Jay Stock

My research is primarily focused on human adaptability and skeletal biology.  This involves bioarchaeology, the study of archaeological human remains; and human biology, which includes the study of skeletal variation in living humans.  A central theme of my research is understanding biomechanical and other influences on the structure of cortical and trabecular bone throughout the lifespan.  My bioarchaeological research is primarily focused on the skeletal variation, adaptation and habitual behaviour of hunter-gatherers, worldwide and major subsistence transitions in prehistory.  My research in human biology is focused on skeletal remodeling and adaptation in response to habitual loading among athletes.  Over the past decade, I have worked with a number of students and colleagues to develop research in the field of human athletic palaeobiology, where we study the biology and physiology of athletes to better understand the process and mechanisms of human adaptability.  I have also conducted research on the origins of human plasticity, the mechanisms underlying human adaptability in response to environmental extremes, and the impact of these mechanisms on our interpretation of the human fossil record.

Cerezo-Román, J., Sawchuk, E., Schilt, F., Bertacchi, A., Buckley, G., Chibisa, E., Fahey, B.P., Falchenberg, S., Kaliba, P., Kennett, D., Mercader, J., Pargeter, J., Stock, J., Szymanski, R., Thompson, J. (2025) Earliest Evidence for Intentional Cremation of Human Remains in Africa. Science Advances.

Stock, J.T. (2025) Long-term synchronous changes in body size among domesticated and wild species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122 (40), e2521664122

Ye, Z., Wang, M., Stock, J.T., Li, F. (2024) Disarticulation, evisceration and excarnation: Neolithic mortuary practices at Dingsishan, Southern China. Antiquity 98(399):616-635. DOI:10.15184/aqy.2024.57

Buck, L.T., Menéndez, L.M., De Groote, I., Hassett, B.R., Matsumura, H., Stock, J.T. (2024) Factors influencing cranial variation between prehistoric Japanese forager populations. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16(3):1-24. DOI:10.1007/s12520-023-01901-6

Parkinson, E.W., Stoddart, S., Sparacello, V., Bertoldi, F., Fonzo, O., Malone, C., Marini, E., Martinet, F., Moggi-Cecchi, J., Pacciani, E., Raiteri, L. & Stock, J. T. (2023) Multiproxy bioarchaeological data reveals interplay between growth, diet and population dynamics across the transition to farming in the central Mediterranean. Scientific Reports 13, 21965. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49406-5

Stock, J.T., Pomeroy, E., Ruff, C.B., Brown, M., Gasperetti, M.A., Li, F.J., Maher, L., Malone, C., Mushrif, V., Parkinson, E., Rivera, M., Siew, Y.Y., Stefanovic, S., Stoddart, S., Zariņa, G., Wells, J.C.K. (2023) Long-term trends in human body size track regional variation in subsistence transitions and growth acceleration linked to dairying. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120 (4), e2209482119

Stock, J.T., Pomeroy, E., Wedage, O., Eragama, S., Deraniyagala, S., Perera, N., Roberts, P., Boivin, N., Petraglia, M.D. (2022) Early Holocene human burials from Fa Hien-lena and Kuragala, Sri Lanka. Ancient Lanka 1:29pp

Maher, L.A., Macdonald, D.A., Pomeroy, E., Stock, J.T. (2021) Life, Death, and the Destruction of Architecture: Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Behaviors in Prehistoric Jordan. Journal of Archaeological Research 61:101262 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101262

Ward, D.L., Pomeroy, E., Schroeder, L., Viola, T.B., Silcox, M.T., Stock, J.T. (2020) Can Bony Labyrinth Dimensions Predict Biological Sex in Archaeological Samples? Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 31:102354. DOI:j.jasrep.2020.102354

Betti, L., Beyer, R., Jones, E.R., Eriksson, A., Tassi, F., Siska, V., Leonardi, M., Maisano Delser, P., Nigst, P., Stock, J.T., Pinhasi, R., Manica, A. (2020) Climate shaped how Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers interacted after a major slowdown from 6,100 BCE to 4,500 BCE. Nature: Human Behaviour. DOI:10.1038/s41562-020-0897-7

