Staff profile

Background

I am a specialist in the European Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, with research interests in the origins and nature of Palaeolithic art and mortuary activity, chronometry, the behaviour of the Neanderthals and Pleistocene members of our own species, and the British later Palaeolithic. After reading Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham (BA 1991) I took an MA in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (1992). Subsequently my doctoral research at Cambridge focussed on lithic technology of Middle Palaeolithic Southwest France and what it revealed about Neanderthal behaviour (PhD 1999). I was Senior Archaeologist at the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Oxford University (1995-2001) and Research Fellow and Tutor in Archaeology and Anthropology at Keble College, Oxford (1997-2003); Lecturer (2003-7), Senior Lecturer (2007-10) and Reader (2010-12) in Palaeolithic Archaeology at Sheffield University, until I joined Durham in January 2013 as a Professor of Archaeology.

I have researched various aspects of the European Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. I've worked with numerous lithic assemblages, and on the dating of Neanderthal and early modern human remains. In 2003 I co-discovered Britain's only examples of Palaeolithic cave art at Creswell Crags in the Midlands, and since then I've directed excavations at the Crags. I've also co-directed (with Mark White) excavations in the world famous site of Kent's Cavern, and with Mark I co-wrote The British Palaeolithic (2012). In recent years I've been researching aspects of earlier Upper Palaeolithic hand stencils in the caves of France and Spain, and have collaborated on the dating of Spanish cave art, a project which has identified Europe's oldest securely dated examples of figurative and non-figurative cave art. In my book The Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial (2011) I proposed a long-term model for the evolution of human mortuary activity, and I'm now developing ways in which to further our understanding of early human mortuary activity and ritual in general, working with primatologists on long-term models of hominoid evolutionary thanatology. I retain an interest in radiocarbon dating within the Palaeolithic, and in the Late Upper Palaeolithic of Britain. Recently, I've begun collaborating with Durham colleague Bob Kentridge, Professor of Visual Psychology, on the psychological basis of Palaeolithic art. We currently have an AHRC-funded collaborative project with German colleagues on the 16,000-year-old engraved art on stone plaquettes from Gonnersdorf, with Lisa-Elen Meyering as post-doctoral researcher. Our Visual Palaeopsychology group has several research students working on Palaeolithic art in Spain, France and Germany.

Study the Palaeolithic at Durham

I would warmly welcome applications from students wishing to further their knowledge of the Palaeolithic at masters level, and those interested in researching aspects of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic archaeology for the PhD. I am especially keen to supervise projects in the fields of early human mortuary activity, ritual and art. Durham is an exceptionally fertile place to study and research Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology; with Mark White and Peter Rowley-Conwy we have expertise from the Lower Palaeolithic to Mesolithic, and we enjoy fruitful collaboration with various departmental colleagues working with dating methods, DNA and isotope study.

• Archaeology of the European Middle and Upper Palaeolithic
• Evolutionary thanatology and early evolution of human mortuary activity
• Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Britain
• Neanderthal extinction and the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition
• Palaeolithic chronometry
• The origins and early evolution of human visual culture; Palaeolithic art

• 2021: Editorial Board member, Revista de Arheologie, Antropologie si Studie Interdisciplinaire (journal): A bi-annual archaeological journal run out of Romania and Moldova.
• 2021: Scientific Advisory Board member (chair 2021-) SapienCE centre, Universities of Bergen and The Witwatersrand: The SapienCE centre is one of the world's leading centres for research into human behavioural evolution. The Scientific Advisory Board annually reviews the centres research, funding, teaching and outreach. I took over as chair in 2021.
• 2016: Editorial board member, World Archaeology journal:
• 2014: External Examiner (UG & PGT) University of Exeter:
• 2011: Contributed to 'Many Hands' exhibition at The Royal Society:
• 2010: Member of AHRC Peer Review College:
• 2009: Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London:
• 2008: Convened English Heritage and Prehistoric Society Working Group on Research and Conservation Framework for the British Palaeolithic:
• 2008: Advisory Editor, Journal of World Prehistory:
• 2002: Advistory Editor, Before Farming:
• 2000: Council Member, The Prehistoric Society:

Authored book

• Homo Sapiens Rediscovered. The Scientific Revolution Rewriting our Origins.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2022). Homo Sapiens Rediscovered. The Scientific Revolution Rewriting our Origins. London: Thames and Hudson.
• The British Palaeolithic: Human Societies at the Edge of the Pleistocene World
  
  Pettitt, P., & White, M. (2012). The British Palaeolithic: Human Societies at the Edge of the Pleistocene World. Routledge.
• The Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2011). The Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial. Routledge.
• Britain's Oldest Art: the Ice Age Cave Art of Creswell Crags
  
  Bahn, P., & Pettitt, P. (2009). Britain’s Oldest Art: the Ice Age Cave Art of Creswell Crags. English Heritage.

Book review

• Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind (review article)
  
  Bahn, P., & Pettitt, P. (2013). Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind (review article). Antiquity, 87, 905-8.

