Staff profile

• Anthropology and archaeology of art
• Evolution of social behaviour
• Indigenous rights
• Social change, especially among French and Chinese villagers, and Native Australians

Authored book

• Order and anarchy: civil society, social disorder and war
  
  Layton, R. (2006). Order and anarchy: civil society, social disorder and war. Cambridge University Press.
• Destruction and conservation of cultural property.
  
  Stone, R., Layton, R., & Thomas, J. (2000). Destruction and conservation of cultural property. Routledge.
• An introduction to theory in anthropology.
  
  Layton, R. (1997). An introduction to theory in anthropology. Cambridge University Press.
• Conflict in the Archaeology of Living Traditions.
  
  Layton, R. (1994). Conflict in the Archaeology of Living Traditions. Routledge.

Chapter in book

• Aesthetics - the approach from anthropology.
  
  Layton, R. (2011). Aesthetics - the approach from anthropology. In E. Schellekens & P. Goldie (Eds.), Philosphical Aesthetics and Aesthetic Psychology. (pp. 208-222). Oxford University Press.
• human social evolution: a comparison of hunter-gatherer and chimpanzee social organisation
  
  Layton, R., & O’Hara, S. (2010). human social evolution: a comparison of hunter-gatherer and chimpanzee social organisation. In R. Dunbar, C. Gamble, & J. Gowlett (Eds.), Social brain, distributed mind. (pp. 85-115). British Academy.
• What can ethnography tell us about human social evolution?
  
  Layton, R. (2008). What can ethnography tell us about human social evolution? In N. Allen, H. Callan, R. Dunbar, & W. James (Eds.), Early human kinship: from sex to social reproduction (1st ed., pp. 113-127). Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444302714.ch6
• Crisp snapshots and fuzzy trends.
  
  Layton, R. (2008). Crisp snapshots and fuzzy trends. In D. Papagianni, R. Layton, & H. Maschner (Eds.), Time and change: archaeological and anthropological perspectives on the long term. (pp. 1-13). Oxbow.
• Aboriginal versus western creationism.
  
  Layton, R. (2008). Aboriginal versus western creationism. In R. Bentley (Ed.), The edge of reason? Science and religion in modern society. (pp. 31-38). Continuum Press.
• Are immediate-return strategies adaptive?
  
  Layton, R. (2005). Are immediate-return strategies adaptive? In T. Widlok & W. Tadesse (Eds.), Property and equality : ritualisation, sharing, egalitarianism. (pp. 130-150). Berghahn Journals.
• The politics of indigenous 'Creationism' in Australia
  
  Layton, R. (2004). The politics of indigenous ’Creationism’ in Australia. In S. Coleman & L. Carlin (Eds.), The cultures of creationism. Anti-evolutionism in English-speaking countries. (pp. 145-164). Ashgate Publishing.
• What creates village democracy in (Western) Europe? A comparative study.
  
  Layton, R. (2003). What creates village democracy in (Western) Europe? A comparative study. In H. Grandits & P. Heady (Eds.), Distinct inheritances: property, family and community in a changing Europe. (pp. 97-113). Münster: LIT.
• Hunter-gatherers, their neighbours and the nation state.
  
  Layton, R. (2001). Hunter-gatherers, their neighbours and the nation state. In C. Panter-Brick, R. Layton, & P. Rowley-Conwy (Eds.), Hunters and gatherers: an interdisciplinary perspective. Cambridge University Press.
• Representing and translating people's place in the landscape of northern Australia.
  
  Layton, R. (1997). Representing and translating people’s place in the landscape of northern Australia. In A. James, J. Hockey, & A. Dawson (Eds.), After writing culture (1st ed., pp. 122-143). Routledge.
• Relating to the Country in the Western Desert.
  
  Layton, R. (1995). Relating to the Country in the Western Desert. In E. Hirsch & M. O’Hanlon (Eds.), The Anthropology of Landscape: Prespectives on Place and Space (pp. 210-231). Clarendon Press.

Journal Article

• The evolution of cultural diversity in Pama-Nyungan Australia
  
  Learmouth, D., Layton, R. H., & Tehrani, J. J. (2024). The evolution of cultural diversity in Pama-Nyungan Australia. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), Article 945. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03386-7
• Scars for survival: high cost male initiation rites are strongly associated with desert habitat in Pama-Nyungan Australia
  
  Learmouth, D., Layton, R., & Tehrani, J. (2024). Scars for survival: high cost male initiation rites are strongly associated with desert habitat in Pama-Nyungan Australia. Evolution and Human Behavior, 45(2), 193-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.02.003
• Kinship Without Words
  
  Layton, R. (2021). Kinship Without Words. Biological Theory, 16(3), 135-147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-020-00346-7
• Antiquity and social functions of multi-level social organisation among hunter-gatherers.
  
  Layton, R., O’Hara, S., & Bilsborough, A. (2012). Antiquity and social functions of multi-level social organisation among hunter-gatherers. International Journal of Primatology, 33(5), 1215-1245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s+10764-012-9634.z
• Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations
  
  Rowley-Conwy, P., & Layton, R. (2011). Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1566), 849-862. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0307
• Why social scientists don't like Darwin and what can be done about it.
  
  Layton, R. (2010). Why social scientists don’t like Darwin and what can be doneabout it. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 8(2), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.1556/jep.8.2010.2.4
• Fission-fusion dynamics : new research frameworks.
  
  Aureli, F., Schaffner, C., Boesch, C., Bearder, S., Call, J., Chapman, C., Connor, R., di Fiore, A., Dunbar, R., Henzi, P., Holekamp, K., Korstjens, A., Layton, R., Lehmann, J., Manson, J., Ramos-Fernandez, G., Strier, K., & van Schaik, C. (2008). Fission-fusion dynamics : new research frameworks. Current Anthropology, 49(4), 627-654. https://doi.org/10.1086/586708
• La structure iconographique d'un art rupestre est-elle une clef pour son interprétation?
  
  Sauvet, G., Layton, R., Lenssen-Erz, T., Taçon, P., & Wlodarczyk, A. (2006). La structure iconographique d’un art rupestre est-elle une clef pour son interprétation? Zephyrus. Revista de Prehistoria Y Arqueología, 59, 195-208.
• Art and agency - a reassessment
  
  Layton, R. (2003). Art and agency - a reassessment. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 9(3), 447-463. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.00158