Jacobs, Zenobia

Overview

My background and training is in Archaeology and the Earth Sciences. Over the past two decades I have helped pioneer technical developments in the dating of single grains of sand buried at geological and archaeological sites. I apply these improved physics-based tools to glean new clues to the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens and their interactions with other human groups around the world.

I am currently an ARC Future Fellow and professor in the Centre for Archaeological Science and the School of Earth of Environmental Sciences, as well as a chief investigator in the newly launched ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH).

Top Publications

Year	Title
2017	Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago Published in Nature
2017	Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from Pleistocene sediments Published in Science
2017	Variability in quartz OSL signals caused by measurement uncertainties: Problems and solutions Published in Quaternary Geochronology
2016	The age of three Middle Palaeolithic sites: single-grain optically stimulated luminescence chronologies for Pech de l'Azé I, II and IV in France Published in Journal of Human Evolution
2016	Towards an accurate and precise chronology for the colonization of Australia: The example of Riwi, Kimberley, Western Australia Published in PLoS One
2015	Testing of a single grain OSL chronology across the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Les Cottés (France) Published in Journal of Archaeological Science
2014	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) Published in Journal of Human Evolution
2008	Ages for the middle stone age of Southern Africa: implications for human behavior and dispersal Published in Science
2007	Advances in optically stimulated luminescence dating of individual grains of quartz from archaeological deposits Published in Evolutionary Anthropology

Research Areas

Research Overview

My greatest contribution to research is the development and use of individual grains of quartz as reliable ‘time capsules’ for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of archaeological and geological sediments.

From the start of my research career, I have recognised the enormous, but unfulfilled, potential of single-grain dating to create a finely-resolved timeline for the key turning points in human evolution and Earth history. I have since generated high-resolution chronologies for archaeological sites in Africa, revealing new dimensions in the early history of Homo sapiens. These include the oldest archaeological evidence for fully modern human cognition and behaviour, and novel insights into the timing and probable causes of stone-age innovations in Africa and dispersals of early modern humans into Asia and their ultimate landfall in Australia.

I have also made contributions to other current and long-standing debates in the life and Earth sciences, including reconstructions of past environments in Africa, the use of ancient high sea-levels as analogues for future trends, stone-age innovations by Neanderthals in Europe, and studies of the ecological footprint of the first humans to reach Australia and Madagascar.

I arrived at UOW in 2006 to undertake a research fellowship, and today has a well-established research profile and is a Thompson-Reuters Highly Cited researcher. I have a strong record of
attracting national research grants, including an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship in which I am interrogating the enigmatic Denisovans found in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. I have won a number of research awards over the years, including a l’Oreal For Women in Science fellowship, an ARC QEII research fellowship, the Sir Nicholas Shackleton
Medal from the International Union of Quaternary Research (INQUA), Scopus Young Researcher Award, and a Thomsen Reuters 2015 Citation Award.

Geographic Focus

Africa Continent
Australasia Transnational Region
Russian Federation Country
South Africa Country

Available for Collaborative Projects

Head Of

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating laboratory Director 2010 -
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Head of School 2014 - 2016

Member Of

SMAH Faculty Research Committee 2012 -
Centre for Archaeological Science 2010 -
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences 2006 - 2018
GeoQuEST 2006 - 2010

Has Collaborator

benjamin_marwick Available as Research Supervisor
Cohen, Tim Dr
Fullagar, Richard L. Prof.
Goldberg, Paul Prof.
Hayes, Elspeth H. Person
Jones, Brian G. A/Prof
Lachlan, Terry J. Faculty Academic
Li, Bo Dr.
Mackay, Alex C. Dr.
Morley, Mike W. Faculty Academic
Murray-Wallace, Colin V. Prof
Prinsloo, Linda C. Faculty Academic
Roberts, Richard G. Distinguished Professor

