Vivek V. Venkataraman
@vivek123.bsky.social
Biological anthropologist at the University of Calgary https://www.vivekvenkataraman.com/
Dolls are incredibly widespread but not universal cross-culturally. In addition to functioning as toys, dolls are commonly used for supernatural purposes to punish enemies, heal or protect, increase fertility, or embody spirits. New paper in EHB www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We're hiring TWO postdocs in the Lea Lab at Vanderbilt! 🧬🐒 Both positions are part of a new NIH U19 studying life course experiences, gene regulation, and aging in the Cayo rhesus macaques. More details here: www.vanderbilt.edu/postdoc/pros... Please share widely and reach out with any questions!
I'm happy to share that our digital edition of Carneiro’s cross-cultural dataset has been published in Scientific Data 🎉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Carneiro’s global dataset of cultural traits in ethnographic and historical societies: a digital edition - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Carneiro’s global dataset of cultural traits in ethnographic and historical societies: a digital edition
nature.com
This is great advice from @kensycoop.bsky.social -- for all stages of the scientific life!
Kensy Cooperrider@kensycoop.bsky.social · 4w agoIt's "advice to grad students" season! Here's a post I wrote several geological epochs ago, in 2019. My advice gets harder and harder to follow every year (even for me). But I think that means it gets better and better? kensycooperrider.com/blog/advice-...
Faculty job open at U-Calgary vet school in tissue biomechanics: careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1827023...
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Functional Tissue Biomechanics in Calgary, AB, ...
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Functional Tissue Biomechanics in Calgary, AB, ...
careers.ucalgary.ca
Check out our new paper, led by @amandalea.bsky.social, in PLoS Genetics: "Divergent biological consequences of APOE isoforms across industrialized and non-industrial environments." journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
A remembrance of Nick Blurton Jones, who passed away in June, written by Kristen Hawkes. anthro.utah.edu/news/nbj_aug...
remembering_nbj - Department of Anthropology - The University of Utah
anthro.utah.edu
"Violence was endemic in Neolithic Europe, sometimes reaching levels of intergroup hostilities that ended in the utter destruction of entire communities" 🧪 #BioAnth www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe | PNAS
Bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents important insights into conflict in past societies. This evidence i...
pnas.org
Can computer vision models accurately estimate BMI from faces across diverse human populations? Check out our new preprint led by @lcdrgeordi.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"...contemporary scientific systems progressively constrain high-risk and conceptually innovative research while being increasingly structured around short funding cycles, productivity-based evaluation criteria and risk-averse frameworks..." www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Extremely cool investigation of one of my least favourite creatures. I thought their status as non-disease vectors was their only saving grace. Not so, perhaps, as this study shows us.
Vivek V. Venkataraman@vivek123.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe all know that land leeches are incredibly annoying. In our new paper, we ask: could they also transmit disease? Perhaps so, though local peoples do not seem to recognize them as disease vectors. academic.oup.com/trstmh/advan...
We all know that land leeches are incredibly annoying. In our new paper, we ask: could they also transmit disease? Perhaps so, though local peoples do not seem to recognize them as disease vectors. academic.oup.com/trstmh/advan...
Ethno-etiology meets virology: land leeches (family: Haemadipsidae) as potential disease vectors
AbstractObjectives. Hematophagous terrestrial leeches are common in rainforest habitats and widely regarded as pests. Despite limited research, circumstant
academic.oup.com
Our new paper is out today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B! How does rapid environmental change reshape human sleep, one of our most fundamental biological processes? 📄: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Recent lifestyle change impacts sleep and circadian rhythms among the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia
Abstract. Sleep disorders are rising globally, but their lifestyle causes remain unclear. We recorded sleep–wake patterns via actigraphy from 1039 Orang As
doi.org
I’m now @grinnellcollege.bsky.social in Anthropology where I’ll be offering a series of new courses on human #evolutionary social #science & #biologicalanthropology and launching a new lab to support student research and expand my research program. 🧪 #HBES 🌾💎 #Grinnell
Congrats to Audrey for leading the way on this new paper exploring how we can best convey genetics concepts to communities!