Pomeroy, E., Mushrif-Tripathy, V., Cole, T., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2019) Ancient origins of low lean mass among South Asians and implications for modern type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Scientific Reports 9 (1), 10515. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46960-9

Saers, J.P.P., Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T. (2019) Trabecular bone functional adaptation and sexual dimorphism in the human foot. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 168:154-169. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23732

Doershuk, L.J., Saers, J.P.P., Shaw, C.N., Jashashvili, T., Carlson, K.J., Stock, J.T., Ryan, T.M. (2019) Complex variation of trabecular bone structure in the proximal humerus and femur of five modern human populations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 168:104-118. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23725

Pomeroy, E., Mushrif-Tripathy, V., Cole, T., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2019) Ancient origins of low lean mass among South Asians and implications for modern type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Scientific Reports 9 (1), 10515. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46960-9

Macintosh, A.A., Stock, J.T. (2019) Intensive terrestrial or marine locomotor strategies are associated with inter‐ and intra‐limb bone functional adaptation in living female athletes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 168(3):566-581. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23773

Saers, J.P.P., Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T. (2019) Trabecular bone functional adaptation and sexual dimorphism in the human foot. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 168:154-169. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23732

Macintosh, A.A, Pinhasi, R., Stock, J.R. (2017) Prehistoric women's manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe. Science: Advances Vol. 3, no. 11, eaao3893. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao3893

Macintosh, A.A., Pinhasi, R., Stock, J.T. (2016) Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress Following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery. PLoS ONE 11(2): e0148468. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148468

Stock, J.T., Macintosh, A.A., (2016) Lower limb biomechanics and habitual mobility among mid-Holocene populations of the Cis-Baikal. Quaternary International. 405(B):200-209. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.04.052

Macintosh, A.A., Pinhasi, R., Stock, J.T. (2014) Lower limb skeletal biomechanics track long-term decline in mobility across ~6150 years of agriculture in Central Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science 52:1-15. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.09.001

von Cramon-Taubadel, N., Stock, J.T., Pinhasi, R. (2013) Skull and limb morphology differentially track population history and environmental factors in the transition to agriculture in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences vol. 280 no. 1767. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1337

Stock, J.T. (2013) The skeletal phenotype of 'Negritos' from the Andaman Islands and Philippines relative to global variation among hunter-gatherers. Human Biology 85(1):67-94. doi: 10.3378/027.085.0304

Stock, J.T., Shirley, M.K., Sarringhaus, L.A., Davies, T.G., Shaw, C.N. (2013) Skeletal evidence for variable patterns of handedness in chimpanzees, human hunter-gatherers, and recent British populations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1288:86-99. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12067

Stock, J.T. (2012) Human Evolution after the Origin of our Species: Bridging the gap between Palaeoanthropology and Bioarchaeology. Eds. P Mitchell and J Buckberry Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO). Oxford: Archaeopress. pp. 3-15

Maher, L., Richter, T., Stock, J.T. (2012) The Pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic: Long-Term Behavioral Trends in the Levant. Evolutionary Anthropology 21(2):69-81

Stock, J.T., Pinhasi, R. (2011) Changing paradigms in our understanding of the transition to agriculture: Human bioarchaeology, behaviour and adaptation. In Pinhasi, R., & Stock, J.T. eds. Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture. Wiley-Blackwell., p. 1-15

Pinhasi, R., & Stock, J.T. eds. (2011) Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. 504p

Complete list of publications: Google Scholar

Maggiulli, O., Ranaivoarisoa, J.F., Raliarison, H., Andriamanantena, F., Raherimamoniv, F., Rabearison, M., Stock, J.T., Wells, J.C.K. (2025) Antenatal food avoidances in Madagascar suggest an evolutionary link between subsistence patterns, carbohydrate consumption and determinants of obstructed labor. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 186(3):e70029. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.70029

Longman, D.P., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2023). Human energetic stress associated with upregulation of spatial cognition. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 182:32-44. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24820

Stock, J.T., Wells, J.C.K. (2023) Dairying and the evolution and consequences of lactase persistence in humans. Animal Frontiers 13(3):7-13