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Year	Title
2021	Calibration of a QEM-EDS system for rapid determination of potassium concentrations of feldspar grains used in optical dating Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	A high-resolution late Quaternary depositional history and chronology for the southern portion of the Lake Mungo lunette, semi-arid Australia Published In Quaternary Science Reviews
2020	Archaeological evidence for two separate dispersals of Neanderthals into southern Siberia Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2020	Establishing standardised growth curves (SGCs) for OSL signals from individual grains of quartz: A continental-scale case study Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	Modelling heterogeneously bleached single-grain equivalent dose distributions: Implications for the reliability of burial dose determination Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	Palaeochannels of Australia's Riverine Plain - Reconstructing past vegetation environments across the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Published In Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
2020	Validation of the LnTn method for De determination in optical dating of K-feldspar and quartz Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2019	Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave Published In Nature
2019	FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul Published In Scientific Data
2019	Fresh clues to the life and times of the Denisovans, a little-known ancient group of humans Published In The Conversation
2019	Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central Italy): New data from Fossellone and Sant’Agostino caves Published In PLoS One
2019	Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia) Published In Scientific Reports
2019	Migration of Pleistocene shorelines across the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: Evidence from dated sub-bottom profiles and archaeological shellfish assemblages Published In Quaternary Science Reviews
2019	Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul Published In Nature Ecology and Evolution
2019	The chronological, sedimentary and environmental context for the archaeological deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2019	Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia Published In Nature
2018	Beta dose variability and its spatial contextualisation in samples used for optical dating: An empirical approach to examining beta microdosimetry Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2018	Depositional and sea-level history from MIS 6 (Termination II) to MIS 3 on the southern continental shelf of South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2018	Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74,000 years ago Published In Nature
2018	Optical dating of K-feldspar grains from Middle Pleistocene lacustrine sediment at Marathousa 1 (Greece) Published In Quaternary International
2018	Reply to comments on Clarkson et al. (2017) ‘Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago’ Published In Australian Archaeology
2018	Revisiting an arid LGM using fluvial archives: a luminescence chronology for palaeochannels of the Murrumbidgee River, south-eastern Australia Published In Journal of Quaternary Science
2018	Single-grain dating of potassium-rich feldspar grains: Towards a global standardised growth curve for the post-IR IRSL signal Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2018	Timelines for human evolution and dispersals Published In Elements (Ottawa): an international magazine of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology
2017	Buried tools and pigments tell a new history of humans in Australia for 65,000 years Published In The Conversation
2017	Here’s the three-pronged approach we’re using in our own research to tackle the reproducibility issue Published In The Conversation
2017	Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago Published In Nature
2017	Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from Pleistocene sediments Published In Science
2017	Single-grain OSL chronologies for the Still Bay and Howieson's Poort industries and the transition between them: Further analyses and statistical modelling Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2017	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) - Optical dating of early human occupation during Marine Isotope Stages 4, 5 and 6 Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2017	Variability in quartz OSL signals caused by measurement uncertainties: Problems and solutions Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2016	A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul's Quaternary vertebrates Published In Scientific Data
2016	A late Quaternary vertebrate deposit in Kudjal Yolgah Cave, south-western Australia: refining regional late Pleistocene extinctions Published In Journal of Quaternary Science
2016	Climate change not to blame for late Quaternary megafauna extinctions in Australia Published In Nature Communications
2016	Investigation of the applicability of standardised growth curves for OSL dating of quartz from Haua Fteah cave, Libya Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2016	New morphostratigraphic and geochronologic datas on the MIS 5-c external coastal ridge of Rabat-Temara, Morocco Published In Geomorphologie: relief, processus, environnement
2016	The age of three Middle Palaeolithic sites: single-grain optically stimulated luminescence chronologies for Pech de l'Azé I, II and IV in France Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2016	Towards an accurate and precise chronology for the colonization of Australia: The example of Riwi, Kimberley, Western Australia Published In PLoS One
2016	Unexpected convergent evolution of nasal domes between Pleistocene bovids and cretaceous hadrosaur dinosaurs Published In Current Biology
2016	What caused extinction of the pleistocene megafauna of sahul? Published In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2015	An improved single grain OSL chronology for the sedimentary deposits from Diepkloof Rockshelter, Western Cape, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Construction of a 'global standardised growth curve' (gSGC) for infrared stimulated luminescence dating of K-feldspar Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Criteria for assessing the quality of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene vertebrate fossil ages Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Distal tephras of the eastern Lake Victoria basin, equatorial East Africa: correlations, chronology and a context for early modern humans Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2015	Interpreting human behavior from depositional rates and combustion features through the study of sedimentary microfacies at site Pinnacle Point 5-6, South Africa Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2015	Optical dating and soil micromorphology at MacCauley's Beach, New South Wales, Australia Published In Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
2015	Optical dating in archaeology: thirty years in retrospect and grand challenges for the future Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Pleistocene archaeology and chronology of putslaagte 8 (PL8) Rockshelter, Western Cape, South Africa Published In Journal of African Archaeology
2015	Potential of establishing a 'global standardised growth curve' (gSGC) for optical dating of quartz from sediments Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Technical considerations and methodology for creating high-resolution, color-corrected, and georectified photomosaics of stratigraphic sections at archaeological sites Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene archaeology and stratigraphy of the southern Nejd, Oman Published In Quaternary International
2015	Testing of a single grain OSL chronology across the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Les Cottés (France) Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): a site in northern Australia with early occupation Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2014	A single-aliquot luminescence dating procedure for K-feldspar based on the dose-dependent MET-pIRIR signal sensitivity Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2014	Assessing the time of final deposition of Youngest Toba Tuff deposits in the Middle Son Valley, northern India
