Teaching human evolution and prehistory since 1999, Cameron studied at the University of London's Institute of Archaeology and then Durham University (UK) (BA Joint Hons), with two field seasons at Koobi Fora, Kenya; he then earned an MA (Anthropology) at Portland State University, and a doctorate in Archaeology at Canada's Simon Fraser University in 2004. He teaches a wide variety of courses in human prehistory, including prehistory of the NW Coast. He has been involved PSU's long-term Wapato Valley Research project since 1991. Research interests include Northwest Coast archaeology, evolution in general, cognitive evolution, aboriginal watercraft, usewear analysis and the adaptation of humanity (and our domesticates) to off-Earth environments, e.g. space settlement. Dr. Smith’s books include The Fact of Evolution (Penguin Random House 2011, recently translated into Arabic), An Atlas of Human Prehistory (Cognella 2019), and the forthcoming Evolution and the Drake Equation: An Anthropologist's Estimation of the Probability of Intelligent Life in our Galaxy (Springer 2023).
Selected Works:
- Smith, C.M. 2021. Archaeology: An Introduction to Human Evolution and the Origins of Civilization. Kendal-Hunt.
- Hein, A.M., C.M. Smith, F. Marin and K. Staats. 2020. Worldships: Feasibilty and Rationale. European Space Agency Advanced Concepts Journal (12) 2020:75-104. https://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/acta_futura/issue12/.
- Gabora, L., and C.M. Smith. 2020. A cognitive transition underlying both technological and social aspects of cumulative culture. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Volume 43 (e163) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20000230.
- Smith, C.M., L. Gabora and W. Gardner-O'Kearney. 2018. The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis Facilitates Evolutionary Models of Culture Change. Cliodynamics 9: 84-107. https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio9235187.
- Smith, C.M. 2015. Use-wear, chaîne opératoire and labour organisation among Pacific Northwest Coast sedentary foragers. Antiquity 89 (345):662-682. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2015.29.
- Smith, C.M. 2014. Estimation of a Genetically Viable Population for Multigenerational Interstellar Voyaging: Review and Data for Project Hyperion. Acta Astronautica 97:16-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.12.013
Courses Taught:
- Anth 101 Introduction to Biological Anthropology
- Anth 102 Introduction to Archaeology
- Anth 361U The Archaeology of Europe
- Anth 365U The Archaeology of North America
- Anth 399 Special Studies