Local Professor Wins Award for Study of Prehistoric Mammal Migrations

ONEONTA— Dr. Kaedan O’Brien, professor of anthropology at SUNY Oneonta, has received the 2025 Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology Prize from University of Tübingen in Germany for his study of prehistoric animal migrations.

According to a press release, O’Brien examined the fossil records of 18 animal species that lived in East Africa during the ice age between 115,000 and 11,700 years ago, becoming the first to demonstrate prehistoric migration in two animal species. He also found that for many species it is not possible to draw direct conclusions about past behavior from today’s migrations.

For his doctoral thesis, O’Brien first reviewed the current conditions in eastern Africa. There, large herbivores in the savannah migrate to avoid seasonal food shortages. O’Brien’s work shows that such migrations did not take place in the past.

Using the fossil records of 18 animal species from the Ice Age, he investigated the pattern of oxygen, strontium and carbon isotopes that were deposited in the tooth enamel of a total of 79 antelopes, buffalo, and zebras. The results provide information about the habitat, eating habits and seasonal changes and allow conclusions to be drawn about the behavior of the animals during the last ice age.