2014	Continuity of mammalian fauna over the last 200,000 y in the Indian subcontinent Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2014	Putslaagte 1 (PL1), the Doring River, and the later Middle Stone Age in southern Africa's Winter Rainfall Zone Published In Quaternary International
2014	Review and assessment of the potential of post-IR IRSL dating methods to circumvent the problem of anomalous fading in feldspar luminescence Published In Geochronometria: journal on methods and applications of absolute chronology
2014	Testing a model of alluvial deposition in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India - IRSL dating of terraced alluvial sediments and implications for archaeological surveys and palaeoclimatic reconstructions Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2014	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2013	An improved OSL chronology for the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave, South Africa: further tests of single-grain dating procedures and a re-evaluation of the timing of the Still Bay industry across southern Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2013	Beyond the Levant: first evidence of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia Published In PLoS One
2013	Controls on the genesis, sedimentary architecture, and preservation potential of dryland alluvial successions in stable continental interiors: insights from the incising Modder River, South Africa Published In Journal of Sedimentary Research
2013	Extending the age limit of luminescence dating using the dose-dependent sensitivity of MET-pIRIR signals from K-feldspar Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2013	Neandertal toolmakers left a leatherworking legacy Published In The Conversation
2013	Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2013	On the dose dependency of the bleachable and non-bleachable components of IRSL from K-feldspar: improved procedures for luminescence dating of Quaternary sediments Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2013	On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2013	Paleoanthropologically significant South African sea caves dated to 1.1-1.0 million years using a combination of U-Pb, TT-OSL and palaeomagnetism Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2013	Stone tools and foraging in northern Madagascar challenge Holocene extinction models Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2012	Afromontane foragers of the Late Pleistocene: site formation, chronology and occupational pulsing at Melikane Rockshelter, Lesotho Published In Quaternary International
2012	An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa Published In Nature
2012	Johann Carl Vogel (7 September 1932-30 January 2012) Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2012	Late Quaternary mega-lakes fed by the northern and southern river systems of central Australia: Varying moisture sources and increased continental aridity
2012	Luminescence characteristics and dose distributions for quartz and feldspar grains from Mumba rockshelter, Tanzania Published In Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
2012	Melting ice sheets 400,000 yr ago raised sea level by 13 m: past analogue for future trends Published In Earth and Planetary Science Letters
2012	Natural variations in the properties of TL and IRSL emissions from metamorphic and volcanic K-feldspars from East Africa: assessing their reliability for dating Published In Radiation Measurements
2012	New ages for middle and later Stone Age deposits at Mumba rockshelter, Tanzania: optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz and feldspar grains Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2012	New excavations at the site of Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco Published In PaleoAnthropology
2012	Single-grain OSL chronologies for Middle Palaeolithic deposits at El Mnasra and El Harhoura 2, Morocco: Implications for Late Pleistocene human-environment interactions along the Atlantic coast of northwest Africa Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2012	Sources of overdispersion in a K-rich feldspar sample from north-central India: Insights from De, K content and IRSL age distributions for individual grains Published In Radiation Measurements
2011	A 100,000-year-old ochre-processing workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa Published In Science
2011	Continental aridification and the vanishing of Australia's megalakes Published In Geology (Boulder)
2011	Development of the SAR TT-OSL procedure for dating Middle Pleistocene dune and shallow marine deposits along the southern Cape coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2011	Environmental implications of micromammals accumulated close to the MIS 6 to MIS 5 transition at Pinnacle Point Cave 9 (Mossel Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa)
2011	Single-grain OSL dating at La Grotte des Contrebandiers ('Smugglers' Cave'), Morocco: improved age constraints for the Middle Paleolithic levels Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2011	The origin and development of the Nyl River floodplain wetland, Limpopo Province, South Africa: trunk-tributary river interactions in a dryland setting Published In South African Geographical Journal
2010	A high resolution and continuous isotopic speleothem record of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment from 90 to 53 ka from Pinnacle Point on the south coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2010	An OSL chronology for the sedimentary deposits from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B-A punctuated presence Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2010	New excavations of Middle Stone Age deposits at Apollo 11 Rockshelter, Namibia: stratigraphy, archaeology, chronology and past environments Published In Journal of African Archaeology
2010	Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2010	The last interglacial sea-level high stand on the southern Cape coastline of South Africa Published In Quaternary Research
2010	Timing and dynamics of Late Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2009	Catalysts for stone age innovations: what might have triggered two short-lived bursts of technological and behavioral innovation in southern Africa during the middle stone age? Published In Communicative and Integrative Biology
2009	Fire as an engineering tool of early modern humans Published In Science
2009	Human history written in stone and blood Published In American Scientist: the Magazine of Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society
2009	Kam di KULTUR aus AFRIKA? Published In Spektrum Der Wissenschaft
2009	Last interglacial age for aeolian and marine deposits and the Nahoon fossil human footprints, Southeast Coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2009	Were environmental or demographic factors the driving force behind Middle Stone Age innovations in southern Africa? Published In South African Journal of Science
2008	A re-examination of a human femur found at the Blind River Site, East London, South Africa: Its age, morphology, and breakage pattern Published In Anthropological Review
2008	Ages for the middle stone age of Southern Africa: implications for human behavior and dispersal Published In Science
2008	Equivalent dose distributions from single grains of quartz at Sibudu, South Africa: context, causes and consequences for optical dating of archaeological deposits Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2008	Late-surviving megafauna in Tasmania, Australia, implicate human involvement in their extinction Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2008	Luminescence chronologies for coastal and marine sediments Published In Boreas: an international journal of quaternary research
2008	New ages for the post-Howiesons Poort, late and final Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2008	Testing Times: old and new chronologies for the Howieson's poort and still bay industries in environmental context Published In South African Archaeological Society Goodwin Series
2008	The Cyrenaican Prehistory Project 2008: the second season of investigations of the Haua Fteah cave and its landscape, and further results from the initial (2007) fieldwork Published In Libyan Studies
2008	The Lost Giants of Tasmania Published In Australasian Science
2008	The Roots of Human Behaviour Published In Australasian Science
2007	Advances in optically stimulated luminescence dating of individual grains of quartz from archaeological deposits Published In Evolutionary Anthropology
2007	Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene Published In Nature

