Metin I. Eren

Canadian science journalist Bob McDonald interviewed SMU archaeologist Metin Eren for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald radio show.

Eren's latest research tests the long-held theory that prehistoric humans in East Asia crafted tools from bamboo, which archaeologists in the past devised to explain a lack of evidence for advanced prehistoric stone tool-making processes. Eren research asked "Can complex bamboo tools even be made with simple stone tools?"

A modern-day flint knapper, Eren replicated the crafting of bamboo knives and confirmed that it is possible to make a variety of bamboo tools with the simplest stone tools. However, rather than confirming the long-held "bamboo hypothesis," the new research shows there's more to the theory, he says.

Live Science is featuring an interview with Metin I. Eren, a Ph.D. candidate in the SMU Department of Anthropology.

In the November 12 piece, "Science Lives: Archaeologist Recreates Stone Age Technology," Eren answers the ScienceLives 10 Questions to elaborate on his expertise in Stone Age archaeology, human evolution and experimental archaeology.

An expert flintknapper, Eren can accurately replicate prehistoric stone-tool technology to investigate prehistoric tool efficiency, design and production.