Chapter in book

• Peripersonal social worlds. Exploring the nature of the earliest visual cultures of African and Near Eastern Homo sapiens and Eurasian Neanderthals.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2022). Peripersonal social worlds. Exploring the nature of the earliest visual cultures of African and Near Eastern Homo sapiens and Eurasian Neanderthals. In D. Wengrow (Ed.), Image, Thought, and the Making of Social Worlds. (pp. 63-92). Propylaeum.
• Psychology and antiquity: a prehistorian's perspective.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2021). Psychology and antiquity: a prehistorian’s perspective. In T. Henley & M. Rossano (Eds.), Psychology and Cognitive Archaeology. An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of the Human Mind. (pp. 155-176). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003056140
• New ages for old paintings: U-Th dating reveals Neanderthal origin of cave paintings.
  
  Pettitt, P., Hoffmann, D., Garcia-Diez, M., Lorblanchet, M., Pettitt, P., Pike, A., Standish, C., & Zilhao, J. (2021). New ages for old paintings: U-Th dating reveals Neanderthal origin of cave paintings. In Y. Coppens & A. Vialet (Eds.), Un bouquet d’ancêtres. Premiers humains: Qui était qui, qui a fait quoi, où et quand? (pp. 383-398). Académie Pontificale des Sciences/CNRS Editions.
• The origins of human visual culture: a three-stage hypothesis from babble to concordancy to inclusivity.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2021). The origins of human visual culture: a three-stage hypothesis from babble to concordancy to inclusivity. In S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser & O. Joris (Eds.), The Beef behind all Possible Pasts The Tandem Festschrift in Honour of Elaine Turner and Martin Street (pp. 229-247). Propylaeum.
• Social ecology of the Upper Palaeolithic: exploring inequality through the art of Lascaux.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2021). Social ecology of the Upper Palaeolithic: exploring inequality through the art of Lascaux. In L. Moreau (Ed.), Social Inequality Before Farming? Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Social Organization and Prehistoric and Enthnographic Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Societies. (pp. 201-22). Cambridge: McDonald Institute Conversations.
• From corpse to symbol. Proposed cognitive grades over the long-term evolution of hominin mortuary activity.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2019). From corpse to symbol. Proposed cognitive grades over the long-term evolution of hominin mortuary activity. In T. Henley, M. Rossano, & E. Kardas (Eds.), Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology. Psychology in Prehistory. (pp. 512-25.). Routledge.
• The rise of modern humans.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2018). The rise of modern humans. In C. Scarre (Ed.), The Human Past (4th Edition) (pp. 108-48.). Thames & Hudson.
• Palaeolithic Western and North Central Europe.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2018). Palaeolithic Western and North Central Europe. In T. Insoll (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines. (pp. 851-76). Oxford University Press.
• Darkness visible. Shadows, art and the ritual experience of caves in Upper Palaeolithic Europe.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2016). Darkness visible. Shadows, art and the ritual experience of caves in Upper Palaeolithic Europe. In M. Dowd & R. Hensey (Eds.), The Archaeology of Darkness. (pp. 11-23). Oxbow Books.
• Landscapes of the Dead: The evolution of human mortuary activity from body to place in Palaeolithic Europe
  
  Pettitt, P. (2015). Landscapes of the Dead: The evolution of human mortuary activity from body to place in Palaeolithic Europe. In F. Coward, R. Hosfield, M. Pope, & F. Wenban-Smith (Eds.), Settlement, society and cognition in human evolution : landscapes in the mind. (pp. 258-274). Cambridge University Press.
• Creswell Crags in wider context. LA-ICP-MS trace-element analysis of Final Magdalenian lithics and mobility patterns in the British Late Upper Palaeolithic.
  
  Pettitt, P., Rockman, M., & Chenery, S. (2015). Creswell Crags in wider context. LA-ICP-MS trace-element analysis of Final Magdalenian lithics and mobility patterns in the British Late Upper Palaeolithic. In N. Ashton & C. Harris (Eds.), No Stone Unturned: Papers in Honour of Roger Jacobi. (pp. 101-12). Lithic Studies Society Occasional Paper 9.
• Are hand stencils in European cave art older than we think? An evaluation of the existing data and their potential implications
  
  Pettitt, P., García-Diez, M., Hoffmann, D., Maximiano Castillejo, A., Ontañon-Peredo, R., Pike, A., & Zilhão, J. (2015). Are hand stencils in European cave art older than we think? An evaluation of the existing data and their potential implications. In P. Bueno-Ramírez & P. Bahn (Eds.), Prehistoric art as prehistoric culture : studies in honour of Professor Rodrigo de Balbín-Behrmann. (pp. 31-43). Archaeopress.
• The European Upper Palaeolithic.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2014). The European Upper Palaeolithic. In V. Cummings, P. Jordan, & M. Zvelebil (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199551224.013.052
• En los origenes del arte rupestre Paleolitico: dataciones por la serie del Uranio en la cuevas de Altamira, El Castillo y Tito Bustillo.
  
