Ancestors: A prehistory of Britain in seven burials

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From the revered to the reviled: there’s another account of bones found in Cheddar showing definite signs of cannibalism: bodies skinned and gnawed by fellow humans, ‘smashing open long bones to get at the marrow; right down to fingers, which also showed signs of having been chopped off and munched on’. (Though, as Alice cautions, be very careful about drawing conclusions. We don’t know if these corpses were eaten as vengeful victory over enemy tribes; a respectful way of honouring deceased friends and relatives; or even as a result of desperate hunger.) a b "University of Birmingham appoints Alice Roberts as first Professor of Public Engagement in Science". University of Birmingham. 23 January 2012 . Retrieved 31 January 2012. Without being too territorial about it, if you live in a certain place and you go out for walks, you’re communing with the ancestors.

Absolutely. And some of that, I guess, is about how it's communicated. And how these, you know, quite complicated scientific developments are put across to the public, which I guess is something that you think about, both in your books and your broadcasting. And I know you're, you're a Professor of Public Engagement with Science as well. One thing I wondered about, I think we hear a lot about the failings of the media, in reporting on science, you know, that this idea of crushing nuance or not fully understanding the peer review process, and so on. But I wondered what scientists can get wrong in communicating with the media. So what’s the kind of flipside of that? I like to see hillforts as Iron Age castles; but also maybe places where animals were overwintered. Some have hut circles so we know there were people living in them. You get this impression that those Iron Age people didn’t just go for the first hill – they had a look around and went: This is the one with the view.’Historic England staff with team members from ULAS/University of Leicester during the excavations of a mosaic pavement at the Rutland Villa Project (Image: BBC/Rare TV/Historic England Archive) Alice Roberts was one of the regular co-presenters of BBC geographical and environmental series Coast and also a presenter of science and history television documentaries. Roberts first appeared on television in the Time Team Live 2001 episode, working on Anglo-Saxon burials at Breamore, Hampshire. She served as a bone specialist and general presenter in many episodes, including the spin-off series Extreme Archaeology. In August 2006, a Time Team special episode Big Royal Dig investigated the archaeology of Britain’s royal palaces and Roberts was one of the main presenters. Roberts, A. M.; Peters, T. J.; Robson Brown, K. A. (2007). "New light on old shoulders: palaeopathological patterns of arthropathy and enthesopathy in the shoulder complex". Journal of Anatomy. 211 (4): 485–492. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00789.x. PMC 2375834. PMID 17711424. I also formed the impression that this was not the polished book that Roberts might have hoped to complete, as some of the genome research has been delayed by prioritising Covid-19 work, and reports for other excavations have not yet been completed. However, this does not detract from the book, and makes one appreciate all the more that archaeology is a developing subject and not static.

Roberts was born in Bristol in 1973, [5] the daughter of an aeronautical engineer and an English and arts teacher. [6] She grew up in the Bristol suburb of Westbury-on-Trym where she attended The Red Maids' School. [5] [7] [8] In December 1988, she won the BBC1 Blue Peter Young Artists competition, appearing with her picture and the presenters on the front cover of the 10 December 1988 edition of the Radio Times. [9] Alice grins. ‘We read it now and think: Pytheas could very well have got up to Shetland, with its white nights. Just extraordinary.’ Writing in the i newspaper in 2016, Roberts dismissed the aquatic ape hypothesis (AAH) as a distraction "from the emerging story of human evolution that is more interesting and complex", adding that AAH has become "a theory of everything" that is simultaneously "too extravagant and too simple". She concluded by saying that "science is about evidence, not wishful thinking". [25] [26] RT 3393 – 10–16 Dec 1988 (South) BLUE PETER – 30 Years – Alice Roberts with her Blue Peter picture". Radio Times (3393). 10 December 1988. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013 – via Kelly Books and Magazines.In April 2012, Alice Roberts presented Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice on BBC Two. From 22 to 24 October 2012, she appeared, with co-presenter Dr George McGavin, in the BBC series Prehistoric Autopsy, which discussed the remains of early hominins such as Neanderthals, Homo erectus and Australopithecus afarensis. In May and June 2013 she presented the BBC Two series Ice Age Giants. In September 2014, she was a presenter on the Horizon programme Is Your Brain Male or Female?. Roberts, Alice (2014). The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being: Evolution and the Making of Us. Heron Books. ISBN 978-1-8486-6477-7.