Brenna Henn: SUNY Stony BrookOver twenty-five years ago, geneticists sequenced mitochondrial DNA from a diverse sample of human populations and hypothesized that all humans have a common origin in Africa 200,000 years ago.The broad outlines of this hypothesis remain remarkably unaltered, but many details of our African origin continue to be elusive. After decades of […]
Bruce Ellis: University of ArizonaLife history theory is used to explain how individuals adapt their physiology, behavior, and reproduction to different social and ecological conditions. Using a life history framework, I will present a program of research examining linkages between childhood experiences (including familial and extra-familial conditions), pubertal development, sexual activity, and health, highlighting the […]
Marcus Hamilton: Santa Fe InstituteWe can observe, examine and study the world around us meaningfully at many scales. Biologists may study genes, populations, species, ecosystems, or the biosphere. Social scientists may study the behavior of individuals, the dynamics of cities, or aspects of the archaeological past. But of course, at a coarse-grained level we are […]
Stephanie White: UCLAHumans and songbirds learn their vocalizations through social interactions and sensorimotor experience. These processes enlist implicit learning, a critical component of social cognition. Deficits in implicit learning including language disorders have devastating consequences for social integration and well-being. To treat or prevent these deficits, the neural mechanisms for learned vocal communication must be […]
Sean Prall: University of Washington School of MedicineThe developmental pattern of adrenal androgen production is unique to humans and chimpanzees, and this pattern is thought to have important implications in human evolutionary biology. Unlike other hormones, the ultimate role of adrenal androgens is not well understood despite the important physiological roles these hormones play. The […]
Paul Smaldino: UC DavisThe lives of social animals, none more so than humans, are shaped by cooperative interactions. Sharing, exchange, and synergy are the name of the game. Understanding the origins of cooperative behavior with any clarity often requires formalization of theories in the way of mathematical and computational models. These models by necessity ignore […]
Mirta Galesic: Santa Fe InstituteThe importance and scale of cooperation in human societies is unmatched among other primates and is considered to be a major contributor to our species’ exceptional success. Given that cooperation seems so useful, it is surprising that it flourished only in humans but not in other primates who had similar cognitive […]
Jeff Winking: Texas A&MFathering traditionally played a central role in the evolutionary stories of human marriage. Paternal investment proved a convincing lynchpin linking together numerous hallmark aspects of the human adaptive strategy: the capacity for long-term romantic bonds, altricial infancy, extended juvenile dependence, etc. However, recent theoretical work suggests that the importance of paternal investment […]
Chris Kuzawa: Northwestern UniversityHumans are unusual in having a childhood stage characterized by a prolonged period of exceptionally slow growth. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain why humans have evolved this life history stage. In this talk, Chris Kuzawa will discuss his recent collaborative work that quantifies the costs of human brain development and […]
Robbie Wilson: University of QueenslandAnimals routinely compete for access to limited resources, including food, territories or mates. Because combat is energetically costly and increases the risk of injury or death, individuals should avoid fighting unless they have a reasonable chance of winning. Specialised structures such as teeth, claws or horns can be used to show […]
