Dr Paul G Bahn

Paul G Bahn, author and archaeologist

Dr Paul G Bahn

Distinguished archaeologist and author

Dr Paul G Bahn is a distinguished archaeologist, and a prolific writer and broadcaster on archaeology, prehistoric art and early man. In 2003 and 2004, he led the team that discovered Britain's first Ice Age cave art at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire.

He holds a PhD from Cambridge, conducting his thesis on the prehistory of the French Pyrénées. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a member of various international organisations, including the Société Préhistorique Française and a variety of rock art research associations. He is also a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), and regularly leads archaeological study tours for the AIA and also for Andante Travels to prehistoric sites in Spain and France, as well as to Easter island and Chile.

Paul Bahn has written extensively on prehistoric art, including Journey Through the Ice Age, The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art, Cave Art: A Guide to the Decorated Ice Age Caves of Europe and Britain's Oldest Art: the Ice Age Cave Art of Creswell Crags (with Paul Pettitt). Among his other books are Easter Island, Earth Island and The Enigmas of Easter Island (both with John Flenley); and Mammoths (with Adrian Lister). He is also co-author (with Colin Renfrew) of Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, the leading textbook of archaeology.

In a lighter vein, he has also written The Bluffer's Guide to Archaeology; Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction; and Disgraceful Archaeology and Ancient Obscenities (both with Bill Tidy).

He has also edited a large number of books produced with teams of academics from around the world, including The Penguin Archaeology Guide; The Cambridge Illustrated History of Archaeology; The Atlas of World Archaeology; Archaeology – The Definitive Guide; The Story of Archaeology; Tombs, Graves and Mummies; Lost Cities; Wonderful Things; The Archaeology Detectives; Written in Bones; The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Archaeology; Ancient World in Your Pocket; Exploring the Ancient World, and others.