Match tier Confirmed
Presence Current · Arkansas
Last published 2026
Sources OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed 2026-08-20

Taylor R. Hermes

Affiliation confirmed via AI analysis of OpenAlex, ORCID, and web sources.

Federal Grant PI

Assistant Professor of Environmental Archaeology

Also affiliated: University of Arizona (2014); Max Planck Society (2021); Vilnius University (2019–2022); Washington University in St. Louis (2007–2018); Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (2018–2021); Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (2021–2026); Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (2025); Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (2021–2025); Nazarbayev University (2025)

Faculty Researcher

13 h-index 53 pubs 751 cited

  • Archaeology
  • Humans
  • History, Ancient
  • DNA, Ancient
  • Animals
  • Asia
  • Millets
  • Genetics, Population
  • Kazakhstan
  • Sheep
  • Animals, Domestic
  • DNA, Mitochondrial
  • Domestication
  • Agriculture
  • Crops, Agricultural

Biography and Research Information

OverviewAI-generated summary

Taylor R. Hermes is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Archaeology at the University of Arkansas. Their research focuses on the ancient human-animal relationships and the spread of domestic animals across Eurasia. Hermes's work utilizes archaeological evidence, ancient DNA analysis, and stable isotope analysis to investigate past agricultural and pastoralist practices.

Hermes has published on the early dispersal of domestic sheep into Central Asia, the emergence of dairying in the Caucasus and Eurasian steppes, and diverse sheep and goat husbandry strategies in the Kyrgyz Tian Shan. Their research also extends to the history of human diseases, with recent work examining ancient Plasmodium genomes and the evolution of plague lineages in prehistoric sheep. Hermes also investigates the presence of ancient chickens in Central Asia and the interactions between hunter-gatherer and Afanasievo communities in the Altai Mountains during the Bronze Age.

With an h-index of 13 and over 700 citations from 53 publications, Hermes has secured significant federal funding. This includes a $700,000 NSF grant as Co-PI for dynamic modeling of river ecosystem stability and a $139,516 NSF grant as PI for tracing the rise of equine dairying. Hermes also leads a research group and collaborates with researchers such as Charlotte Y. Jeong.

Metrics

  • h-index: 13
  • Publications: 53
  • Citations: 751

Selected Publications

  • Ancient DNA reveals elite dynastic rule among Iron Age Eurasian Steppe nomads (2026)
    Science Advances DOI OpenAlex
  • Reconstruction of the lifeways of Central European Late Bronze Age communities using ancient DNA, isotope and osteoarchaeological analyses (2026)
    Nature Communications 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Ancient genomes from eastern Kazakhstan reveal dynamic genetic legacy of Inner Eurasian hunter-gatherers (2025)
    Science Advances 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
  • Evolutionary history and recurrent host adaptation in ancient <i>Salmonella enterica</i> (2025)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
  • Rocks and clay: Potters’ technological choices within the cultural dynamics of Bronze Age Kazakhstan (2025)
    PLoS ONE DOI OpenAlex
  • Bronze Age <i>Yersinia pestis</i> genome from sheep sheds light on hosts and evolution of a prehistoric plague lineage (2025)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Genome‐wide population affinities and signatures of adaptation in hydruntines, sussemiones and Asian wild asses (2024)
    Molecular Ecology 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria (2024)
    Nature 40 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia (2024)
    Nature Communications 12 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Biomolecular evidence for changing millet reliance in Late Bronze Age central Germany (2024)
    Scientific Reports 8 citations DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Federal Grants 3 $914,516 total

NSF Co-PI Oct 2025 - Aug 2027

SCC-CIVIC-FA Track A: Dynamic Modeling of River Ecosystem Stability

S&CC: Smart & Connected Commun $700,000
NSF PI Jun 2025 - May 2029

Collaborative Research: Tracing the Rise of Equine Dairying

Archaeology $139,516

Collaboration Network

154 Collaborators 101 Institutions 31 Countries

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