Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr Todd Raymond Yokley

Personal Biography Statement

Dr. Yokley is a paleoanthropologist whose research involves analyzing how climate and other selective pressures have shaped human evolution. To date, he has concentrated primarily on variation in the nose and nasal passages, which he has measured through a combination of traditional skeletal measurements and soft-tissue measurements derived from clinical CT scans. This research has revealed a pattern of variation in human nasal passage structure that appears to reflect selection for more efficient heat and moisture exchange under certain environmental conditions. Dr. Yokley is also interested in broader issues such as bioenergetics of past human populations, the emergence of modern humans, and climatic adaptation among non-human mammals.

Educational Biography

Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, 2006, Duke University.

M.A. in Anthropology, 1999, Northern Illinois University.

B.S. in Zoology (Anthropology Minor), 1996, University of Tennessee.

Selected Publications

Holton NE, Yokley TR, and Figueroa A (2012). Nasal septal and craniofacial form in European- and African-derived populations. Journal of Anatomy 221, 263-274.

Holton NE, Yokley TR, and Franciscus RG (2011). Climatic adaptation and Neandertal facial evolution: a comment on Rae et al. (2011). Journal of Human Evolution 61, 624-627.

Yokley TR (2009). Ecogeographic variation in human nasal passages. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 138, 11-22.

Yokley TR and Churchill SE (2006). Archaic and modern human distal humeral morphology. Journal of Human Evolution 51, 603-616.

Courses Taught

ANT-1010,ANT-2100,ANT-3110,ANT-440G

Office Hours

Monday - [11:00 to 12:00]
Tuesday - [11:30 to 01:00]
Wednesday - [11:00 to 12:00]
Thursday - [11:30 to 01:00]