  Pike, A., Hoffmann, D., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., Alcolea, J., de Balbín, R., González-Sainz, C., de las Heras, C., Lasheras, J., Montes, R., & Zilhão, J. (2013). En los origenes del arte rupestre Paleolitico: dataciones por la serie del Uranio en la cuevas de Altamira, El Castillo y Tito Bustillo. In Pensando el Gravetiense: Nuevos datos para la Región Cantábrica en su Contexto Peninsular y Pirenaico. (pp. 461-75). Monografías del Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira.
• Lateglacial landscape use: correlation of lithic artefacts from Wey Manor Farm and Church Lammas to source region through LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis.
  
  Pettitt, P., Rockman, M., & Chenery, S. (2013). Lateglacial landscape use: correlation of lithic artefacts from Wey Manor Farm and Church Lammas to source region through LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis. In P. Jones & R. Poulton (Eds.), Two Upper Palaeolithic Sites in the Lower Courses of the Rivers Colne and Wey: Church Lammas and Wey Manor Farm. (pp. 99-106). English Heritage and Surrey County Council.
• Radiocarbon chronology and faunal turnover in the Upper Pleistocene at Pontnewydd cave. In Aldhouse-Green, S. Walker, E. and Peterson, R. (eds.) Neanderthals in Wales. Pontnewydd and the Elwy Valley Caves.
  
  Pettitt, P., Housley, R., & Higham, T. (2012). Radiocarbon chronology and faunal turnover in the Upper Pleistocene at Pontnewydd cave. In Aldhouse-Green, S. Walker, E. and Peterson, R. (eds.) Neanderthals in Wales. Pontnewydd and the Elwy Valley Caves. In S. Aldhouse-Green, E. Walker, & R. Peterson (Eds.), Neanderthals in Wales. Pontnewydd and the Elwy Valley Caves.. National Museums and Galleries of Wales.
• Fellow travellers on the ‘great trek’: some thoughts on British MIS3 Neanderthals and spotted hyaenas
  
  Pettitt, P. (2012). Fellow travellers on the ‘great trek’: some thoughts on British MIS3 Neanderthals and spotted hyaenas. In M. Niekus, R. Barton, M. Street, & T. Terberger (Eds.), A mind set on flint. Studies in honour of Dick Stapert (pp. 77-91). Groeningen Archaeological Studies 16.
• The emergence of the LBK: Migration, Memory and Meaning at the transition to agriculture
  
  Zvelebil, M., Lillie, M., Montgomery, J., Lukes, A., Pettitt, P., & Richards, M. (2012). The emergence of the LBK: Migration, Memory and Meaning at the transition to agriculture. In E. B. Kaiser & W. J.Schier (Eds.), Population Dynamics in Prehistory and Early History. New Approaches Using Stable Isotopes and Genetics. de Gruiter.
• The living as symbols, the dead as symbols: problematising the scale and pace of hominin symbolic evolution
  
  Pettitt, P. (2011). The living as symbols, the dead as symbols: problematising the scale and pace of hominin symbolic evolution. In C. Henshilwood & F. d’Errico (Eds.), Homo symbolicus : the dawn of language, imagination and spirituality. (pp. 141-162). John Benjamins Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.168.08pet
• The emergence of the LBK culture: search for the ancestors
  
  Zvelebil, M., Lukes, A., & Pettitt, P. (2010). The emergence of the LBK culture: search for the ancestors. In D. Groenenborn & J. Petrasch (Eds.), The Spread of the Neolithic to Central Europe (pp. 301-26). Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum.
• The Neanderthals
  
  Pettitt, P. (2009). The Neanderthals. In B. Cunliffe, C. Gosden, & R. Joyce (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Archaeology (pp. 332-70). Oxford university Press.
• The rise of modern humans.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2009). The rise of modern humans. In C. Scarre (Ed.), The Human Past (pp. 124-73). Thames & Hudson.
• François Bordes
  
  Pettitt, P. (2009). François Bordes. In R. Hosfield, F. Wenban-Smith, & M. Pope (Eds.), Great Prehistorians: 150 years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859-2009 (pp. 201-12).
• The Chauvet conundrum: are claims for the ‘birthplace of art’ premature?
  
  Pettitt, P., Bahn, P., & Züchner, C. (2009). The Chauvet conundrum: are claims for the ‘birthplace of art’ premature?. In P. Bahn (Ed.), An Enquiring Mind: Studies in Honor of Alexander Marshack (pp. 239-62). Oxbow and Cambridge MA: American School of Prehistoric Research Monograph Series.
• The British Upper Palaeolithic
  
  Pettitt, P. (2008). The British Upper Palaeolithic. In J. Pollard (Ed.), Prehistoric Britain (pp. 18-57). Blackwell.
• The resources of an upland community in the fourth millennium BC
  
