Stephen Shennan, FBA (born 9 May 1949)[1] is a British archaeologist and academic. Since 1996, he has been Professor of Theoretical Archaeology. He was Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the University College London from 2005 to 2014.[2]
Shennan was educated at the Becket School, West Bridgford, and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he received BA (1971) and PhD (1977) degrees in Archaeology.[1] He focuses on cultural evolution and Darwinian archaeology, applying theories from evolutionary ecology and cladistics to archaeology. In July 2006, Shennan was elected Fellow of the British Academy.[2] Shennan was also awarded the RAI Huxley Medal 2021.[3]