Chapter

Year	Title
2018	Optical dating of sediment samples from Chagyrskaya Cave Published In Multidisciplinary Studies of Chagyrskaya Cave - A Middle Paleolithic Site in Altai Publisher Novosibirsk
2017	Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating Published In Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology Publisher Dordrecht, Netherlands
2015	Luminescence dating, single-grain dose distribution Published In Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods Publisher Netherlands
2012	Archaeological science in Australia: integrating across disciplines and scales of analysis Published In Taking Stock: The Humanities in Australian Life Since 1968 Publisher Crawley, Western Australia
2008	Dating in landscape archaeology Published In Handbook of Landscape Archaeology

Investigator On

Year	Title
2017 - 2024	ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Centres of Excellence
2016 - 2020	Denisovans, Neanderthals and modern humans in southern Russia Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Future Fellowships
2019	Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Projects
2018 - 2019	A national facility for the analysis of pyrogenic carbon Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
2010	A tale of two species: constructing chronologies for patterns of change in the behaviour of Neanderthals and early modern humans Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Discovery Projects
2009	The first Australians: new chronologies for the peopling of the continent Awarded by: L'Oreal Australia Funding Scheme: Fellowship
2009	The future of palaeoclimate and archaeological research in Australia: next generation instrumentation for chronology and environmental reconstruction Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
2008	A stable-isotope mass spectrometer for novel determinations of past temperature Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
	Landscape archaeology at Lake Mungo Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Discovery Projects

Teaching Activities

ARCH302 - Digging Down Under: The Archaeology of Australasia Subject coordinator and lecturer 2019 -
EESC309 Dung, Death and Decay: Modern scientific methods in archaeology Subject coordinator 2015 - 2017

Advisees

Graduate Advising Relationship

Degree	Research Title	Advisee
Doctor of Philosophy	Out in the open: an alternative approach to investigating South Africa Middle Stone Age archaeology	Phillips, Natasha
Doctor of Philosophy	Optical Dating of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Deposits in the Altai, Siberia	O'Gorman, Kieran
Doctor of Philosophy	Constructing an Optically Stimulated Luminescence Chronology for Pondoland, South Africa: The Relationship between Modern Human Evolution and Coastal Foraging	Saktura, Rosaria
Doctor of Philosophy	Dating the Southern Dispersal Terminus: Anatomically Modern Human Migrations Through the Banda Island Arc to Northwest Australia	Norman, Kasih
Master of Research -SMAH	To be advised.	Skepasianos, Antonella

Education And Training

Ph.D., University of Aberystwyth 2000 - 2004
B.A. in Archaeology and Geography, University of Stellenbosch 1996 - 1998

Awards And Honors

Thomsen-Reuters (Australia) Citation Award (Arts and Humanities), 2015
Scopus (Australia) Young Researcher Award, 2013
l'Oreal Australia For Women in Science Fellowship, 2009
Sir Nick Shackleton medal, conferred by INQUA, 2009
Vice Chancellor's Research Excellence Award for Emerging Researchers, conferred by Vice Chancellor University of Wollongong, 2008
Most promising young researcher award, conferred by Environmentek, Council for Science and Industrial Research, South Africa, 2004
ARC Future Fellowship, 2016 - 2020
Highly Cited Researcher, conferred by Clarivate, 2017 - 2018
Thomsen-Reuters Highly Cited Researcher, 2014 - 2016
ARC QEII fellowship, 2010 - 2014

Keywords

Middle Stone Age archaeology
geochronology
human-environment interactions
luminescence dating

Full Name

Zenobia Jacobs

Mailing Address

Northfields Venue

Wollongong

New South Wales

2522

Australia

Geographic Location

University of Wollongong

Located In Facility

Orcid Id

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5424-5837 (confirmed)

