’, ‘Wooden Tools’, ‘Grinders & Polishers’, ‘Cereal Agriculture’, and the ‘Earliest Art’. In: Fagan, . , (eds.) The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World. Thames & Hudson , London. pp. 21-27, 32-33, 91-94, 215-219.
- Mithen, S. (2004) Examining the farming/language dispersal hypothesis. Science , 303 (5662). pp. 1298-1299. ISSN: 0036-8075
- Mithen, S. (2003) Review of: Mack, J. The Museum of the Mind. New Scientist , 5 April 20 (2389). pp. 52.
- Mithen, S. (2003) Thoroughly mobile minds. New Scientist , 178 (No 2395). pp. 40-41. ISSN: 0262-4079
- Mithen, S. (2003) Travels in time put flesh on forebears. Times Higher Educational Supplement (No 1594). pp. 22-23.
- Mithen, S. (2003) Stepping out: when and why did our forebears first disperse from their African home?. Planet Earth NERC (Summer 200). pp. 28-29.
- Mithen, S. (2003) Of ice and men. Times Educational Supplement Teacher Magazine (Sept 5). pp. 8-11.
- Mithen, S. (2003) Neolithic beginnings in Western Asia and beyond. British Academy Review , 7 pp. 45-49.
- Mithen, S. (2003) Handaxes: The first aesthetic artefacts. In: Voland, . and Grammer, . , (eds.) EVOLUTIONARY AESTHETICS . Springer-Verlag Berlin pp. 261-275. ISBN: 978-3-540-43670-6
- Mithen, S. and Reed, M. (2002) Stepping out: a computer simulation of hominid dispersal from Africa. Journal of Human Evolution , 43 (4). pp. 433-462. ISSN: 0047-2484 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2002.0584
- Finlayson, B. , Pirie, A. , Mithen, S. (2001) The Dana-Faynan-Al-Ghuwayr Early Prehistory Project, spring 2000 season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (44). pp. 19-36. ISSN: 0449-1564
- Mithen, S. (2001) The evolution of the imagination: an archaeological perspective. SubStance , 30 (1-2). pp. 28-54. ISSN: 1527-2095
- Mithen, S. , eds. (2000) The Southern Hebrides Mesolithic Project 1988-1998 Volume1: Project Development, Palaeoenvironmental Studies and Archaeological Fieldwork on Islay.. Cambridge: The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research pp 345. ISBN: 1-902937-07-4
- Mithen, S. , eds. (2000) Hunter-gatherer landscape archaeology: the Southern Hebrides Mesolithic project 1988-1998. Hebrides Mesolithic Project 1988-1998. . McDonald Institute Monographs Oxbow books , Oxford. pp 651. ISBN: 9781902937120
- Mithen, S. , eds. (1998) Creativity in Human Evolution and Prehistory.. London: Routledge pp 300. ISBN: 0-415-16096-0