Matt Sponheimer

10.9k total citations · 1 hit paper
115 papers, 7.9k citations indexed

About

Matt Sponheimer is a scholar working on Anthropology, Paleontology and Ecology. According to data from OpenAlex, Matt Sponheimer has authored 115 papers receiving a total of 7.9k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 68 papers in Anthropology, 67 papers in Paleontology and 67 papers in Ecology. Recurrent topics in Matt Sponheimer's work include Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (68 papers), Isotope Analysis in Ecology (53 papers) and Primate Behavior and Ecology (40 papers). Matt Sponheimer is often cited by papers focused on Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (68 papers), Isotope Analysis in Ecology (53 papers) and Primate Behavior and Ecology (40 papers). Matt Sponheimer collaborates with scholars based in United States, South Africa and United Kingdom. Matt Sponheimer's co-authors include Julia A. Lee‐Thorp, Darryl J. de Ruiter, Daryl Codron, Jacqui Codron, Thure E. Cerling, Benjamin H. Passey, Linda K. Ayliffe, Todd F. Robinson, Peter S. Ungar and James R. Ehleringer and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In The Last Decade

Matt Sponheimer

113 papers receiving 7.5k citations

Hit Papers

Carbon isotope fractionation between diet, breath CO2, an... 2005 2026 2012 2019 2005 100 200 300 400
What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

  1. Carbon isotope fractionation between diet, breath CO2, and bioapatite in different mammals
    2005 478 citations Benjamin H. Passey, Thure E. Cerling et al. Journal of Archaeological Science profile →

Peers

Matt Sponheimer
Stanley H. Ambrose United States
Nikolaas J. van der Merwe South Africa
Hervé Bocherens Germany
Margaret J. Schoeninger United States
Julia A. Lee‐Thorp United Kingdom
Meave G. Leakey United States
Darryl J. de Ruiter United States
Anna K. Behrensmeyer United States
Peter Andrews United Kingdom
Frederick E. Grine United States
Stanley H. Ambrose United States
Matt Sponheimer
Citations per year, relative to Matt Sponheimer Matt Sponheimer (= 1×) peers Stanley H. Ambrose

Countries citing papers authored by Matt Sponheimer

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Matt Sponheimer's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Matt Sponheimer with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Matt Sponheimer more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Matt Sponheimer

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Matt Sponheimer. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Matt Sponheimer. The network helps show where Matt Sponheimer may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Matt Sponheimer