Longman, D., Dolan, E., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2023) Patterns of energy allocation during energetic scarcity; evolutionary insights from ultra-endurance events. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 281:111422

Saers, J.P.P., Gordon, A.D., Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T. (2022) Trabecular bone ontogeny tracks neural development and life history among humans and non-human primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (49), e2208772119

Decrausaz, S.L., Shirley, M., Stock, J.T., Williams, J., Fewtrell, M., Clark, C., Arthurs, O., Wells, J.C.K. (2022) Evaluation of Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry compared to magnetic resonance imaging for collecting measurements of the human bony pelvis. American Journal of Human Biology 34(8):e23753. DOI:10.1002/ajhb.23753

Longman, D.P., Merzbach, V., Pinto, J.M., Atkinson, L.H., Wells, J.C.K., Gordon, D., Stock, J.T. (2022) Alternative Metabolic Strategies are Employed by Endurance Runners of Different Body Sizes; Implications for Human Evolution: Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology Special Issue. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. 8, 79-97. DOI:10.1007/s40750-021-00183-3

Wells, J.C.K. Pomeroy, E., Stock, J.T. (2021) Evolution of lactase persistence: Turbo-charging adaptation in growth under the selective pressure of maternal mortality? Frontiers in Physiology 12:696516. DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.696516

Longman, D.P., Macintosh, A., Roberts, R., Oakley, S., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2021) Energetics as a driver of human morphological thermal adaptation; evidence from female ultra-endurance athletes. Evolutionary Human Sciences. 3, e22:1-15. DOI:10.1017/ehs.2021.17

Longman, D., Oyama, S., Cracknell, J., Thompson, N., Gordon, D., Stock, J., Wells, J.C.K. (2021) Fluctuating asymmetry, a marker of poor growth quality, is associated with adult male metabolic rate. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 175(3):646-655. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.24276

Ward, D.L., Schroeder, L., Pomeroy, E., Roy, J.C., Buck, L.T., Stock, J.T., Martin-Gronert, M., Ozanne, S.E., Silcox, M.T., Viola, T.B. (2021) Early life malnutrition and fluctuating asymmetry in the rat bony labyrinth. Anatomical Record 304(12):2645-2660. DOI:10.1002/ar.24601

Pomeroy, E., Stock, J.T., Wells, J.C.K. (2021) Population history and ecology, in addition to climate, influence human stature and body proportions. Scientific Reports 11:274. DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-79501-w

Saers, J.P.P., Demars, L.J., Stephens, N.B., Jashashvili, T., Carlson, K.J., Gordon, A.D., Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T. (2021) Automated resolution independent method for comparing in vivo and dry trabecular bone. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 174(4):822-831. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.24181

Saers, J.P.P., Doershuk, L.J., Stephens, N.B., Jashashvili, T., Carlson, K.J., Gordon, A.D., Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T. (2021) Combinations of trabecular and cortical bone properties distinguish various loading modalities between athletes and controls. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 174(3):434-450. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.24176

Macintosh, A., Stock, J.T. (2020) Muscle force interacts with stature to influence functionally-related polar second moments of area in the lower limb among adult women. American Journal of Physical Anthropology doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24097

Ricklan, S., Decrausaz, S.L., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2020) Obstetric dimensions of the female pelvis are less integrated than locomotor dimensions: Implications for the obstetrical dilemma. American Journal of Human Biology 33(1):e23451. DOI:10.1002/ajhb.23451

Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2020) Life history transitions at the origins of agriculture: a model for understanding how niche construction impacts human growth, demography and health. Frontiers in Endocrinology 11:325. DOI:10.3389/fendo.2020.00325

Longman, D., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2020) Human athletic palaeobiology; contemporary sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 171(S70):42-59. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23992

Saers, J.,Ryan, T.M., Stock, J.T, (2020). Baby steps towards linking calcaneal trabecular bone ontogeny and the development of bipedal human gait. Journal of Anatomy 236(3):474-492 DOI:10.1111/joa.13120

Longman, D.P., Macintosh, A., Roberts, R., Oakley, S., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2019) Ultra-endurance athletic performance suggests that energetics drive human morphological thermal adaptation. Evolutionary Human Sciences 1, e16, 1-15 DOI:10.1017/ehs.2019.13

