Paleolithic archaeologists have employed expectations generated from models developed in evolutionary anthropology to aid in the investigation of the origins of high-fidelity cultural transmission. Based on the notion that copying error ought to yield high levels of between-group cultural variation under unbiased cultural transmission, archaeologists have interpreted ostensibly “lower-than-expected” levels of cultural variation among regional […]

We humans come from a diverse order, the primates, which make excellent model systems for studying the interface between the biological and the social. In this talk, I focus on our long-running field studies of the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Decades of individual-based demographic data allow us to explore variation in life […]

Humans are rapidly changing the natural world, leading to decreasing native fauna and increasing non-native fauna.  Problematic species range expansions are occurring across the globe, but not all species are able to become established outside of their original range.  It is still unclear which characteristics facilitate successful invasions or native species persistence in human-modified environments.  […]