Mike Richards is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolution where he runs the archaeological science group. His research interests primarily involve isotope analysis in archaeology, palaeoanthropology and palaeontology, especially for reconstructing past diets and migration patterns. Most of his research has involved the application of stable isotope analysis (C and N) of bone collagen to determine human and animal diets, and especially diet shifts, in Prehistoric and Historic Europe. Particular areas of interest are the shift in diet between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in Europe, associated with the adoption of agriculture, and contrasting the diets of Neanderthals and modern humans in Europe. Mike’s current research involves the use of other isotopes to reconstruct climate and migration patterns, as well as the extraction and isotopic analysis of proteins preserved in old or poorly preserved bone and teeth.

Mike studied at the Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Canada (BA and MA), and the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, UK (Ph.D.). He held post-doctoral positions at both institutions. He was a Lecturer, Reader and Professor at the Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, UK, a position mainly funded by the Wellcome Trust Bioarchaeology programme. In addition to his current post as Professor at the MPI in Leipzig, he also holds a Professorship in Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Mike’s research has been published in journals such as Nature, PNAS, AJPA, JAS, and Current Anthropology.