About

John Hawks is a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work is situated within an interdisciplinary framework that spans the humanities, social sciences, biological, cognitive, and evolutionary sciences. The department emphasizes understanding human diversity, distinctiveness, and universality through time and across the world, focusing on issues such as conflict and violence, human rights, migration, environmental change, cultural identity, and the influence of history and power on the human experience. Hawks contributes to this broad research agenda by engaging in transformative research on the human experience, supported by external grants and fellowships. His role involves both research and teaching, with the department recognized for excellence in these areas.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Social Science
• Archaeology
• Paleontology
• Geography
• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Geology
• Mathematics
• Virology
• Data science
• Biology
• Public relations
• Evolutionary biology
• Law
• Medicine
• Engineering ethics
• Environmental ethics
• Engineering

Selected publications

• Field Evidence for Intrusive Speleothem Formation in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The stratigraphic relationship between flowstones and clastic cave deposits in the Cradle of Humankind (Cradle) UNESCO World Heritage Site is central to establishing the ages of key hominin-bearing sequences. A recent petrographic synthesis suggested that intrusive flowstones do not occur in the Cradle, implying that all flowstones represent conformable depositional breaks and provide reliable chronological constraints. Our new field observations from the Gladysvale Cave challenge this interpretation and document a clear example of intrusive flowstone formation within fossil-bearing sandstone. The observed carbonate body penetrates the sandstone along bedding planes and fractures, incorporating angular clasts and forming irregular, cross-cutting, and vein-like geometries. These field relationships demonstrate the precipitation of calcite from infiltrating CaCO3-rich fluids into pre-existing voids, which postdate clastic deposition and partial lithification. The intrusive flowstone displays multiple sub-packages with interfingering terminations, abundant small to large-sized cavities, and lateral offshoots that wrap around brecciated clasts. Such geometries are diagnostic of intrusion rather than surface accretion. The Gladysvale example provides definitive field evidence that intrusive flowstones occur within fossil-bearing deposits of the Cradle and can mimic the morphology of primary depositional flowstones. Their recognition is essential for correctly interpreting speleothem–clastic relationships and for refining the chronological framework of hominin-bearing cave systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Genomes of the Golden Horde elites and their implications for the rulers of the Mongol Empire

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2026-02-19 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  The Golden Horde, the northwestern extension of the Mongol Empire ruled by Genghis Khan's descendants, holds a pivotal place in the history of Central Eurasia and Eastern Europe. Consequently, understanding the genetic legacy of Genghis Khan and his lineage has long been of both academic and public interest, especially concerning the hypothesized association of his Y-chromosome with haplogroup C3*. Here, we present ancient DNA data from four archaeological individuals-three males and one female-from medieval elite mausoleums of the Golden Horde in the Ulitau region of Kazakstan. Our genomic analyses reveal that the three male individuals are paternally related and share the Y-chromosome haplogroup C3*, confirming the association between the Y-chromosome haplogroup C3* and the Mongol Empire, supporting the long-standing hypothesis about the genetic legacy of Mongols. Additionally, our findings demonstrate that the Golden Horde elites primarily derive their genomes from Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA), with an additional ancestral component from either Ancient North Eurasians (ANE) or a Berel Scythian related population, e.g., the Kipchaks. Archaeological evidence, in turn, sheds light on a medieval population undergoing religious and cultural transition, offering insights into the societal changes experienced by Mongolian conquerors. Furthermore, through constructing an Identity by Descent (IBD) network, we successfully identify medieval relatives of these individuals on the Mongolian Plateau, linking genetic data to broader population dynamics. In essence, this study provides ancient DNA evidence that advances our understanding of the genetic background of the Mongolian elites and the population dynamics in Central Eurasia.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response: Meaning-making behavior in a small-brained hominin, Homo naledi, from the late Pleistocene: contexts and evolutionary implications

  2025-06-23

  peer-reviewOpen access

  Explorations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system have yielded some of the earliest evidence of a mortuary practice in hominins. Because the evidence is attributable to the small-brained Homo naledi, these analyses call into question several assumptions about behavioral and cognitive evolution in Pleistocene hominins. The evidence from the Dinaledi Subsystem, and at other locations across the Rising Star cave system may widen the phylogenetic breadth of mortuary, and possibly funerary, behaviors. These discoveries may also associate the creation of meaning making and increased behavioral complexity with a small-brained hominin species, challenging certain assertions about the role of encephalization and cognition in hominin and human evolution. We suggest that the hominin socio-cognitive niche is more diverse than previously thought. If true, technological, meaning-making activities, and cognitive advances in human evolution are not associated solely with the evolution of larger brained members of the genus Homo.Evidence for complex behaviors associated with a small-brained hominin suggest that large brains are not solely responsible for the manifestation of human-like behavioral complexity.

  PublisherDOI

• Meaning-making behavior in a small-brained hominin, Homo naledi, from the late Pleistocene: contexts and evolutionary implications

  eLife · 2025-06-23

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Explorations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system have yielded some of the earliest evidence of a mortuary practice in hominins. Because the evidence is attributable to the small-brained Homo naledi, these analyses call into question several assumptions about behavioral and cognitive evolution in Pleistocene hominins. The evidence from the Dinaledi Subsystem, and at other locations across the Rising Star cave system may widen the phylogenetic breadth of mortuary, and possibly funerary, behaviors. These discoveries may also associate the creation of meaning making and increased behavioral complexity with a small-brained hominin species, challenging certain assertions about the role of encephalization and cognition in hominin and human evolution. We suggest that the hominin socio-cognitive niche is more diverse than previously thought. If true, technological, meaning-making activities, and cognitive advances in human evolution are not associated solely with the evolution of larger brained members of the genus Homo.

