Erik Gjesfjeld: UCLAIn both the past and present, human populations are consistently presented with unpredictable situations. Behavioral responses to these situations are often heavily mediated by our degree of knowledge (uncertainty) about the variability in outcomes (risk). Using social network analysis as well as a novel macro-evolutionary method for examining the mode and tempo of […]
Tim Shields: Chapman UniversityWe describe results of a study in trust-based exchange that supports the proposition that humans perceive intention not only through what others do but also through what others choose not to do. Crucial to this proposition is the notion that trust-based exchanges entail decision dilemmas where mutually exclusive goals are traded off […]
Debra Martin: University of Nevada, Las VegasViolence (lethal and nonlethal) is often associated with social spheres of influence and power connected to daily life such as subsistence intensification, specialization, resources, climate, population density, territorial protection and presence of immigrants, to name just a few. By using fine-grained biocultural analyses that interrogate trauma data in particular […]
Drew Rendall: University of LethbridgeThe evolution of language is a longstanding problem that continues to invite study, analysis, and speculation from a variety of perspectives. One perspective has been to adopt a comparative stance and seek the rudiments of key elements of language in the communication systems of closely related nonhuman primates. While sensible enough, […]
Elly Power: Santa Fe InstituteDiscerning the intentions and character of others is a difficult task. In South India, religious practice is seen as particularly helpful in that process of discernment. There, the ritual acts undertaken are often quite dramatic: devotees walk across hot coals, pierce their skin with hooks and spears, walk barefoot to distant […]
Joey Cheng: University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe pursuit of social rank is a recurrent and pervasive challenge faced by individuals across human societies. Yet, the precise means through which individuals compete for social standing remain unclear. This talk examines the dynamics of two fundamental avenues—fear and respect—to social rank. I will begin by highlighting how […]
Melissa Emery Thompson: University of New MexicoAmong the most dramatic changes to occur during human evolution were those affecting our life history. The evolution of the human fertility pattern, including relatively fast birth rates, overlapping offspring dependencies, and extended postreproductive life, remains an active area of research and debate that can be greatly informed by […]
Elizabeth Cashdan: University of UtahSex differences in range size and navigation are widely reported, with males traveling farther than females, being less spatially anxious, and, in many studies, navigating more effectively. We want to know why males range farther, and what this might tell us about sex differences in wayfinding and spatial confidence. Proposed evolutionary […]
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 […]