Scopus Id

23392343600

Top Publications

Year	Title
2017	Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago Published in Nature
2017	Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from Pleistocene sediments Published in Science
2017	Variability in quartz OSL signals caused by measurement uncertainties: Problems and solutions Published in Quaternary Geochronology
2016	The age of three Middle Palaeolithic sites: single-grain optically stimulated luminescence chronologies for Pech de l'Azé I, II and IV in France Published in Journal of Human Evolution
2016	Towards an accurate and precise chronology for the colonization of Australia: The example of Riwi, Kimberley, Western Australia Published in PLoS One
2015	Testing of a single grain OSL chronology across the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Les Cottés (France) Published in Journal of Archaeological Science
2014	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) Published in Journal of Human Evolution
2008	Ages for the middle stone age of Southern Africa: implications for human behavior and dispersal Published in Science
2007	Advances in optically stimulated luminescence dating of individual grains of quartz from archaeological deposits Published in Evolutionary Anthropology

Research Areas

Research Overview

My greatest contribution to research is the development and use of individual grains of quartz as reliable ‘time capsules’ for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of archaeological and geological sediments.

From the start of my research career, I have recognised the enormous, but unfulfilled, potential of single-grain dating to create a finely-resolved timeline for the key turning points in human evolution and Earth history. I have since generated high-resolution chronologies for archaeological sites in Africa, revealing new dimensions in the early history of Homo sapiens. These include the oldest archaeological evidence for fully modern human cognition and behaviour, and novel insights into the timing and probable causes of stone-age innovations in Africa and dispersals of early modern humans into Asia and their ultimate landfall in Australia.

I have also made contributions to other current and long-standing debates in the life and Earth sciences, including reconstructions of past environments in Africa, the use of ancient high sea-levels as analogues for future trends, stone-age innovations by Neanderthals in Europe, and studies of the ecological footprint of the first humans to reach Australia and Madagascar.

I arrived at UOW in 2006 to undertake a research fellowship, and today has a well-established research profile and is a Thompson-Reuters Highly Cited researcher. I have a strong record of
attracting national research grants, including an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship in which I am interrogating the enigmatic Denisovans found in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. I have won a number of research awards over the years, including a l’Oreal For Women in Science fellowship, an ARC QEII research fellowship, the Sir Nicholas Shackleton
Medal from the International Union of Quaternary Research (INQUA), Scopus Young Researcher Award, and a Thomsen Reuters 2015 Citation Award.

Geographic Focus

Africa Continent
Australasia Transnational Region
Russian Federation Country
South Africa Country

Head Of

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating laboratory Director 2010 -
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Head of School 2014 - 2016

Member Of

SMAH Faculty Research Committee 2012 -
Centre for Archaeological Science 2010 -
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences 2006 - 2018
GeoQuEST 2006 - 2010

Has Collaborator

benjamin_marwick Available as Research Supervisor
Cohen, Tim Dr
Fullagar, Richard L. Prof.
Goldberg, Paul Prof.
Hayes, Elspeth H. Person
Jones, Brian G. A/Prof
Lachlan, Terry J. Faculty Academic
Li, Bo Dr.
Mackay, Alex C. Dr.
Morley, Mike W. Faculty Academic
Murray-Wallace, Colin V. Prof
Prinsloo, Linda C. Faculty Academic
Roberts, Richard G. Distinguished Professor

