Department Homepage
Curriculum vitae
Date of birth: April 7, 1984
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Nationality: Brazilian
Residence: Leipzig, Germany
E-mail: andre_strauss@eva.mpg.de // Alternate E-mail: strauss@usp.br
Address: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
University Education
| 2010 - | PhD candidate of the Leipzig School of Human Origins (International Max Planck Research School) |
| 2008 - 2010 | Master in Genetics and Evolutionary Biology |
| 2004 - 2008 | Bachelor in Geology |
| 2004 - 2007 | Bachelor in Social Science (Anthropology) |
Complementary Information
| 2012 | 3D Geometric Morphometrics Workshop |
| 2011 | Geometric Morphometrics Workshop |
| 2009 | Koobi Fora Field School |
| 2006-2007 | Scientific Initiation Project São Paulo University, Bioscience Institute, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, IB-USP, São Paulo, Brazil. Title of the project: The cranial morphology of the Lagoa Santa region Paleoindians as seen by 3D geometric morphometrics. Coordination: Walter Alves Neves |
| 2006 | Introduction to Geometric Morphometrics Centro Nacional Patagônico, CENPAT. Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Coordination: Rolando González-José |
Scholarship
| 2010 - | PhD research scholarship funded by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |
| 2009 - 2010 | Master research scholarship funded by the São Paulo State Science Foundation – FAPESP (process Nº 08/51747-0). |
| 2009 | Travel grant from the National Program for Support of Graduate Students (CAPES-PROAP). |
| 2009 | Teaching Assistant Grant from the Teaching Development Program of the São Paulo University (process Nº 110956). |
| 2008 | Master research scholarship funded by the Brazilian Science Foundation - CNPq. |
| 2006 - 2007 | Scientific Initiation research scholarship funded by the São Paulo State Science Foundation – FAPESP (process Nº: 05/60319-4). |
Research Funding
| 2011-2012 | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology grants for the project “The Mortuary Rituals of the First Americans”. |
Fieldwork
As part of my education I have being trained in both geological and archaeological field work. My experience on archaeological sites was mainly focused on the meticulous exhumation of well-preserved human burials found within rockshelters. However I also had the opportunity to work for long periods at open air sites where more straightforward excavation methods were used. As a geologist I have participated of two fields aiming to map neoproterozoic basins in Brazil. More specifically I participated on the following field works:
AS COORDINATOR:
| 2012 | Archaeological site: Lapa do Santo (Brazil, 45 days) |
| 2011 | Archaeological site: Lapa do Santo (Brazil, 30 days) |
AS STUDENT:
| 2009 | Koobi Fora Field School: Fwjj 14 E, Fwjj 25 W and Gaji 10 (45 days, total) |
| 2008 | Archaeological site: Taquaraçu Rockshelter (15 days) |
| 2008 | Archaeological site: Coqueirinho (7 days) |
| 2008 | Archaeological site: Sumidouro (30 days) |
| 2008 | Archaeological site: Taquaraçu Rockshelter (15 days) Coordinator: Astolfo Araújo (Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, São Paulo University) |
| 2007 | Archaeological site: Lapa do Santo (30 days) |
| 2007 | Geological Mapping of the Campo Alegre neoproterozoic Basin (30 days) |
| 2007 | Geological Mapping of the Camacuã neoproterozoic Basin (20 days) Coordinator: Antonio Romalino Fragoso (Geoscience Institute, São Paulo University) |
| 2006 | Archaeological site: Buritizeiros Caixa d’Água (25 days) |
| 2005 | Archaeological site: Lapa do Santo (30 days) |
Hands-on Laboratory Experience with Skeletal Remains
| 2006 - 2010 | Responsible for the curation of the human skeletal remains of the Kiju Sakai Collection (including at least 27 individuals of both historical Native Americans and archaeological Shellmound builders) |
| 2007 | Responsible for the curation of the human skeletal remains from the archaeological site Loca do Suin, located in central Brazil (at least 4 individuals dated on ca. 8000 RDYBP). |
| 2006 | Co-responsible for the organization of the human skeletal remains from Santo Rockshelter, an archaeological site in the Lagoa Santa region (27 burials dated to ca. 8000 RCYBP) |
| 2005 | Assistant on the organization of the megafauna remains from the paleontological site Cuvieri, located in central Brazil (including extinct giant sloth dated to ca. 12000 BP) |
| 2004 | Assistant on the organization of the "South American zooarchaeological reference collection", hosted by the Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies. |
Experience on Morphometric Data Collection
As part of a joint effort of South American physical anthropologists to build the first Brazilian 3D coordinate based craniometric database I have being trained to identify 128 anthropometrical landmarks in the human skull (part of the project "Origins and Microevolution of the American Man: an Palaeoanthropological Approach III, founded by the São Paulo State Science Foundation under the processes Nº 01321-6). After that I spent several months in Brazilian museums that house both archaeological and recent skulls in order to digitalize them using an Microscribe digitizer equipment.
| 2008 - 2009 | Anatomy Museum of the São Paulo University, Brazil. (45 skulls) |
| 2008 | National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (98 skulls) |
| 2007 | Museum of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. (19 skulls) |
Computer Programming Experience
Strauss AM, Caparica JF. 2006. Analytical package for Anthropometrical Analysis (open source).