  Ashley, S., Bending, J., Cook, G., Corrado, A., Malone, C., Pettitt, P., Puglisi, D., Redhouse, D., & Stoddart, S. (2007). The resources of an upland community in the fourth millennium BC. In M. Fitzjohn (Ed.), Upland Landscapes of Sicily (pp. 59-80). London University Accordia Research Centre.
• The living dead and the dead living: burials, figurines and social performance in the European Mid Upper Palaeolithic
  
  Pettitt, P. (2007). The living dead and the dead living: burials, figurines and social performance in the European Mid Upper Palaeolithic. In C. Knüsel & R. Gowland (Eds.), The Social Archaeology of Funerary Remains (pp. 292-308). OxBow.
• Rock art and art mobilier of the British Upper Palaeolithic
  
  Pettitt, P., & Bahn, P. (2007). Rock art and art mobilier of the British Upper Palaeolithic. In A. Mazel, G. Nash, & C. Waddington (Eds.), Art as Metaphor: the Prehistoric Rock Art of Britain (pp. 9-38). Archaeopress.
• Radiocarbon dating
  
  Pettitt, P. (2007). Radiocarbon dating (H. Maschner & C. Chippindale, Eds.; pp. 309-36). Altamira.
• Cultural context and form of some of the Creswell images: an interpretative model
  
  Pettitt, P. (2007). Cultural context and form of some of the Creswell images: an interpretative model. In P. Pettitt, P. Bahn, & S. Ripoll (Eds.), Creswell Palaeolithic Cave Art in European Context (pp. 112-39). Oxford University Press.
• Verification of the age of the Palaeolithic cave art at Creswell Crags
  
  Pike, A., Gilmore, M., & Pettitt, P. (2007). Verification of the age of the Palaeolithic cave art at Creswell Crags. In P. Pettitt, P. Bahn, & S. Ripoll (Eds.), Creswell Palaeolithic Cave Art in European Context (pp. 34-45). Oxford University Press.
• Other dating methods
  
  Pike, A., & Pettitt, P. (2005). Other dating methods. In H. Maschner & C. Chippindale (Eds.), Handbook of Archaeological Method and Theory (pp. 337-72). Altamira.
• Ideas in relative and absolute dating
  
  Pettitt, P. (2004). Ideas in relative and absolute dating. In C. Renfrew & P. Bahn (Eds.), Archaeology: The Key Concepts (pp. 58-64). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203491096
• The cultural ecology of fear. Human funerary cognition in evolutionary perspective.
  
  Pettitt, P. (n.d.). The cultural ecology of fear. Human funerary cognition in evolutionary perspective. In K. Overmann, F. Coolidge, & T. Wynn (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology [Contracted by publisher]. Oxford University Press.

Edited book

• Palaeolithic Cave Art at Creswell Crags in European Context
  
  Pettitt, P., Bahn, P., & Ripoll, S. (Eds.). (2007). Palaeolithic Cave Art at Creswell Crags in European Context. Oxford University Press.

Journal Article

• New insights on Final Epigravettian funerary behavior at Arene Candide Cave (Western Liguria, Italy)
  
  Sparacello, V., Rossi, S., Pettitt, P., Roberts, C., Riel-Salvatore, J., & Formicola, V. (in press). New insights on Final Epigravettian funerary behavior at Arene Candide Cave (Western Liguria, Italy). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
• The age of hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura, Spain) established by U-Th dating, and its implications for the early development of art
  
  Standish, C. D., Pettitt, P., Collado, H., Aguilar, J. C., Milton, J. A., García-Diez, M., Hoffmann, D. L., Zilhão, J., & Pike, A. W. (2025). The age of hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura, Spain) established by U-Th dating, and its implications for the early development of art. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 61, Article 104891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104891
• Upper Palaeolithic fishing techniques: Insights from the engraved plaquettes of the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf, Germany
  
  Robitaille, J., Meyering, L.-E., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Pettitt, P., Jöris, O., & Kentridge, R. (2024). Upper Palaeolithic fishing techniques: Insights from the engraved plaquettes of the Magdalenian site of Gönnersdorf, Germany. PLOS ONE, 19(11), Article e0311302. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311302
• A newly-discovered stone pendant from the Upper Palaeolithic of Poiana Cireșului-Piatra Neamț (Romania) and its wider context
  
  Cârciumaru, M., Nițu, E.-C., Otte, M., Pettitt, P., Cîrstina, O., Leu, M., Lupu, F.-I., & Ghiță, H. (2024). A newly-discovered stone pendant from the Upper Palaeolithic of Poiana Cireșului-Piatra Neamț (Romania) and its wider context. L’Anthropologie, 128(4), Article 103282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anthro.2024.103282
• Conversations with Caves: The Role of Pareidolia in the Upper Palaeolithic Figurative Art of Las Monedas and La Pasiega (Cantabria, Spain)
  
  Wisher, I., Pettitt, P., & Kentridge, R. (2024). Conversations with Caves: The Role of Pareidolia in the Upper Palaeolithic Figurative Art of Las Monedas and La Pasiega (Cantabria, Spain). Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 34(2), 315-338. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774323000288
• What we know and do not know after the first decade of Homo naledi.
  