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Year	Title
2021	Calibration of a QEM-EDS system for rapid determination of potassium concentrations of feldspar grains used in optical dating Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	A high-resolution late Quaternary depositional history and chronology for the southern portion of the Lake Mungo lunette, semi-arid Australia Published In Quaternary Science Reviews
2020	Archaeological evidence for two separate dispersals of Neanderthals into southern Siberia Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2020	Establishing standardised growth curves (SGCs) for OSL signals from individual grains of quartz: A continental-scale case study Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	Modelling heterogeneously bleached single-grain equivalent dose distributions: Implications for the reliability of burial dose determination Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2020	Palaeochannels of Australia's Riverine Plain - Reconstructing past vegetation environments across the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Published In Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
2020	Validation of the LnTn method for De determination in optical dating of K-feldspar and quartz Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2019	Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave Published In Nature
2019	FosSahul 2.0, an updated database for the Late Quaternary fossil records of Sahul Published In Scientific Data
2019	Fresh clues to the life and times of the Denisovans, a little-known ancient group of humans Published In The Conversation
2019	Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central Italy): New data from Fossellone and Sant’Agostino caves Published In PLoS One
2019	Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia) Published In Scientific Reports
2019	Migration of Pleistocene shorelines across the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain: Evidence from dated sub-bottom profiles and archaeological shellfish assemblages Published In Quaternary Science Reviews
2019	Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul Published In Nature Ecology and Evolution
2019	The chronological, sedimentary and environmental context for the archaeological deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2019	Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia Published In Nature
2018	Beta dose variability and its spatial contextualisation in samples used for optical dating: An empirical approach to examining beta microdosimetry Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2018	Depositional and sea-level history from MIS 6 (Termination II) to MIS 3 on the southern continental shelf of South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2018	Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74,000 years ago Published In Nature
2018	Optical dating of K-feldspar grains from Middle Pleistocene lacustrine sediment at Marathousa 1 (Greece) Published In Quaternary International
2018	Reply to comments on Clarkson et al. (2017) ‘Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago’ Published In Australian Archaeology
2018	Revisiting an arid LGM using fluvial archives: a luminescence chronology for palaeochannels of the Murrumbidgee River, south-eastern Australia Published In Journal of Quaternary Science
2018	Single-grain dating of potassium-rich feldspar grains: Towards a global standardised growth curve for the post-IR IRSL signal Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2018	Timelines for human evolution and dispersals Published In Elements (Ottawa): an international magazine of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology
2017	Buried tools and pigments tell a new history of humans in Australia for 65,000 years Published In The Conversation
2017	Here’s the three-pronged approach we’re using in our own research to tackle the reproducibility issue Published In The Conversation
2017	Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago Published In Nature
2017	Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from Pleistocene sediments Published In Science
2017	Single-grain OSL chronologies for the Still Bay and Howieson's Poort industries and the transition between them: Further analyses and statistical modelling Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2017	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) - Optical dating of early human occupation during Marine Isotope Stages 4, 5 and 6 Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2017	Variability in quartz OSL signals caused by measurement uncertainties: Problems and solutions Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2016	A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul's Quaternary vertebrates Published In Scientific Data
2016	A late Quaternary vertebrate deposit in Kudjal Yolgah Cave, south-western Australia: refining regional late Pleistocene extinctions Published In Journal of Quaternary Science
2016	Climate change not to blame for late Quaternary megafauna extinctions in Australia Published In Nature Communications
2016	Investigation of the applicability of standardised growth curves for OSL dating of quartz from Haua Fteah cave, Libya Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2016	New morphostratigraphic and geochronologic datas on the MIS 5-c external coastal ridge of Rabat-Temara, Morocco Published In Geomorphologie: relief, processus, environnement
2016	The age of three Middle Palaeolithic sites: single-grain optically stimulated luminescence chronologies for Pech de l'Azé I, II and IV in France Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2016	Towards an accurate and precise chronology for the colonization of Australia: The example of Riwi, Kimberley, Western Australia Published In PLoS One
2016	Unexpected convergent evolution of nasal domes between Pleistocene bovids and cretaceous hadrosaur dinosaurs Published In Current Biology
2016	What caused extinction of the pleistocene megafauna of sahul? Published In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2015	An improved single grain OSL chronology for the sedimentary deposits from Diepkloof Rockshelter, Western Cape, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Construction of a 'global standardised growth curve' (gSGC) for infrared stimulated luminescence dating of K-feldspar Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Criteria for assessing the quality of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene vertebrate fossil ages Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Distal tephras of the eastern Lake Victoria basin, equatorial East Africa: correlations, chronology and a context for early modern humans Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2015	Interpreting human behavior from depositional rates and combustion features through the study of sedimentary microfacies at site Pinnacle Point 5-6, South Africa Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2015	Optical dating and soil micromorphology at MacCauley's Beach, New South Wales, Australia Published In Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
2015	Optical dating in archaeology: thirty years in retrospect and grand challenges for the future Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Pleistocene archaeology and chronology of putslaagte 8 (PL8) Rockshelter, Western Cape, South Africa Published In Journal of African Archaeology
2015	Potential of establishing a 'global standardised growth curve' (gSGC) for optical dating of quartz from sediments Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2015	Technical considerations and methodology for creating high-resolution, color-corrected, and georectified photomosaics of stratigraphic sections at archaeological sites Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene archaeology and stratigraphy of the southern Nejd, Oman Published In Quaternary International
2015	Testing of a single grain OSL chronology across the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Les Cottés (France) Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2015	The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): a site in northern Australia with early occupation Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2014	A single-aliquot luminescence dating procedure for K-feldspar based on the dose-dependent MET-pIRIR signal sensitivity Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2014	Assessing the time of final deposition of Youngest Toba Tuff deposits in the Middle Son Valley, northern India
2014	Continuity of mammalian fauna over the last 200,000 y in the Indian subcontinent Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2014	Putslaagte 1 (PL1), the Doring River, and the later Middle Stone Age in southern Africa's Winter Rainfall Zone Published In Quaternary International
