Dr. Susanne Cote

Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Associate Professor

Faculty of Arts, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology

Contact information

scote@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Lab Homepage

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-8190

Location

Office: ES750
Lab: ES831

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy , Harvard University, 2008

M.A. Anthropology, Harvard University, 2003

B.A. Anthropology, McGill University, 2001

Biography

Dr. Susanne Cote received her PhD in 2008 from the Biological Anthropology wing of Harvard’s Anthropology Department (now Human Evolutionary Biology). She has participated in paleontological fieldwork at numerous sites in eastern Africa including the Turkana Basin and the Tugen Hills (Baringo Basin) and has worked for many years in partnership with the National Museums of Kenya and Uganda Museums.

Dr. Cote’s current position is as Associate Professor with the University of Calgary’s Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. In this role, Dr. Cote works with interdisciplinary teams throughout Kenya and Uganda. She conducts fieldwork in the Turkana Basin as part of the West Turkana Miocene Project with her co-director Dr. James Rossie (Stony Brook University).

Research

Areas of Research

paleontology, paleoanthropology, African Cenozoic Mammals, Hominoidea

Courses

Course number	Course title	Semester
ANTH 309	Human Evolution
ANTH 412	Primate Fossil Record
ANTH 605	Professional Skills for Anthropologists
ANTH 201	Introduction to Biological Anthropology
ANTH 505	The Hominoidea

Projects

African Ape Origins: Fossils from the Middle Miocene of West Turkana

National Science Foundation Collaborative Research Grant (2024-2027)

The Contexts of Early Miocene Hominoid Evolution at Koru, Chamtwara, and Legetet, Kenya

National Science Foundation Collaborative Research Grant (2021-2025)

New Excavations at Tonde Bridge, Kenya

The Leakey Foundation (2021-2024)

Awards

Great Supervisor Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary. 2018
New Teacher Award, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary. 2016
University Teaching Award (Sessional Instructor), Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. 2015
Teaching Excellence Award, Student Union, University of Calgary. 2021

Publications

The evolution of hominoid locomotor versatility: evidence from Moroto, a 21 Ma site in Uganda. Science. 380: eabq2935. (2023)
Oldest evidence of significant C4 grasses and habitat heterogeneity in eastern Africa. Science. 380: 173-177. (2023)

Complete List of Publications

Google Scholar

ORCID

In the News

UCalgary researcher helps give history of early apes a fresh perspective. UToday, University of Calgary. (2023)
Fossil teeth point to diverse ape fauna in a wet and variable environment. PNAS News. (2022)
U of C casts spotlight on bridge between art and dinosaurs. CBC News. (2017)
Evolving, disciplined world of paleoart in spotlight. . UToday, University of Calgary. (2017)