Emily Coco

Division:

Biological

Degree(s):

PhD

Emily Coco is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Yale Paleoarchaeology Lab, working with

Dr. Jessica Thompson. Emily received her PhD in Anthropology from New York

University, under the supervision of Dr. Radu Iovita. For her dissertation, Emily used a

combination of agent-based modeling and archaeological field survey to examine stone

tool recycling behaviors at Paleolithic surface deposits in Kazakhstan.

Emily’s research focuses on investigating hunter-gatherer mobility patterns and

decisions within dynamic paleolandscapes. By building computational models, she

explores the “how” and “why” behind ancient population movements to gain insights into

human behavior during the Paleolithic.

In her current position, Emily is studying how natural and human processes work

together to affect long-term ecosystem change. This research is focused on

investigating and modeling how human environmental modifications interact with natural

climatic fluctuations to contribute to the present-day ecosystem configuration in Central

Africa.

Emily also actively contributes to various projects, including: surveying and excavating

new Paleolithic sites in Kazakhstan; developing new database frameworks that facilitate

data integration and knowledge sharing within paleoanthropology; modeling the impact

of taphonomic and research biases on archaeological interpretations; and applying rock

surface dating methods at surface contexts in Kazakhstan.

Selected Publications:

Coco, E. (2023). Exploring the impact of mobility and selection on stone tool recycling

behaviors through agent-based simulation. PLOS ONE, 18(11), e0294242.

Daems, D., Coco, E., Gillreath-Brown, A., & Kafetzaki, D. (2023). The Effects of Time-

Averaging on Archaeological Networks. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.

Coco, E., & Mamirov, T. (2022). Examining recycling behaviors at Semizbugu P1

(2022), Kazakhstan. Археология Казахстана, (3 (17)), 103–114.

Coco, E., & Iovita, R. (2020). Time-dependent taphonomic site loss leads to spatial

averaging: implications for archaeological cultures. Humanities and Social Sciences

Coco, E., Holdaway, S., & Iovita, R. (2020). The Effects of Secondary Recycling on the

Technological Character of Lithic Assemblages. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 3,