2014	Review and assessment of the potential of post-IR IRSL dating methods to circumvent the problem of anomalous fading in feldspar luminescence Published In Geochronometria: journal on methods and applications of absolute chronology
2014	Testing a model of alluvial deposition in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India - IRSL dating of terraced alluvial sediments and implications for archaeological surveys and palaeoclimatic reconstructions Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2014	The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya) Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2013	An improved OSL chronology for the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave, South Africa: further tests of single-grain dating procedures and a re-evaluation of the timing of the Still Bay industry across southern Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2013	Beyond the Levant: first evidence of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia Published In PLoS One
2013	Controls on the genesis, sedimentary architecture, and preservation potential of dryland alluvial successions in stable continental interiors: insights from the incising Modder River, South Africa Published In Journal of Sedimentary Research
2013	Extending the age limit of luminescence dating using the dose-dependent sensitivity of MET-pIRIR signals from K-feldspar Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2013	Neandertal toolmakers left a leatherworking legacy Published In The Conversation
2013	Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2013	On the dose dependency of the bleachable and non-bleachable components of IRSL from K-feldspar: improved procedures for luminescence dating of Quaternary sediments Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2013	On the industrial attributions of the Aterian and Mousterian of the Maghreb Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2013	Paleoanthropologically significant South African sea caves dated to 1.1-1.0 million years using a combination of U-Pb, TT-OSL and palaeomagnetism Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2013	Stone tools and foraging in northern Madagascar challenge Holocene extinction models Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2012	Afromontane foragers of the Late Pleistocene: site formation, chronology and occupational pulsing at Melikane Rockshelter, Lesotho Published In Quaternary International
2012	An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa Published In Nature
2012	Johann Carl Vogel (7 September 1932-30 January 2012) Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2012	Late Quaternary mega-lakes fed by the northern and southern river systems of central Australia: Varying moisture sources and increased continental aridity
2012	Luminescence characteristics and dose distributions for quartz and feldspar grains from Mumba rockshelter, Tanzania Published In Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
2012	Melting ice sheets 400,000 yr ago raised sea level by 13 m: past analogue for future trends Published In Earth and Planetary Science Letters
2012	Natural variations in the properties of TL and IRSL emissions from metamorphic and volcanic K-feldspars from East Africa: assessing their reliability for dating Published In Radiation Measurements
2012	New ages for middle and later Stone Age deposits at Mumba rockshelter, Tanzania: optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz and feldspar grains Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2012	New excavations at the site of Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco Published In PaleoAnthropology
2012	Single-grain OSL chronologies for Middle Palaeolithic deposits at El Mnasra and El Harhoura 2, Morocco: Implications for Late Pleistocene human-environment interactions along the Atlantic coast of northwest Africa Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2012	Sources of overdispersion in a K-rich feldspar sample from north-central India: Insights from De, K content and IRSL age distributions for individual grains Published In Radiation Measurements
2011	A 100,000-year-old ochre-processing workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa Published In Science
2011	Continental aridification and the vanishing of Australia's megalakes Published In Geology (Boulder)
2011	Development of the SAR TT-OSL procedure for dating Middle Pleistocene dune and shallow marine deposits along the southern Cape coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2011	Environmental implications of micromammals accumulated close to the MIS 6 to MIS 5 transition at Pinnacle Point Cave 9 (Mossel Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa)
2011	Single-grain OSL dating at La Grotte des Contrebandiers ('Smugglers' Cave'), Morocco: improved age constraints for the Middle Paleolithic levels Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2011	The origin and development of the Nyl River floodplain wetland, Limpopo Province, South Africa: trunk-tributary river interactions in a dryland setting Published In South African Geographical Journal
2010	A high resolution and continuous isotopic speleothem record of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment from 90 to 53 ka from Pinnacle Point on the south coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Science Reviews: the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
2010	An OSL chronology for the sedimentary deposits from Pinnacle Point Cave 13B-A punctuated presence Published In Journal of Human Evolution
2010	New excavations of Middle Stone Age deposits at Apollo 11 Rockshelter, Namibia: stratigraphy, archaeology, chronology and past environments Published In Journal of African Archaeology
2010	Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2010	The last interglacial sea-level high stand on the southern Cape coastline of South Africa Published In Quaternary Research
2010	Timing and dynamics of Late Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2009	Catalysts for stone age innovations: what might have triggered two short-lived bursts of technological and behavioral innovation in southern Africa during the middle stone age? Published In Communicative and Integrative Biology
2009	Fire as an engineering tool of early modern humans Published In Science
2009	Human history written in stone and blood Published In American Scientist: the Magazine of Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society
2009	Kam di KULTUR aus AFRIKA? Published In Spektrum Der Wissenschaft
2009	Last interglacial age for aeolian and marine deposits and the Nahoon fossil human footprints, Southeast Coast of South Africa Published In Quaternary Geochronology
2009	Were environmental or demographic factors the driving force behind Middle Stone Age innovations in southern Africa? Published In South African Journal of Science
2008	A re-examination of a human femur found at the Blind River Site, East London, South Africa: Its age, morphology, and breakage pattern Published In Anthropological Review
2008	Ages for the middle stone age of Southern Africa: implications for human behavior and dispersal Published In Science
2008	Equivalent dose distributions from single grains of quartz at Sibudu, South Africa: context, causes and consequences for optical dating of archaeological deposits Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2008	Late-surviving megafauna in Tasmania, Australia, implicate human involvement in their extinction Published In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA
2008	Luminescence chronologies for coastal and marine sediments Published In Boreas: an international journal of quaternary research
2008	New ages for the post-Howiesons Poort, late and final Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa Published In Journal of Archaeological Science
2008	Testing Times: old and new chronologies for the Howieson's poort and still bay industries in environmental context Published In South African Archaeological Society Goodwin Series
2008	The Cyrenaican Prehistory Project 2008: the second season of investigations of the Haua Fteah cave and its landscape, and further results from the initial (2007) fieldwork Published In Libyan Studies
2008	The Lost Giants of Tasmania Published In Australasian Science
2008	The Roots of Human Behaviour Published In Australasian Science
2007	Advances in optically stimulated luminescence dating of individual grains of quartz from archaeological deposits Published In Evolutionary Anthropology
2007	Early human use of marine resources and pigment in South Africa during the Middle Pleistocene Published In Nature