  Pettitt, P., & Wood, B. (2024). What we know and do not know after the first decade of Homo naledi. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 8, 1579-1583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02470-0
• An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar
  
  Bacon, B., Khatiri, A., Palmer, J., Freeth, T., Pettitt, P., & Kentridge, R. (2023). An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 33(3). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774322000415
• The deep past in the virtual present: developing an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the psychological foundations of palaeolithic cave art
  
  Wisher, I., Pettitt, P., & Kentridge, R. (2023). The deep past in the virtual present: developing an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the psychological foundations of palaeolithic cave art. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 19009. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46320-8
• Did Homo naledi dispose of their dead in the Rising Star Cave System?
  
  Pettitt, P. (2022). Did Homo naledi dispose of their dead in the Rising Star Cave System?. South African Journal of Science, 118(11/12). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2022/15140
• The visual psychology of European Upper Palaeolithic figurative art: using Bubbles to understand outline depictions.
  
  Meyering, L.-E., Kentridge, R., & Pettitt, P. (2021). The visual psychology of European Upper Palaeolithic figurative art: using Bubbles to understand outline depictions. World Archaeology, 52(2), 1-18.
• Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior: A view from Shanidar Cave
  
  Pomeroy, E., Hunt, C. O., Reynolds, T., Abdulmutalb, D., Asouti, E., Bennett, P., Bosch, M., Burke, A., Farr, L., Foley, R., French, C., Frumkin, A., Goldberg, P., Hill, E., Kabukcu, C., Lahr, M. M., Lane, R., Marean, C., Maureille, B., … Barker, G. (2020). Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior: A view from Shanidar Cave. Evolutionary Anthropology, 29(5), 263-279. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21854
• Response to White et al.’s reply: ‘Still no archaeological evidence that Neanderthals created Iberian cave art’ [J. Hum. Evol. (2020) 102640]
  
  Hoffmann, D. L., Standish, C. D., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P. B., Milton, J. A., Zilhão, J., Alcolea-González, J. J., Cantalejo-Duarte, P., Collado, H., de Balbín, R., Lorblanchet, M., Ramos-Muñoz, J., Weniger, G.-C., & Pike, A. W. (2020). Response to White et al.’s reply: ‘Still no archaeological evidence that Neanderthals created Iberian cave art’ [J. Hum. Evol. (2020) 102640]. Journal of Human Evolution, 144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102810
• Upper Palaeolithic installation art: topography, distortion, animation and participation in the production and experience of Cantabrian cave art.
  
  Sakamoto, T., Pettitt, P., & Ontañon-Peredo, R. (2020). Upper Palaeolithic installation art: topography, distortion, animation and participation in the production and experience of Cantabrian cave art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 30(4), 665-88.
• Bringing science to the study of ancient senses - archaeology and visual psychology
  
  Pettitt, P., Meyering, L.-E., & Kentridge, R. (2020). Bringing science to the study of ancient senses - archaeology and visual psychology. World Archaeology, 52(2), 183-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2020.1909932
• Gravettian Figurative Art in the Western Pyrenees: Stratigraphy, Cultural Context, and Chronology
  
  Ochoa, B., García-Diez, M., Maíllo-Fernández, J.-M., Arrizabalaga, Álvaro, & Pettitt, P. (2019). Gravettian Figurative Art in the Western Pyrenees: Stratigraphy, Cultural Context, and Chronology. European Journal of Archaeology, 22(2), 168-184. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2018.31
• Primate thanatology and hominoid mortuary archaeology.
  
  Pettitt, P., & Anderson, J. (2019). Primate thanatology and hominoid mortuary archaeology. Primates, 61, 9-19.
• The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art
  
  Hodgson, D., & Pettitt, P. (2018). The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(4), 591-612. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774318000227
• Response to Comment on “U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art”
  
  Hoffmann, D., Standish, C., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., Milton, J., Zilhão, J., Alcolea-González, J., Cantalejo-Duarte, P., Collado, H., de Balbín, R., Lorblanchet, M., Ramos-Muñoz, J., Weniger, G.-C., & Pike, A. (2018). Response to Comment on “U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art”. Science, 362(6411). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau1736
• Hominin evolutionary thanatology from the mortuary to funerary realm. The palaeoanthropological bridge between chemistry and culture
  
  Pettitt, P. (2018). Hominin evolutionary thanatology from the mortuary to funerary realm. The palaeoanthropological bridge between chemistry and culture. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1754), Article 20180212. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0212
• Evolutionary thanatology
  
  Anderson, J. R., Biro, D., & Pettitt, P. (2018). Evolutionary thanatology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1754), Article 20170262. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0262
• Dates for Neanderthal art and symbolic behaviour are reliable
  
