As we've argued in a recent preprint, Ardrey might have benefited from paying more heed to the anthropologists. osf.io/preprints/os...

Everyone should read the Spandrels paper. But too often it's discussed without context of the other contributions. Esp. Clutton-Brock & Harvey on how the comparative method can be used to test adaptive hypothesis, and Cain’s final critique (which SJG called “tame” compared to the oral remarks).

Our new paper in Hunter-Gatherer Research! We explored women’s decision-making power within households in two subsistence communities with different gender norms (BaYaka foragers & Bandongo fisher-farmers) in the Congolese rainforest ✨ www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3...

Latest crop of early online papers at HGR includes some bangers - if I do say so myself. Not just this report on BaYaka Women's autonomy and my own article about cage traps, but also Sterelny on quasi-darwinian mechanisms in cultural evolution. www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3...

"The problem...which recurs throughout 'Spandrels', is not that this criticism is wrong, it’s that Gould & Lewontin...make only cursory and superficial remarks about how test those alternatives, or about how to pursue an alternative research programme built on different conceptual foundations"

Not to forget this extremely interesting paper on consensus-based decision-making in egalitarian societies. bsky.app/profile/vive...

And don't miss out on Vivek's absolutely sterling interview with Bob Kelly. bsky.app/profile/vive...

Gearing up to teach my grad Theory class again, I am reminded that the Spandrels of San Marcos is not a good paper. dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/w... (but I'll probably assign it anyway, for precisely this reason)

Great to read Vivek's interview with Bob - lots of interesting things here. And not just the insights into Binford's data collection 😱. Thanks to both Vivek and Bob for the publication!

Check out my interview with Bob Kelly in Hunter Gatherer Research. The view from 30,000 feet: An interview with archaeologist Robert L Kelly liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...

New article in Hunter Gatherer Research! Foraging societies practice consensus-based politics. We conduct a xc review and argue that it helps to boost collective intelligence. Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...

🎄 New paper! 🎁 Since the 20s it's been said that "the Hadza don't use traps". Except sporadic snaring, none have been reported. So I was excited to find baited cage traps in use. More exciting, this was cross-cultural transmission — seldom seen in action! 1/​5 tinyurl.com/cagetrap

Perhaps a late Xmas/Chanukah/Festivus/Kwanzaa present for some research hot shot currently not in Canada but who might like to move here - the new Impact+ Research Chairs. Note the strategic areas in Arctic, environment, climate resilience and water security. 🧪⚒️ careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1717054...

It never ceases to amaze me how flexible and multi-purpose the human foot can be. Pics taken with the Batek of Malaysia.

In episode 1022, I talk with Dr. Vivek Venkataraman about tree climbing, running, and hunting across human societies. #Anthropology #Science youtu.be/QirFyPqN3e0

"At Brown and Harvard, more than 20 percent of undergraduates are registered as disabled. At Amherst, that figure is 34 percent." Accommodation Nation: America’s colleges have an extra-time-on-tests problem. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

Check out our new paper in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, led by Ian J. Wallace. "Dampened inflammation and reduced risk of osteoarthritis among non-industrialized societies" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Bruce Winterhalder was once asked to share some professional insights. Here they are:

From the archive. Societies divide labor by gender and age. A biological anthropologist considers when and why this behavior arose. Read more: www.sapiens.org/biology/labo...

A great piece on the women's hunting debate by Elena Bridgers that covers some of our work: elenabridgers.substack.com/p/did-women-...

A great piece on the women's hunting debate by Elena Bridgers that covers some of our work: elenabridgers.substack.com/p/did-women-...

My review of Sex is a Spectrum, by Agustín Fuentes 🧪 #BioAnth blog.edhagen.net/posts/2025-0...

Some thoughts on how preferences for #leaders change with our environments: Leaders for the World We Think We Live In | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ecol... #LeadSciSky #EvPsych #CultEvol #socialpsyc #BehSci 🧪 @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social @psychologytoday.com

Do not accept the premise that education is to blame for abysmal jobs outcomes. “The fantasy economy's framing of economic inequality… focuses exclusively on education…deflects attention away from decades of public policies and changing business practices that have…contributed to stagnating wages”

Published two years ago in @science.org: "Body-based units of measure in cultural evolution" We looked into how, and why, human societies have measured things with their bodies. A little thread about the deep ancestry and cross-cultural heritage of measurement: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I’ve been trying to figure out which scientists in the human evolutionary sciences were directly influenced by Robert Ardrey’s books. Mostly the answer is a resounding no.

I’ve been trying to figure out which scientists in the human evolutionary sciences were directly influenced by Robert Ardrey’s books. Mostly the answer is a resounding no.