Macintosh, A.A., Stock, J.T. (2019) Intensive terrestrial or marine locomotor strategies are associated with inter‐ and intra‐limb bone functional adaptation in living female athletes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 168(3):566-581. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23773

Macintosh, A., Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2018) Maternal investment, maturational rate of the offspring and mechanical competence of the female skeleton. Evolution, Medicine and Public Health 1(1):167-179. DOI:10.1093/emph/eoy015

Payne, S., Kumar, B.C.R., Pomeroy, E., Macintosh, A., Stock, J.T. (2018) Thrifty phenotype vs cold adaptation: Trade-offs in upper limb proportions of Himalayan populations of Nepal. Royal Society: Open Science. 5 172174; DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172174. Published 20 June 2018

Payne, S., Macintosh, A., Stock, J.T. (2018) Body size and body composition effects on heat loss from the hands during severe cold exposure. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 166:313-322

Longman, D., Prall, S.P., Shattuck, E.C., Stephen, I.D., Stock, J.T., Wells, J.C.K., M.P. Muehlenbein. (2018) Short-term resource allocation during extensive athletic competition. American Journal of Human Biology 30(1):1-11. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23052

Longman, D., Stock, J.T., Wells, J.C.K. (2017) A trade-off between cognitive and physical performance, with relative preservation of brain function. Scientific Reports 7(13709) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14186-2

Pomeroy, E., Macintosh, A., Wells, J.C.K., Cole, T., Stock, J.T. (2018) Relationship between lean mass, fat mass, and limb bone cross-sectional geometry: implications for estimating body mass and physique from the skeleton. American Journal of Physical Anthropology doi:10.1002/ajpa.23398

Pomeroy E., Stock J.T., Stanojevic S., Miranda J.J., Cole T.J., Wells, J.C.K. (2012) Trade-Offs in Relative Limb Length among Peruvian Children: Extending the Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis to Limb Proportions. PLoS ONE 7(12): e51795

Wells, J.C.K., DeSilva, J.M., Stock, J.T. (2012) The Obstetric Dilemma: An Ancient Game of Russian Roulette, or a Variable Dilemma Sensitive to Ecology? Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 50:40-71

Wells, J.C.K., Stock, J.T. (2011) Re-examining heritability: genetics, life history and plasticity. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 22(10):421-428

Complete list of publications: Google Scholar

Stock, J.T., Will, M., Wells, J.C.K. (2023) The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis and Distributed Adaptation in the Genus Homo: Phenotypic Plasticity and Behavioral Adaptability. Paleoanthropology 2023(2)205-233. DOI:10.48738/2023.iss2.123

Will, M., Krapp, M., Stock, J.T., Manica A. (2021) Different environmental variables predict body and brain size evolution in Homo. Nature Communications 12:4116. DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-24290-7

Cameron, M.E., Pfeiffer, S.K., Stock, J.T. (2021) Small body size phenotypes among Middle and Later Stone Age southern Africans. Journal of Human Evolution 152:102943. DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102943

Beyer, R., Singarayer, J., Stock, J., Manica, A. (2019) Did environmental conditions affect the diversification of the Bantu languages? Heliyon 5(10):E02630. DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02630

Buck, L.T., De Groote, I., Hamada, Y. Hassett, B.R., Ito, T., Stock, J.T. (2019) Evidence of different climatic adaptation strategies in humans and non-human primates. Scientific Reports 9 (1), 11025. DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-47202-8

Scerri, E.M.L., Thomas, M.G., Manica, A., Gunz, P., Stock, J., Stringer, C., Grove, M., Groucutt, H.S., Timmermann, A., Rightmire, G.P., d’Errico, F., Tryon, C., Drake, N., Brooks, A., Dennell, R., Durbin, R., Henn, B., Lee-Thorp, J., deMenocal, P., Petraglia, M.D., Thompson, J.C., Scally, A., Chikhi, L. (2018) Did our species evolve in subdivided populations across Africa, and why does it matter? Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 33(8):583-594. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005