  Hoffmann, D., Standish, C., Pike, A., Garcia-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., Angelucci, D., Villaverde, V., Zapata, J., Milton, J., Alcolea-Gonzalez, J., Cantalejo-Duarte, P., Collado, H., de Balbin, R., Lorblanchet, M., Ramos-Munoz, J., Weniger, G.-C., & Zilhao, J. (2018). Dates for Neanderthal art and symbolic behaviour are reliable. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2, 1044-1045. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0598-z
• U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art
  
  Hoffmann, D., Standish, C., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., Milton, J., Zilhão, J., Alcolea-González, J., Cantalejo-Duarte, P., Collado, H., de Balbín, R., Lorblanchet, M., Ramos-Muñoz, J., Weniger, G.-C., & Pike, A. (2018). U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art. Science, 359(6378), 912-915. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap7778
• Editorial
  
  Semple, S., & Pettitt, P. (2017). Editorial. World Archaeology, 49(5), 569-573. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2017.1427843
• Is Palaeolithic cave art consistent with costly signalling theory? Lascaux as a test case
  
  Gittins, R., & Pettitt, P. (2017). Is Palaeolithic cave art consistent with costly signalling theory? Lascaux as a test case. World Archaeology, 49(4), 466-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2017.1386590
• Methods for U-series Dating of CaCO3 Crusts Associated with Palaeolithic Cave Art and Application to Iberian Sites
  
  Hoffmann, D., Pike, A., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., & Zilhão, J. (2016). Methods for U-series Dating of CaCO3 Crusts Associated with Palaeolithic Cave Art and Application to Iberian Sites. Quaternary Geochronology, 36, 104-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2016.07.004
• Shoot First, Ask Questions Later: interpretative Narratives of Neanderthal Hunting
  
  White, M., Pettitt, P., & Schreve, D. (2016). Shoot First, Ask Questions Later: interpretative Narratives of Neanderthal Hunting. Quaternary Science Reviews, 140, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.03.004
• Dating Palaeolithic cave art: why U-Th is the way to go
  
  Pike, A., Hoffmann, D., Pettitt, P., García-Diez, M., & Zilhão, J. (2016). Dating Palaeolithic cave art: why U-Th is the way to go. Quaternary International, 432(B), 41-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.013
• Problematizing Bayesian approaches to prehistoric chronologies
  
  Pettitt, P., & Zilhao, J. (2015). Problematizing Bayesian approaches to prehistoric chronologies. World Archaeology, 47(4), 525-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2015.1070082
• An alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet cave
  
  Pettitt, P., & Bahn, P. (2015). An alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet cave. Antiquity, 89(345), 542-553. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2015.21
• Isotope and faunal evidence for high levels of freshwater fish consumption by Late Glacial humans at the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Sandalja II, Istria, Croatia.
  
  Richards, M., Pettitt, P., Karavanic, I., & Miracle, P. (2015). Isotope and faunal evidence for high levels of freshwater fish consumption by Late Glacial humans at the Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Sandalja II, Istria, Croatia. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports., 61, 204-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.06.008
• The chronology of hand stencils in European Palaeolithic rock art: implications of new U-series results from El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain).
  
  García-Diez, M., Garrido, D., Hoffmann, D., Pettitt, P., Pike, A., & Zilhão, J. (2015). The chronology of hand stencils in European Palaeolithic rock art: implications of new U-series results from El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain). Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 95, 1-18.
• New views on old hands: the context of stencils in El Castillo and La Garma Caves (Cantabria, Spain)
  
  Pettitt, P., Maximiano Castillejo, A., Arias, P., Ontañon Peredo, R., & Harrison, R. (2014). New views on old hands: the context of stencils in El Castillo and La Garma Caves (Cantabria, Spain). Antiquity, 88(339), 47-63. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00050213
• Against Chauvet-nism: a critique of recent attempts to validate an early chronology for the art of Chauvet Cave.
  
  Pettitt, P., & Bahn, P. (2014). Against Chauvet-nism: a critique of recent attempts to validate an early chronology for the art of Chauvet Cave. Anthropologie., 118, 163-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anthro.2014.03.005
• Biosocial archaeology of the Early Neolithic: synthetic analyses of human skeletal remains from the LBK cemetery of Vedrovice, Czech Republic.
  
  Zvelebil, M., & Pettitt, P. (2013). Biosocial archaeology of the Early Neolithic: synthetic analyses of human skeletal remains from the LBK cemetery of Vedrovice, Czech Republic. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 32(3), 313-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2012.01.011
• John Lubbock, caves, and the development of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic archaeology.
  
  Pettitt, P., & White, M. (2013). John Lubbock, caves, and the development of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic archaeology. Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 68(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2013.0050
• Palaeo-environments of the Balkan Lateglacial and their potential – were humans absent from the Garden of Eden?
  
  Magyari, E., Gaydarska, B., Pettitt, P., & Chapman, J. (2013). Palaeo-environments of the Balkan Lateglacial and their potential – were humans absent from the Garden of Eden?. Bulgarian E-Journal of Archaeology, 3(1), 1-30.
• The British Final Magdalenian: Society, settlement and raw material movements revealed through LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis of diagnostic artefacts.
  