From ancient Greece to the Arabic golden age, scholars have been driven by their curiosity to investigate astronomy, history, philosophy, and sundry other disciplines. Is there a structure to that curiosity? Are astronomers as likely to also be historians or to also be philosophers?

Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

This is fascinating. It is also evidence in favour of taking biological agency seriously, rather than treating it as an "as if" property.

"Behavior drives morphological change during human evolution" Our new article is out in @science.org today www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pleased to present our new preprint on sleep and circadian rhythms among the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia. This is a fascinating system for exploring sleep biology. Lots of variation in light exposure, housing type, and subsistence. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 below.

Some fun unpublished data from a talk I gave years ago on the sexual division of labor (SDOL) among the Batek of Malaysia. The Batek have been described as highly gender-egalitarian. Kirk and Karen Endicott collected the data in 1975-76, back when the Batek were fully nomadic foragers.

Some fun unpublished data from a talk I gave years ago on the sexual division of labor (SDOL) among the Batek of Malaysia. The Batek have been described as highly gender-egalitarian. Kirk and Karen Endicott collected the data in 1975-76, back when the Batek were fully nomadic foragers.

From our new preprint on physical activity (PA) and cardiometabolic health among the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia. An extreme lifestyle gradient results in drastic variation in PA, w/ especially notable age-related declines in PA with urbanization www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our new preprint looks at how early life environments shape adult cardiometabolic health among the Orang Asli. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... "We find support for the Developmental Constraints model but not the Predictive Adaptive Response model in explaining adult cardiometabolic health"

Check out our new preprint! We ask: how does urbanization impact cardiometabolic health among Orang Asli and Turkana? Congrats to lead author @marinawatowich.bsky.social! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... "We find that age effects on cardiometabolic health are highly modifiable by lifestyle..."

Useful observation by @enzaspinapolice.bsky.social that a simplistic and problematic 'man the hunter' stereotype was propagated by popular science (e.g. Audrey, Morris) and was less explicit in original academic literature. @ishpssb2025.bsky.social

I'm excited to share that my wife's book, The Mind Electric, is out! She's a brilliant neurologist and weaves together patient stories exploring the human mind. I read it and it's fantastic. If you r interested in the mind, culture, & how we make meaning, check it out! www.amazon.com/Mind-Electri...

The Friends of IAST conference has come to an end Thank you to all the attendees, presenters, partners & organizers for the richness of the moments we shared together: discussions, presentations as well as informal exchanges during the coffee breaks! 👋 @minhuayan.bsky.social S. Mitter J. Stieglitz

🎉 The Friends of IAST conference kicks off today in Toulouse! Held every two years, this event brings together IAST alumni and new research fellows—two days of reconnecting, sharing ideas, and sparking new collaborations. 👋Organizers: @minhuayan.bsky.social S. Mitter J. Stieglitz

Your next Fall read, my new book: SEVEN DECADES: HOW WE EVOLVED TO LIVE LONGER Longevity is shaped by our evolutionary past—imagine aging as opportunity rather than burden. Out Sept 16, preorder w/ code PUP30 for 30% discount: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... @princetonupress.bsky.social

And this is our recent excellent ZOOM with @vivek123.bsky.social youtu.be/6IgVqOxCxIk?...

Last week, I delivered a talk to the Radical Anthropology Group on our new preprint called The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter. Thanks to @radicalanthro.bsky.social for having me! Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IgV...

Evolutionary anthropologist Vivek Venkataraman and renowned scientist David Sloan Wilson dig into how early human societies developed. 🔗Don't miss out, come along! www.prosocial.world/events/democ... #Evolution #Biology #Academic #Podcast #History #Science #ProSocial

Really looking forward to this conversation on Friday May 23 with @davidsloanwilson.bsky.social If you've ever wondered what hunter-gatherers can tell us about the evolution of democracy, please join us! www.prosocial.world/events/democ...

Tomorrow (Tues May 20) I'll be giving an online talk to the Radical Anthropology Group on our new preprint about the Meaning of Man the Hunter. All are welcome! 130pm EST ZOOM only ZOOM ID 384 186 2174 passcode Wawilak www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-meanin...

Our ZOOM tomorrow with Vivek Venkataraman on 'The Meaning and Dividends of Man the Hunter' 6:30pm ID 384 186 2174 passcode Wawilak

I highly recommend this live podcast titled "Democracy's Deep Roots: From Hunter-Gatherers to Modern Society: www.prosocial.world/events/democ.... @prosocialworld.bsky.social @vivek123.bsky.social

Looking forward to our ZOOM next week with @vivek123.bsky.social Details 👇