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Matt Sponheimer. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Matt Sponheimer based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Matt Sponheimer. Matt Sponheimer is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
1.
Celis, Gerardo, Thibaut Devièse, Sahra Talamo, et al.. (2025). Refining near-infrared spectroscopy for collagen quantification: A new predictive model for archaeological bone. Journal of Archaeological Science. 185. 106448–106448.
2.
Davis, Loren G., David B. Madsen, Lorena Becerra‐Valdivia, et al.. (2022). Dating of a large tool assemblage at the Cooper’s Ferry site (Idaho, USA) to ~15,785 cal yr B.P. extends the age of stemmed points in the Americas. Science Advances. 8(51). eade1248–eade1248. 15 indexed citations
3.
Sponheimer, Matt, et al.. (2022). Problems with Paranthropus. Quaternary International. 650. 40–51. 11 indexed citations
4.
Negash, Enquye W., Zeresenay Alemseged, René Bobe, et al.. (2020). Dietary trends in herbivores from the Shungura Formation, southwestern Ethiopia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117(36). 21921–21927. 26 indexed citations
5.
Wynn, Jonathan G., Zeresenay Alemseged, René Bobe, et al.. (2020). Isotopic evidence for the timing of the dietary shift toward C 4 foods in eastern African Paranthropus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117(36). 21978–21984. 28 indexed citations
6.
Wynn, Jonathan G., Kaye E. Reed, Matt Sponheimer, et al.. (2016). Dietary flexibility of Australopithecus afarensis in the face of paleoecological change during the middle Pliocene: Faunal evidence from Hadar, Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution. 99. 93–106. 34 indexed citations
7.
Leichliter, Jennifer, Matt Sponheimer, Nico L. Avenant, et al.. (2016). Small mammal insectivore carbon isotopes as environmental proxies in a South African savanna ecosystem. 1 indexed citations
8.
Codron, Jacqui, Julia A. Lee‐Thorp, Matt Sponheimer, & Daryl Codron. (2013). Plant stable isotope composition across habitat gradients in a semi‐arid savanna: implications for environmental reconstruction. Journal of Quaternary Science. 28(3). 301–310. 24 indexed citations
9.
Copeland, Sandi R., Matt Sponheimer, Darryl J. de Ruiter, et al.. (2011). Strontium isotope evidence for landscape use by early hominins. Nature. 474(7349). 76–78. 145 indexed citations
10.
Ruiter, Darryl J. de, et al.. (2010). Investigating the Role of Eagles as Accumulating Agents in the Dolomitic Cave Infills of South Africa. 8(2). 129–154. 7 indexed citations
11.
Lee‐Thorp, Julia A. & Matt Sponheimer. (2010). Opportunities and constraints for reconstructing palaeoenvironments from stable light isotope ratios in fossils. Geological Quarterly. 49(2). 195–204. 17 indexed citations
12.
Sponheimer, Matt, Daryl Codron, Benjamin H. Passey, et al.. (2009). Using carbon isotopes to track dietary change in modern, historical, and ancient primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 140(4). 661–670. 39 indexed citations
13.
Codron, Daryl, Julia A. Lee‐Thorp, Matt Sponheimer, & Jacqui Codron. (2007). Stable carbon isotope reconstruction of ungulate diet changes through the seasonal cycle. South African Journal of Wildlife Research. 37(2). 117–125. 39 indexed citations
14.
Codron, Daryl, Jacqui Codron, Julia A. Lee‐Thorp, et al.. (2006). Dietary variation in impala Aepyceros melampus recorded by carbon isotope composition of feces. Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich). 52(6). 1015–1025. 20 indexed citations
15.
Sponheimer, Matt, James E. Loudon, Daryl Codron, et al.. (2006). Do “savanna” chimpanzees consume C4 resources?. Journal of Human Evolution. 51(2). 128–133. 101 indexed citations
16.
Codron, Daryl, et al.. (2005). Stable carbon isotope analyses of Parapapio tooth enamel from Sterkfontein and Swartkrans : correspondence. South African Journal of Science. 101. 483–484. 1 indexed citations
17.
Codron, Jacqui, Daryl Codron, Julia A. Lee‐Thorp, Matt Sponheimer, & Darryl J. de Ruiter. (2005). Animal diets in the Waterberg based on stable isotopic composition of faeces : research article. African Journal of Wildlife Research. 35(1). 43–52. 6 indexed citations
18.
Sponheimer, Matt & Julia A. Lee‐Thorp. (2003). Using carbon isotope data of fossil bovid communities for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. South African Journal of Science. 99. 273–275. 37 indexed citations
19.
Sponheimer, Matt, Kaye E. Reed, & Julia A. Lee‐Thorp. (2001). Isotopic palaeoecology of Makapansgat Limeworks Perissodactyla. South African Journal of Science. 97. 327–329. 16 indexed citations
20.
Sponheimer, Matt, Kaye E. Reed, & Julia A. Lee‐Thorp. (1999). Combining isotopic and ecomorphological data to refine bovid paleodietary reconstruction: a case study from the Makapansgat Limeworks hominin locality. Journal of Human Evolution. 36(6). 705–718. 110 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

Explore authors with similar magnitude of impact

Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Stanley H. Ambrose Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Nikolaas J. van der Merwe Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Hervé Bocherens Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Margaret J. Schoeninger Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Julia A. Lee‐Thorp Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Meave G. Leakey Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Darryl J. de Ruiter Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Anna K. Behrensmeyer Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Peter Andrews Breakdown of academic impact, for papers by Frederick E. Grine
Rankless by CCL
2026