  Pettitt, P., Rockman, M., & Chenery, S. (2012). The British Final Magdalenian: Society, settlement and raw material movements revealed through LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis of diagnostic artefacts. Quaternary International, 272-273, 275-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.05.019
• Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of Devensian hyaenas from Creswell Crags, England
  
  Dodge, D., Bouwman, A., Pettitt, P., & Brown, T. (2012). Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of Devensian hyaenas from Creswell Crags, England. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 4, 161-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-012-0096-1
• Uranium-series dating of Upper Palaeolithic art in Spanish caves. U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain
  
  Pike, A., Hoffman, D., García-Diez, M., Pettitt, P., Alcolea, J., De Balbín, R., González-Sainz, C., de las Heras, C., Lasheras, J., Montez, R., & Zilhão, J. (2012). Uranium-series dating of Upper Palaeolithic art in Spanish caves. U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain. Science, 336(6087), 1409-1413. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1219957
• Ancient digs and modern myths. The context and age of the Kent’s Cavern 4 maxilla and the spread of Homo sapiens in Europe
  
  White, M., & Pettitt, P. (2012). Ancient digs and modern myths. The context and age of the Kent’s Cavern 4 maxilla and the spread of Homo sapiens in Europe. European Journal of Archaeology, 15, 1-30.
• Cave Men: stone tools, Victorian science and the ‘primitive mind’ of deep time
  
  Pettitt, P., & White, M. (2011). Cave Men: stone tools, Victorian science and the ‘primitive mind’ of deep time. Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 65(1), 25-42. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2010.0100
• Neanderthals in Western Doggerland: towards an interpretative understanding of the Late Middle Palaeolithic Settlement of Britain.
  
  White, M., & Pettitt, P. (2011). Neanderthals in Western Doggerland: towards an interpretative understanding of the Late Middle Palaeolithic Settlement of Britain. Journal of World Prehistory, 24, 25-97.
• Comment on Golovanova et al. Ecological factors in the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
  
  Pettitt, P. (2011). Comment on Golovanova et al. Ecological factors in the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Current Anthropology, 51, 683-4.
• The demonstration of human antiquity: three rediscovered illustrations from the 1825 and 1846 excavations in Kent's Cavern (Torquay, England)
  
  White, M., & Pettitt, P. (2009). The demonstration of human antiquity: three rediscovered illustrations from the 1825 and 1846 excavations in Kent’s Cavern (Torquay, England). Antiquity, 83(321), 758-768. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00098975
• Excavations outside Church Hole, Creswell Crags: the first three seasons (2006-8)
  
  Pettitt, P., Jacobi, R., Chamberlain, A., Schreve, D., Wall, I., Dinnis, R., & Wragg-Sykes, R. (2009). Excavations outside Church Hole, Creswell Crags: the first three seasons (2006-8). Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, 113, 35-53.
• Lives, loves and deaths of Neolithic farmers: bioarchaeology of burials from Vedrovice (Czech Republic) and the spread of agriculture in Europe
  
  Zvelebil, M., Pettitt, P., & Lukes, A. (2009). Lives, loves and deaths of Neolithic farmers: bioarchaeology of burials from Vedrovice (Czech Republic) and the spread of agriculture in Europe. North Atlantic Archaeology, 1, 103-115.
• Art and the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe: comments on the archaeological arguments for an Early Upper Palaeolithic antiquity of the Grotte Chauvet art
  
  Pettitt, P. (2008). Art and the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe: comments on the archaeological arguments for an Early Upper Palaeolithic antiquity of the Grotte Chauvet art. Journal of Human Evolution, 55(5), 908-917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.04.003
• Human condition, life, and death at an Early Neolithic settlement: bioarchaeological analyses of the Vedrovice cemetery and their biosocial implications for the spread of agriculture in Central Europe
  
  Zvelebil, M., & Pettitt, P. (2008). Human condition, life, and death at an Early Neolithic settlement: bioarchaeological analyses of the Vedrovice cemetery and their biosocial implications for the spread of agriculture in Central Europe. Anthropologie (Brno), XLVI, 195-218.
• Biological and cultural identity of the first farmers: introduction to the Vedrovice bioarchaeology project.
  
  Zvelebil, M., & Pettitt, P. (2008). Biological and cultural identity of the first farmers: introduction to the Vedrovice bioarchaeology project. Anthropologie: International Journal of the Science of Man, 46(2-3), 117-124.
• A pair of Merrels boards on a stone block from Church Hole cave, Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England
  
  Hall, M., & Pettitt, P. (2008). A pair of Merrels boards on a stone block from Church Hole cave, Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England. Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, 112.
• Dating European Palaeolithic cave art: progress, prospects, problems.
  
  Pettitt, P., & Pike, A. (2007). Dating European Palaeolithic cave art: progress, prospects, problems. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 14, 27-47.
• Homo neanderthalensis (King 1864). Guest editorial.
  