Audrey Arner@arneraudrey.bsky.social · 3mo agoExcited to share our new paper out in AJBA, "Development and assessment of tailored illustrations to enhance community understandings of genetics topics"! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The relationship between testosterone and grip strength, an index of physical formidability, in a representative sample of US adult men (point sizes are survey weights). 🧪
Ooh nice piece here on teenage girls as 'language disruptors' and innovators. And it's not mere centuries-old, back to Shakespeare's time. It will go right back to 'The Revolutionary Origins of Language' (Knight, Lewis, forthcoming) www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
Teenage Girls Have Led Language Innovation for Centuries
They've been on the cutting edge of the English language since at least the 1500s
smithsonianmag.com
When we consider children in cultural evolution, we tend to cast them as recipients of adult culture. In our BBS target article, @sheinalew.bsky.social & I argued there's more: through 'peer cultures', children actively drive cultural adaptation. Our final paper + a rich set of responses is out now!
Children as agents of cultural adaptation | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Children as agents of cultural adaptation - Volume 49
cambridge.org
In her blogpost on the paper we jointly co-authored on the significance of Man the Hunter, Haneul does a better job explaining the significance of Man the Hunter than we did in our paper on the significance of Man the Hunter (if that makes any sense!). Check it out #BioAnth 🧪
Haneul Jang@haneuljang.bsky.social · 4mo agoHappy to have contributed to the latest HBES newsletter on our recent paper, The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter, led by @vivek123.bsky.social I reflect on MTH through the lens of my research on Bayaka women's foraging & cooperation in the Congolese rainforest www.hbes.com/revisiting-m...
Haneul will be editing a double special issue for HGR, alongside @ceciliapad.bsky.social. The first issue will foster intergenerational dialogue and critical reflections while the second will put perspectives from local researchers in the spotlight. bsky.app/profile/hane...
Haneul Jang@haneuljang.bsky.social · 5mo ago🧵 Issue 2: Local and Hunter-Gatherer Voices We invite contributions from local researchers, Indigenous scholars, and hunter-gatherer community members to broaden perspectives in H-G research. Formats: 🌱Dialogues 🌱Collaborative Contributions 🌱Reflections rooted in local knowledge & lived experience
Wonderful blog here from Haneul which aptly expresses why so many hunter-gatherer experts, at different career stages and with very different research programmes and theoretical perspectives/commitments, felt compelled to collaborate on the Meaning of MTH paper.
Haneul Jang@haneuljang.bsky.social · 4mo agoHappy to have contributed to the latest HBES newsletter on our recent paper, The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter, led by @vivek123.bsky.social I reflect on MTH through the lens of my research on Bayaka women's foraging & cooperation in the Congolese rainforest www.hbes.com/revisiting-m...
Happy to have contributed to the latest HBES newsletter on our recent paper, The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter, led by @vivek123.bsky.social I reflect on MTH through the lens of my research on Bayaka women's foraging & cooperation in the Congolese rainforest www.hbes.com/revisiting-m...
Revisiting Man the Hunter - HBES
– by Haneul Jang For decades, the phrase Man the Hunter has occupied a central place in discussions of human evolution. Today, however, the phrase sounds outdated, evoking a familiar image of men hunt...
hbes.com
The ethnographic record shows that women do hunt, sometimes for big game. Does that mean that 'Man the Hunter' was a myth all along? Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @vivek123.bsky.social! Listen: disi.org/is-man-the-h...
1. Attempted cancellations of prominent scholars as proxy wars on ideas one doesn't like: the case of Margaret Mead...and a mea culpa 🧪 #AcademicSky
This is a great episode - fascinating paper and topic, and Kensy does a good job of pushing beyond the paper for some frank discussions about things like the responsibility of scientists for how academic research is (mis)represented in the popular consciousness.
Kensy Cooperrider@kensycoop.bsky.social · 4mo agoReally enjoyed this chat with @vivek123.bsky.social! We work through the history of Man the Hunter ideas, the current status of the evidence (archaeological, ethnographic, etc.), and three splashy recent "debunkings." Also, of course, some fun detours along the way.
Really enjoyed this chat with @vivek123.bsky.social! We work through the history of Man the Hunter ideas, the current status of the evidence (archaeological, ethnographic, etc.), and three splashy recent "debunkings." Also, of course, some fun detours along the way.
Many Minds podcast@manymindspod.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew episode!! 🎙️🎉 A conversation w/ @vivek123.bsky.social about Man the Hunter. The idea that male hunting propelled our evolution is old and contested. Yet it endures, especially in the popular imagination. Is it merely a "paleofantasy," or is there more to it? Listen: disi.org/is-man-the-h...
Good episode
Many Minds podcast@manymindspod.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew episode!! 🎙️🎉 A conversation w/ @vivek123.bsky.social about Man the Hunter. The idea that male hunting propelled our evolution is old and contested. Yet it endures, especially in the popular imagination. Is it merely a "paleofantasy," or is there more to it? Listen: disi.org/is-man-the-h...