  PublisherDOI

• Author response: Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi

  2025-09-01

  peer-reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Remains of the extinct hominin species Homo naledi were interred by members of their own species, the first time that burial has been documented in populations other than modern humans and Neanderthals.

  PublisherDOI

• Expanding the "Cradle of Humankind"

  2025-08-30

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This article surveys hominin fossil sites beyond the well-known East African Rift and South African cave systems, which together cover less than one percent of Africa. It highlights geographic outlier discoveries from the Chiwondo Beds of Malawi, the Homa Peninsula of Kenya, and the Djurab Desert of Chad, arguing these finds expand our understanding of early hominin habitats and challenge the traditional notion of a narrowly defined 'Cradle of Humankind.'

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi

  eLife · 2025-03-28 · 4 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract In this study we describe new results of excavations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. In two areas within the Hill Antechamber and the Dinaledi Chamber this work uncovered concentrations of abundant Homo naledi fossils including articulated, matrix-supported skeletal regions consistent with rapid covering by sediment prior to the decomposition of soft tissue. We additionally re-examine the spatial positioning of skeletal material and associated sediments within the Puzzle Box area, from which abundant H. naledi remains representing a minimum of six individuals were recovered in 2013 and 2014. Multiple lines of evidence exclude the hypothesis that skeletal remains from these three areas come from bodies that decomposed on the floor of the chamber or within a shallow depression prior to burial by sediments. The spatial positioning of skeletal material, the topography of the subsystem, and observations on sediments within and surrounding features exclude the hypothesis that rapid burial by sediment was a result of gravity-driven slumping or spontaneous movement of sediments. We present a minimal hypothesis of hominin cultural burial and test the evidence from all three areas, finding that this hypothesis is most compatible with the pattern of evidence. These results suggest that mortuary behavior including cultural burial was part of the repertoire of Homo naledi.

  PublisherDOI

• Meaning-making behavior in a small-brained hominin, Homo naledi, from the late Pleistocene: contexts and evolutionary implications

  eLife · 2025-09-04

  articleOpen access

  Explorations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system have yielded some of the earliest evidence of a mortuary practice in hominins. Because the evidence is attributable to the small-brained Homo naledi , these analyses call into question several assumptions about behavioral and cognitive evolution in Pleistocene hominins. The evidence from the Dinaledi Subsystem, and at other locations across the Rising Star cave system may widen the phylogenetic breadth of mortuary, and possibly funerary, behaviors. These discoveries may also associate the creation of meaning-making and increased behavioral complexity with a small-brained hominin species, challenging certain assertions about the role of encephalization and cognition in hominin and human evolution. We suggest that the hominin socio-cognitive niche is more diverse than previously thought. If true, technological, meaning-making activities, and cognitive advances in human evolution are not associated solely with the evolution of larger-brained members of the genus Homo .Evidence for complex behaviors associated with a small-brained hominin suggests that large brains are not solely responsible for the manifestation of human-like behavioral complexity.

  PublisherDOI

• A reanalysis of the Taung endocranial surface: Comparison with large samples of living hominids

  Journal of Human Evolution · 2025-02-17 · 3 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A Geometric Morphometric Study of Scapular Ontogeny in Modern Humans

  American Journal of Biological Anthropology · 2025-07-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  OBJECTIVES: This paper quantifies the size and shape change of the human scapula through ontogeny to better understand the human trajectory of growth. While previous work has touched on human scapular ontogeny, analysis using 3D geometric morphometrics focusing on humans alone has not been conducted. This work is important to improve our analyses of the immature hominin fossil record. METHODS: Deidentified CT scans of human nonadults (infancy to adolescence) and adults from The Cancer Imaging Archive were examined in this study. Twenty-one digital landmarks were placed on the scapula and analyzed using linear regression and geometric morphometrics. RESULTS: The size of the scapula starts small compared to body size and grows faster than femur head diameter, used as a proxy for body size. Some features that distinguish humans from great ape scapulae also exhibit developmental change in children, notably the angle of the scapular spine. Nonadults have more laterally oriented scapular spines than adults. This suggests that the development of the adult human scapula starts from a shape that is different from other apes and converges slightly during growth, a finding supported by previous work. CONCLUSIONS: These results expand upon our understanding of the development of the human shoulder and our interpretations of juvenile scapulae in the hominin fossil record. Human juveniles, who climb and engage in arboreal behavior more frequently than adults, have a scapula whose morphology is poorly suited to arboreal movement. Whether this is evolutionarily or functionally driven will be explored in further studies using comparative analyses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Lee R. Berger

  University of the Witwatersrand

  186 shared

• Steven E. Churchill

  Duke University

  60 shared

• Marina Elliott

  University of the Witwatersrand

  56 shared

• Scott A. Williams

  United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

  43 shared

• Juliet K. Brophy

  University of the Witwatersrand

  40 shared

• Christopher S. Walker

  North Carolina State University

  39 shared

• Peter Schmid

  39 shared

• Darryl J. de Ruiter

  Texas A&M University

  38 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Human Evolution

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2002

• M.S., Human Evolution

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  1998

• B.A., Anthropology

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1995