Category Archives: Biological Anthropology
Tattoo Talk, Haircut, and a Shave
I spent two weeks in Wilmington, NC to work on an article from our Family and the Field Study with Michaela Howells. Our data look fascinating. It’s not so much remarkable as confirmatory and solid. We surveyed over 1000 anthropology … Continue reading
#2016Highlights Month-by-Month: Part 2
Contrary to the sense of things at the end with the triumph of he-who-shall-not-be-named and the demise of so many beloved friends and celebrities, 2016 was actually a banner friggin’ year for some of us personally, as I began addressing … Continue reading
#2016Highlights Month-by-Month: Part 1
Though the end of 2016 was miserable, most of the year was awesome, and it’s important that we have a little perspective. At my house, we have a dinner ritual called “Good Thing/Bad Thing” or GTBT. We each take turns … Continue reading
Sabbatical is Here!
Have I started relaxing yet? Everyone asks me this. Do y’all not know me? We just arrived at my in-laws for the holiday, & I’m already thinking about how to fill my days. I don’t relax well. But I am … Continue reading
A World Famous African-American Scientist Puts the Presidential Election in Perspective: “I Am Not Surprised At All”
On Wednesday, the day after our 2017 presidential election, I dreaded having to put on my host face to go out to dinner with Dr. Joseph Graves, our ALLELE speaker for Thursday. I couldn’t really stand the thought of talking … Continue reading
Tattooing Primes the Immune System
…But First, a Test of the “Rap Guide to Evolution”… A few weeks ago I presented a poster at the Human Biology Association annual scientific meeting about the roles of emotions in learning about evolution via a performance of Baba … Continue reading
The Endemicity & Pervasiveness of Sexual Harassment
I just came back from great presentation & networking conferences, as usual elated by the collaborative opportunities & feedback about my work & the performances of my students & rejuvenated to push envelopes. I also returned slightly less oblivious to … Continue reading
Is Cunnilingus an Adaptation to Increase Intercourse Length & Increase the Probability of Fertilization?
Several years ago a student of mine (Christy McGee) in my “Anthropology of Sex” class was studying highly promiscuous women with the hypothesis that they would be averse to cunnilingus. She suggested that cunnilingus was a male means of detecting infidelity. … Continue reading
We Need Neandertals or Some as Yet Unknown But Genetically Similar Population Within the Last 100 ky in Our Story
A couple years ago when I first started blogging here, my friend John Edvalson asked me right out of the gate my opinion on the Neandertal-sapiens interbreeding controversy. I think I skirted an answer because, though as a biological anthropologists … Continue reading
Menstrual Huts Signal Paternal Certainty
An article from 2012 by Beverly Strassmann & colleagues is the first piece I think I’ve read that connects religious signaling to actual reproductive fitness, instead of merely group commitment (not that there’s anything wrong with that). They analyzed genetic … Continue reading
