Paul Gerard Bahn is a renowned British archaeologist, translator, writer, and broadcaster born on July 29, 1953. He has made significant contributions to the field of archaeology, particularly in the area of prehistoric art. Bahn is a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine and co-authored the popular textbook Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice with Colin Renfrew.
Bahn was educated at Marist College in Kingston-upon-Hull and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA in 1974. He went on to complete his Ph.D thesis on the prehistory of the French Pyrenees at Cambridge in 1979. Following his doctorate, Bahn held several post-doctoral fellowships and a Getty Foundation postdoctoral fellowship in the History of Art and the Humanities.
In the mid-1980s, Bahn transitioned to a freelance career, focusing on writing, editing, and translating books on archaeology. His primary research interests include prehistoric art, particularly rock art and Palaeolithic art, as well as the archaeology of Easter Island. He led the team that discovered the first Ice Age cave art in Britain in 2003 and 2004.
As a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine, Bahn has also lectured on archaeological study tours across Europe, Africa, North America, and Polynesia. He has served as a consultant expert for several archaeological documentaries, including the BBC production "The Making of Mankind" and the Nova series "Human Origins."
