About our staff
Dr Robert Dinnis
Honorary Fellow
- Email: rob.dinnis@ed.ac.uk
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, William Robertson Wing, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG
External appointments
Rob's obsession with early prehistory began at the University of Sheffield, where he studied for degrees in Archaeology and Prehistory (BA) and Palaeoanthropology (MSc). These combined interests led to a PhD in Palaeolithic Archaeology focussing on the archaeology of northwest Europe's earliest modern human inhabitants.
Following his PhD, Rob held postdoctoral research and lecturing positions at the British Museum, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford and the University of Aberdeen. His research during this time has focussed mainly on the archaeology of the last Ice Age.
Useful Links
Summary of research interests
Places:- Britain & Ireland
- Europe
- Prehistory
Research interests
Rob’s research focusses mainly on the archaeology of the last Ice Age, examining questions of cultural change and chronology, as well as changes in climate and environment. He has worked on sites across Europe, but has more recently concentrated on Eastern Europe, and especially the remarkable complex of open-air sites at Kostenki in Russia.
Closer to home, Rob has a long-standing interest in British early prehistory. With Professor Chris Stringer he co-authored Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story, an accessible overview of the period written to coincide with the Natural History Museum exhibition of the same name. Rob is also an active field archaeologist and has directed excavations at many caves across England and Wales, including the Late Neanderthal and early modern human sites of Kents Cavern and Ffynnon Beuno Cave. In recent years he has excavated at the exciting new early prehistoric site of Wogan Cavern, located beneath Pembroke Castle.
Publications
Dinnis, R., Boulton, J., French, J.C., Buckley, M., Davies, J., Hervé, M., Howells, S. Jimenez, E.-L., Ludlow, N., Masson-MacLean, E., Mogg, J., Pickard, C., Walker, E.A., Williams, D., Chamberlain, A.T. & Stringer, C. In Press (2022). The archaeological potential of Wogan Cavern (Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, UK): results of the first fieldwork season. Cave & Karst Science.
Dinnis, R. 2022. Recent Bone Dating Work at Kostenki. Stratum Plus 2022 (1): 151-170. (In Russian.)
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A., Reynolds, N., Devièse, T., Dudin, A., Pate, A., Sablin, M., Sinitsyn, A. & Higham, T. 2021. Eastern Europe’s “Transitional Industry”?: Deconstructing the early Streletskian. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 4: 6.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A., Reynolds, N., Khlopachev, G.A., Sablin, M.V., Sinitsyn, A.A., Higham, T.F.G. & Douka, K. 2021. The tempo of cultural change in the Kostenki Upper Paleolithic: further insights. Radiocarbon 63(3): 785-803.
Bessudnov, A., Sinitsyn, A., Dinnis, R., Artuyshenko, A., Lada, A., Stepanova, K., Maluytina, A., Bessudnova, M., Petrova, E. & Douka, K. 2021. Kostenki 17 (Spitsynskaya): New Data on the Stratigraphy, Chronology and Conditions of the Occurrence of the Cultural Layers. Stratum Plus 2021 (1): 163-198.
Lada A.R., Bessudnov A.A., Dinnis R., Sinitsyn A.A. 2021. The technology of bladelet production in the Early Upper Palaeolithic industries at Kostenki. In D.S. Tolstykh, A.Yu. Pustovalov, T.V. Kondaurova and I.V. Shershen (ed.), Rogachev Readings: Proceedings of the Kostenki Museum-Reserve Volume 1, p.182-187. Voronezh: Press Burger. (In Russian.)
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A., Reynolds, N., Pate, A., Sablin, M. & Sinitsyn, A. 2020. Response to Bataille et al.'s ‘Technological differences between Kostenki 17/II (Spitsynskaya industry, Central Russia) and the Protoaurignacian: Reply to Dinnis et al. (2019)’ [J. Hum. Evol. (2019), 102685]. Journal of Human Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102792.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A., Artyushenko, A., Lada, A., Sinitsyn, A. & Higham, T. 2019. Kostënki 17 (Spitsynskaya) and Kostënki 6 (Streletskaya): recent fieldwork and new 14C dates. Quartär 66: 225-230.
Dinnis, R., Bates, M.R., Bello, S.M., Buck, L.T., Davies, J.S., Preece, R.C., Walker, E.A., Boulton, J., Flas, D., Harris, S.-J., Mogg, J. & Schouten, R. 2019. Archaeological collections from Long Hole (Gower, Swansea, UK) and their place in the British Palaeolithic. Cave and Karst Science 46(1): 37–46.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A., Chiotti, L., Flas, D. & Michel, A., 2019. Thoughts on the structure of the European Aurignacian, with particular focus on Hohle Fels IV. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 85: 29-60.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A.A., Reynolds, N., Devièse, T., Pate, A., Sablin, M.V., Sinitsyn, A. & Higham, T. 2019. New data for the Early Upper Paleolithic of Kostenki (Russia). Journal of Human Evolution 127: 21–40.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A.A., Reynolds, N., Douka, K., Dudin, A.E., Khlopachev, G.A., Sablin, M.V., Sinitsyn, A.A. & Higham, T.F.G. 2018. The age of the “Anosovka-Tel’manskaya Culture” and the issue of a late Streletskian at Kostёnki 11. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 84: 21–40.
Dinnis, R., Appleton, P., Boulton, J., Buckley, M., Davies, J.S., Edwardson, I., Hankinson, R., Needham, A., Schouten, R. & Williams, C. 2017-2018. Recent excavations at Llanarmon Cave, Denbighshire. Archaeology in Wales 57-58: 61-69.