1. Developed using C and VB language this package provides a friendly visual interface that allows for, among others things, to do Principal Component Analysis or calculate Mahalanobis Distances using modified var/covar matrixes, correct metric traits for the effects of allometry, do Principal Coordinate Analysis, calculate Qst values for a large number of groups, replace missing values of large databases using multiple regression techniques and implement bootstrap routines allowing for hypothesis testing.
Some examples of studies that have used this software are:
- Hubbe M, Hanihara T, Neves W. 2011. Paleoamerican morphology in the context of European and East Asian Late Pleistocene Variation: Implications for Human Dispersion into the New World. Am J Physical Anthropology 144:442-453.
- Hubbe M, Hanihara T, Harvati K. (2009). Climate Signatures in the Morphological Differentiation of Worldwide Modern Human Populations. Anatomical Record 292:1720-1733.
- Hubbe M, Neves WA, de Oliveira EC, Strauss AM. 2009. Postmarital residence practice in southern Brazilian coastal groups: continuity and change. Latin American Antiquity 20:267-278.
- Strauss AM, Hubbe M. 2009. Dissimilarity fraction for metric traits of human skull: comparison with genetic studies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 138 (Supplement 48).
- Nunes T, Neves W, Hanihara T. 2009. Afinidades biológicas extra-continentais dos paleoíndios tardios de lagoa santa e suas implicações para a questão do povoamento do novo mundo: uma abordagem odontométrica.
- Hubbe A. 2008. Taxonomic, taphonomic and morphometric contextualization of the skeletal remains of the Cuvieri Rockshelter megafauna. Master's dissertation. São Paulo University.
2. Strauss AM, Caparica JF. 2005. Geometric morphometrics data acquirement and management (open source).
Developed mainly on VBA language it works together with a Microscribe arm (or similar) allowing for strict geometric rules to be applied at the moment of data acquisition.
Teaching Assistance
| 2009 | Discipline: Anthropology: biology and culture. São Paulo University. |
| 2008 | Discipline: Philosophy of biological sciences. São Paulo University. |
| 2008 | Discipline: Evolutionary Biology for Geologists. São Paulo University. |
Event Organization
| 2009 - 2012 | Curator assistant of the exhibition "From ape to man". São Paulo, Brasil. |
| 2008 | Curator of the exhibition "Kiju Sakai the archaeologist". Lins, Brasil. |
Languages
Portuguese: Native language
English: Advanced
Spanish: Advanced
German: Basic
Newspapers, radio interviews and other media
- Globo G1 Portal – 3rd August 2012 – “Arqueologos desenterram passado de mais de 8 mil anos na Grande BH (Archaeologist unveal 8000 year past near Belo Horizonte)” [link]
- Globo Channel – Jornal Nacional – 3rd August 2012 – “Arqueólogos decifram como nossos antepassados enterravam os mortos (Archaeologist decipher how our ancestrals buried their deads)”. [link]
- Globo Minas Channel – MG-TV – 24th July 2012. “Grupo de estudiosos encontra relíquias de ritual de sepultamento (Scholars found vestiges of funarary rituals)”. [link]
- Newspaper (Brazil) “O Estado de Minas” from 1st July 2012. “Ossadas valiosas (Valuable bones)”.[pdf]
- National Geographic Magazine – Brazil (in press).
- Newspaper (Brazil) “O Estado de São Paulo” from 19th September 2011. “Como vivia um paulista pré-histórico (How was the life of early people from São Paulo state)”. Portuguese. [pdf]
- Newspaper (Brazil) “O Estado de São Paulo” from 9th September 2011. “Estudo aponta que fóssil deve ter pertencido a ancestral humano (Study indicates fossil was a human ancestral)”. Portuguese. [article]
- GloboNews Channel – Jornal das 10 – 15th of August 2011. “Archaeologist recreates First Americans Rituals” (2 and half minute; in Portuguese). [link]
- Newspaper (Brazil) “Boletim Agencia Fapesp” of 18th April 2011. “The Body Speaks”. Portuguese. [link]
- Newspaper (Brazil) “Folha de São Paulo” of 22th February 2011. “Pre-historic Brazilians made art with the deads”. Portuguese. [article]
- Radio “Band News” on 23th February 2011. “Lapa do Santo rock-shelter”. Portuguese. [mp3]
Miscellaneous
- Lapo do Santo: the mortuary rituals of First Americans. Internal Department Talk. Max Planck Institute (30th March 2012) [pdf]
- The Neanderthal face is not cold adapted. Journal Club of the Department of Human Evolution of the Max Planck (2012) [pdf]