  Pettitt, P. (2006). Homo neanderthalensis (King 1864). Guest editorial. Before Farming, 2006(3), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.3828/bfarm.2006.3.4
• On the new dates for Gorham’s Cave and the late survival of Iberian Neanderthals
  
  Zilhão, J., & Pettitt, P. (2006). On the new dates for Gorham’s Cave and the late survival of Iberian Neanderthals. Before Farming, 2006/4, 1-9.
• AMS dating of a recently discovered juvenile human mandible from Solutré (Saône-et-Loire), France)
  
  Pestle, W., Colvard, M., & Pettitt, P. (2006). AMS dating of a recently discovered juvenile human mandible from Solutré (Saône-et-Loire), France). Paleo, 18, 285-92.
• Contribution of Palaeolithic and Neolithic Y-chromosome lineages to the modern Czech population.
  
  Zvelebil, M., & Pettitt, P. (2006). Contribution of Palaeolithic and Neolithic Y-chromosomelineages to the modern Czech population. Archeologické Rozhledy, LVIII(2), 250-260.
• The Late Glacial ancestry of Europeans: combining genetic and archaeological evidence
  
  Gamble, C., Davies, W., Pettitt, P., Hazelwood, L., & Richards, M. (2006). The Late Glacial ancestry of Europeans: combining genetic and archaeological evidence. DOCUMENTA PRAEHISTORICA., XXXIII, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.33.1
• Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans
  
  Richards, M., Jacobi, R., Cook, J., Pettitt, P., & Stringer, C. (2005). Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans. Journal of Human Evolution, 49(3), 390-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.05.002
• Osteocalcin protein sequences of Neanderthals and modern primates
  
  Nielsen-Marsh, C., Richards, M., Hauschka, P., Thomas-Oates, J., Trinkaus, E., Pettitt, P., Karavanic, I., Poinar, H., & Collins, M. (2005). Osteocalcin protein sequences of Neanderthals and modern primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(12), 4409-4413. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0500450102
• Independent U-Series verification of the Pleistocene antiquity of the Palaeolithic cave art at Creswell Crags, UK
  
  Pike, A., Gilmore, M., Pettitt, P., Jacobi, R., Ripoll, S., Bahn, P., & Muñoz, F. (2005). Independent U-Series verification of the Pleistocene antiquity of the Palaeolithic cave art at Creswell Crags, UK. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports., 32, Article 1649-55.
• Neanderthals in Finland during the Last Interglacial?
  
  Pettitt, P., & Nyskanen, M. (2005). Neanderthals in Finland during the Last Interglacial?. Fennoscandia Archaeologica, XXII, 79-87.
• The archaeological and genetic foundations of the European population during the Lateglacial: implications for ‘agricultural thinking’
  
  Gamble, C., Davies, S., Pettitt, P., Richards, M., & Hazelwood, L. (2005). The archaeological and genetic foundations of the European population during the Lateglacial: implications for ‘agricultural thinking’. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 15, 193-230. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774305000107
• Tempo and mode of formation of the Late Epigravettian necropolis of Arene Candide Cave (Italy): evidence from the direct radiocarbon dates of the skeletons
  
  Formicola, V., Pettitt, P., Maggi, R., & Hedges, R. (2005). Tempo and mode of formation of the Late Epigravettian necropolis of Arene Candide Cave (Italy): evidence from the direct radiocarbon dates of the skeletons. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports., 32, 1598-1602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2005.04.013
• Climate change and evolving human diversity in Europe during the Last Glacial
  
  Gamble, C., Davies, S., Pettitt, P., & Richards, M. (2004). Climate change and evolving human diversity in Europe during the Last Glacial. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, 359, 243-54. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2003.1396
• A direct AMS radiocarbon date on the Barma Grande 6 Upper Palaolithic skeleton
  
  Formicola, V., Pettitt, P., & del Luccese, A. (2004). A direct AMS radiocarbon date on the Barma Grande 6 Upper Palaolithic skeleton. Current Anthropology, 45, 114-8. https://doi.org/10.1086/381008
• The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (‘Il Principe’): new evidence for his age and diet
  
  Pettitt, P., Richards, M., Maggi, R., & Formicola, V. (2003). The Gravettian burial known as the Prince (‘Il Principe’): new evidence for his age and diet. Antiquity, 77(295), 15-19. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00061305
• Discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Britain
  
  Bahn, P., Pettitt, P., & Ripoll, S. (2003). Discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Britain. Antiquity, 77, 227-31. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x0009222x
• Palaeolithic radiocarbon chronology: quantifying our confidence beyond two half-lives
  
  Pettitt, P., Davies, S., Gamble, C., & Richards, M. (2003). Palaeolithic radiocarbon chronology: quantifying our confidence beyond two half-lives. Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports., 30, 1685-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-4403%2803%2900070-0
• Current problems in dating Palaeolithic cave art: Candamo and Chauvet
  
  Pettitt, P., & Bahn, P. (2003). Current problems in dating Palaeolithic cave art: Candamo and Chauvet. Antiquity, 77, Article 134-41.