Dinnis, R., Reynolds, N., Bessudnov, A. & Denisova, A. 2017. Some observations on platform preparation at Sungir’, Russia. Lithics: the Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 38: 18-26.
Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A.A., Reynolds, N., Douka, K., Dudin, A.E., Khlopachev, G.A., Sablin, M.V., Sinitsyn, A.A. & Higham, T.F.G. 2017. The radiocarbon age of cultural layer III of Kostёnki 11 in the context of the problem of the existence of late Streletskian sites at Kostёnki. In: Multidisciplinary methods in the study and preservation of sites in the Kostёnki-Borshchevo archaeological area, pp. 57-75. Voronezh, IIMK RAN. (In Russian.)
Otcherednoy A.K., Voskresenskaya E.V., Vishnyatski L.B., Stepanova K.N., Larionoiva A.V., Blohin E.K., Dinnis, R., Reynolds, N. & Nehoroshev P.E. 2017. The Late Middle Palaeolithic site of Betovo. In: Archaeological research in Central Black Soil Region 2016, pp. 20-25. Lipetsk-Voronezh. (In Russian.)
Reynolds, N., Dinnis, R., Bessudnov, A.A., Devièse, T. & Higham, T. 2017. The Kostënki 18 child burial and the cultural and funerary landscape of Mid Upper Palaeolithic European Russia. Antiquity 91: 1435-1450.
Dinnis, R., Pate, A. & Reynolds, N. 2016. Mid-to-Late Marine Isotope Stage 3 mammal faunas of Britain: a new look. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 127: 435-444.
Dinnis, R. & Flas, D. 2016. Trou du Renard and the Belgian Aurignacian. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 82: 1-25.
Milks, A., Dinnis, R. & Pope, M. 2016. On the function of Early Gravettian tanged “Font Robert” points. In R. Iovita & K. Sano (ed.), Stone Age Weaponry, pp. 135-146. Springer: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series.
Dinnis, R. & Proctor, C. 2015. (Re)discovery of a major cave entrance at Kents Cavern, Devon, UK. Cave and Karst Science 42(2): 58-59.
Dinnis, R. 2015. A survey of northwestern European Aurignacian sites and some comments regarding their potential chrono-cultural significance. In N. Ashton & C. Harris (ed.), No Stone Unturned: Papers in Honour of Roger Jacobi, pp. 59-76. Lithics Studies Society Occasional Paper 9.
Aldhouse-Green, S., Dinnis, R., Scott, K. & Walker, E. 2015. The nature of human activity at Cae Gwyn and Ffynnon Beuno caves and the dating of prey and predator presences. In N. Ashton & C. Harris (ed.), No Stone Unturned: Papers in Honour of Roger Jacobi, pp. 77-92. Lithics Studies Society Occasional Paper 9.
Dinnis, R., Bello, S., Chamberlain, A., Coleman, C. & Stringer, C. 2014. A cut-marked Neolithic human tooth from Ash Tree Shelter, Derbyshire. Cave and Karst Science 41(3): 114–117.
Dinnis, R. 2013. L’Aurignacien de Grande Bretagne. In P. Bodu, L. Chehmana, L. Klaric. L. Mevel, S. Soriano & N. Teyssandier (ed.), Le Paléolithique supérieur ancien de l’Europe du Nord-ouest: Réflexions et synthèses à partir d’un projet collectif de recherche sur le Paléolithique supérieur ancien du Bassin parisien, p.473-484. Mémoire LVI de la Société préhistorique française.
Dinnis, R. & Ebbs, C. 2013. Cave deposits of North Wales: some comments on their archaeological importance and an inventory of sites of potential importance. Cave and Karst Science 40(1): 28-34.
Dinnis, R., Davies, J., Boulton, J.M., Reynolds, N., Schouten, R., Smith, G.M., Souter, E.M. & Chamberlain, A.T. 2013. Archaeological excavations at two caves in Bishopston Valley, Gower, South Wales, UK. Cave and Karst Science 40(1): 17-21.
Pope, M., Dinnis, R., Milks, A., Toms, P. & Wells, C. 2013. A Middle Palaeolithic to Early Upper Palaeolithic succession from an open air site at Beedings, West Sussex. Quaternary International 316: 14-26.
Dinnis, R. 2012. Identification of Long Hole (Gower) as an Aurignacian site. Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 33: 17-29.
Dinnis, R. 2012. The archaeology of Britain’s first modern humans. Antiquity 86: 627-641.
Dinnis, R. 2012. The timing of Aurignacian occupation of the British Peninsula. Quartär 59: 67-83.
Conneller, C. & Dinnis, R. 2012. Last Neanderthals, first humans: Excavations at Ffynnon Beuno Cave 2011. Archaeology in Wales 51: 23-26.
Dinnis, R. 2011. The Paviland burin, the burin busqué and Aurignacian occupation of Britain. Anthropologica et Præhistorica 122: 5-17.
Dinnis, R., Davies, J. & Chamberlain, A. 2010. Non-invasive assessment of the archaeological potential of cave deposits: the example of Bishopston Valley Caves, Gower, South Wales. Cave and Karst Science 37(2): 45-48.
Dinnis, R., Pawlik, A. & Gaillard, C. 2009. Bladelet cores as weapon tips?: Hafting residue identification and micro-wear analysis of three carinated burins from the late Aurignacian of Les Vachons, France. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 1922–1934.
Dinnis, R. 2008. On the technology of late Aurignacian burin and scraper production, and the importance of the Paviland lithic assemblage and the Paviland burin. Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 29: 18–35.