Buck, L.T., De Groote, I., Hamada, Y., Stock, J.T. (2018) Humans preserve non-human primate pattern of adaptation to climate. Quaternary Science Reviews. Volume 192:149-166. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.05.032

Ryan, T.M., Carlson, K., Gordon, A.D., Jablonski, N., Shaw, C.N., Stock, J.T. (2018) Human-like bipedal gait in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus. Journal of Human Evolution

Groucutt, H., Scerii, E., Alsharech, A., Armitage, S., Breeze, P., Buck., L., Candy, I., Drake, N., Duval, M., Grun, R., Kivell, T., Louys, J., Pomeroy, E., Stevens, N., Stock, J., Petraglia., M. (2018) Homo sapiens in Arabia, 85,000 years ago. Nature Ecology & Evolution. volume 2, pages 800-809. doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0518-2

Will, M., Pablos, A., Stock, J.T. (2017) Long-term patterns of body mass and stature evolution within the hominin lineage. Royal Society: Open Science 4 171339; DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171339

Roberts, P., Boivin, N., Lee-Thorp. J., Petraglia, M., Stock, J.T. (2016) Tropical forests and human evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology 25(6):306-317. DOI: 10.1002/evan.21508

Will, M., Stock, J.T. (2015) Spatial and temporal variation of body size among early Homo. Journal of Human Evolution 82:15-33. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.009

Gómez-Olivencia, A., Been, E., Arsuaga, J.L., Stock, J.T. (2013) The Neandertal vertebral column. 1- The cervical spine. Journal of Human Evolution 64(6):608-30. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.02.008

Shaw, C.N., Stock, J.T. (2013) Extreme mobility in the Late Pleistocene? Comparing limb biomechanics among fossil Homo, varsity athletes and Holocene foragers. Journal of Human Evolution 64(4):242-249. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.01.004

Complete list of publications: Google Scholar

Bone health across the lifespan. Co-Investigator with Tina Ziebart, School of Physical Therapy, Bone and Joint Institute Grand Challenges Grant 2025, Western University ($50,000 CDN).

Design and validation of a portable cone-beam µCT scanner to study trabecular bone microarchitecture. Bone and Joint Institute Catalyst Grant, Kirkley Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, Principal Investigator ($30,000 CDN). Co-investigators David Holdsworth, Andrew Nelson. 2019-2023.

The effects of mobility and physical activity on human postcranial skeletal variation SBE-RCUK: Collaborative Research: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Principal Investigator (Cambridge, £302,069). Co-Investigator with Tim Ryan (Penn State), Kristian Carlson (USC).

Adaptation, Dispersals and Phenotype: understanding the roles of climate, natural selection and energetics in shaping global hunter-gatherer adaptability. Principal Investigator. European Research Council – SH6 Human Past Panel €1,910,000. 2014-2019. (ERC-2013-CoG Grant Number: 617627 – ADaPt)

Fragility and sustainability in restricted island environments: adaptation, cultural change and collapse in prehistory. Co-investigator (PI: Caroline Malone, Queens' University Belfast) European Research Council. €2,410,000. 2013-2018.

Epipalaeolithic Foragers and Landscapes in the Azraq Basin, Jordan. Co-investigator, with L. Maher (Berkeley), T Richter (Copenhagen) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, U.K., £414,478. 2007-2011. (AHRC Research Grant RG48007)

I often teach the following courses, depending on the year:

Anthropology 1022: Introduction to Biological Anthropology and Archaeology

Anthropology 2237: Human Adaptability and Resilience

Anthropology 2240: Evolution, Ecology, and Human Health

Anthropology 3311: Bioarchaeology: Practice and Theory

Anthropology 3379: Engineering Ourselves – The Anthropology of Cyborgs

Anthropology 4493: Life History and Energetics

Anthropology 9100: Thinking Anthropologically

Graduate Supervision:

I supervise graduate students on a range of topics relating to skeletal biology, human evolution, and human adaptability. Thus far I have supervised 26 PhD and 43 Masters students. A partial list of my former PhD students can be found at the Academic Phylogeny of Biological Anthropology: https://www.bioanthtree.org/detail/Jay_Stock/.

More information about my current graduate students and their research projects can be found on our lab website: www.pavelab.ca