Chapter

Year	Title
2018	Optical dating of sediment samples from Chagyrskaya Cave Published In Multidisciplinary Studies of Chagyrskaya Cave - A Middle Paleolithic Site in Altai Publisher Novosibirsk
2017	Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating Published In Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology Publisher Dordrecht, Netherlands
2015	Luminescence dating, single-grain dose distribution Published In Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods Publisher Netherlands
2012	Archaeological science in Australia: integrating across disciplines and scales of analysis Published In Taking Stock: The Humanities in Australian Life Since 1968 Publisher Crawley, Western Australia
2008	Dating in landscape archaeology Published In Handbook of Landscape Archaeology

Investigator On

Year	Title
2017 - 2024	ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Centres of Excellence
2016 - 2020	Denisovans, Neanderthals and modern humans in southern Russia Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Future Fellowships
2019	Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Projects
2018 - 2019	A national facility for the analysis of pyrogenic carbon Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
2010	A tale of two species: constructing chronologies for patterns of change in the behaviour of Neanderthals and early modern humans Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Discovery Projects
2009	The first Australians: new chronologies for the peopling of the continent Awarded by: L'Oreal Australia Funding Scheme: Fellowship
2009	The future of palaeoclimate and archaeological research in Australia: next generation instrumentation for chronology and environmental reconstruction Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
2008	A stable-isotope mass spectrometer for novel determinations of past temperature Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF)
	Landscape archaeology at Lake Mungo Awarded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) Funding Scheme: Discovery Projects

Teaching Activities

ARCH302 - Digging Down Under: The Archaeology of Australasia Subject coordinator and lecturer 2019 -
EESC309 Dung, Death and Decay: Modern scientific methods in archaeology Subject coordinator 2015 - 2017

Advisees

Graduate Advising Relationship

Degree	Research Title	Advisee
Doctor of Philosophy	Out in the open: an alternative approach to investigating South Africa Middle Stone Age archaeology	Phillips, Natasha
Doctor of Philosophy	Optical Dating of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Deposits in the Altai, Siberia	O'Gorman, Kieran
Doctor of Philosophy	Constructing an Optically Stimulated Luminescence Chronology for Pondoland, South Africa: The Relationship between Modern Human Evolution and Coastal Foraging	Saktura, Rosaria
Doctor of Philosophy	Dating the Southern Dispersal Terminus: Anatomically Modern Human Migrations Through the Banda Island Arc to Northwest Australia	Norman, Kasih
Master of Research -SMAH	To be advised.	Skepasianos, Antonella

Education And Training

Ph.D., University of Aberystwyth 2000 - 2004
B.A. in Archaeology and Geography, University of Stellenbosch 1996 - 1998

Awards And Honors

Thomsen-Reuters (Australia) Citation Award (Arts and Humanities), 2015
Scopus (Australia) Young Researcher Award, 2013
l'Oreal Australia For Women in Science Fellowship, 2009
Sir Nick Shackleton medal, conferred by INQUA, 2009
Vice Chancellor's Research Excellence Award for Emerging Researchers, conferred by Vice Chancellor University of Wollongong, 2008
Most promising young researcher award, conferred by Environmentek, Council for Science and Industrial Research, South Africa, 2004
ARC Future Fellowship, 2016 - 2020
Highly Cited Researcher, conferred by Clarivate, 2017 - 2018
Thomsen-Reuters Highly Cited Researcher, 2014 - 2016
ARC QEII fellowship, 2010 - 2014

Keywords

Middle Stone Age archaeology
geochronology
human-environment interactions
luminescence dating

Full Name

Zenobia Jacobs

Mailing Address

Northfields Venue

Wollongong

New South Wales

2522

Australia

Geographic Location

University of Wollongong

Located In Facility

Orcid Id

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5424-5837 (confirmed)

Scopus Id

23392343600

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Overview

Top Publications

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Research Overview

Geographic Focus

Affiliation

Head Of

Member Of

Has Collaborator

Publications

Selected Publications

Journal Article

Chapter

Funding

Investigator On

Supervision

Teaching Activities

Advisees

Graduate Advising Relationship

Background

Education And Training

Awards And Honors

Keywords

Contact

Full Name

Mailing Address

Geographic Location

Located In Facility

Identity

Orcid Id

Scopus Id

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Geographic Focus