Anthropology posts
- October 10, 2012
- 11:54 AM
- 386 views
Mind-Manipulating Slave-Making Ants!
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
An entire colony enslaved by an alien species to care for their young. Slave rebellions quelled by mind manipulation. It sounds like science fiction, right? But it really happens!Myrmoxenus ravouxi (called M. ravouxi for “short”) is a slave-making ant species in which the queen probably wears a chemical mask, matching the scent of a host species in order to invade their nest without detection. Once inside, she lays her eggs for the host species workers to care for. Armies of M. ravouxi worke........ Read more »
Delattre, O., Chȃline, N., Chameron, S., Lecoutey, E., & Jaisson, P. (2012) Social parasite pressure affects brood discrimination of host species in Temnothorax ants. Animal Behaviour, 445-450. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.05.020
- October 10, 2012
- 11:23 AM
- 105 views
When did our ancestors become dependent on meat?
by sahelanthropus in EvoAnth
For around 30 million years the great apes have been living in the rainforest, during which time they have been adapting and evolving to that environment. However, ~14 – 10 million years ago the African environment began to change. It got drier, there was less rainfall and what rain did occur became more seasonal. All … Continue reading »... Read more »
Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Travis Rayne Pickering, Fernando Diez-Martín, Audax Mabulla, Charles Musiba8, Gonzalo Trancho, Enrique Baquedano, Henry T. Bunn, Doris Barboni, Manuel Santonja, David Uribelarrea1, Gail M. Ashley, María del Sol Martínez-Ávil. (2012) Earliest Porotic Hyperostosis on a 1.5-Million-Year-Old Hominin, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. PLoS ONE, 7(10). DOI: 10.1371
- October 9, 2012
- 11:15 AM
- 327 views
Break a Leg! Fracture Treatment in Iron Age and Roman Britain
by Katy Meyers in Bones Don't Lie
Medical treatment, despite our own Western perspective of science, is a cultural trait. How we choose to treat different forms of trauma, the methods of recovery, and the beliefs surrounding medicine are all culturally dictated. In our own society there are constant debates over the necessity to get certain vaccinations, whether one should be active … Continue reading »... Read more »
Redfern, Rebecca. (2010) A regional examination of surgery and fracture treatment in Iron Age and Roman Britain. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 25(4). DOI: 10.1002/oa.1067
- October 8, 2012
- 02:36 PM
- 309 views
Rhizomatic Animism
by Cris Campbell in Genealogy of Religion
Last night I was reading Wooden Leg (1931), a classic ethnohistory about the famous Cheyenne warrior who fought at the Little Bighorn, and came across this passage:
“Another thing the white people appear not to understand: The old Indian teaching was that it is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that [...]... Read more »
Ingold, Tim. (2006) Rethinking the Animate, Re-Animating Thought. Ethnos, 71(1), 9-20. DOI: 10.1080/00141840600603111
- October 7, 2012
- 10:10 PM
- 168 views
misery of literary writers in the ancient Islamic world
by Douglas Galbi in purple motes
Intense literary status competition in the ancient Islamic world created considerable misery among literary writers.... Read more »
Bonebakker, Seeger A. (2001) The Misery of the Men of Letters: Some Quotations from their Poetry. Quaderni di Studi Arabi, 147-161. info:/
- October 5, 2012
- 01:11 PM
- 357 views
Blond Melanesians: what else are we missing?
by sedeer in Inspiring Science
On the Solomon Islands in the south-eastern Pacific, it’s not uncommon to come across Melanesian children with dark skin and …Continue reading »... Read more »
Kenny EE, Timpson NJ, Sikora M, Yee MC, Moreno-Estrada A, Eng C, Huntsman S, Burchard EG, Stoneking M, Bustamante CD.... (2012) Melanesian blond hair is caused by an amino acid change in TYRP1. Science (New York, N.Y.), 336(6081), 554. PMID: 22556244
- October 5, 2012
- 05:28 AM
- 286 views
Are Gay Men Happier?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
A neat little study from UCLA psychologists Francisco J. Sánchez and colleagues examines the mental health of homosexual men using a unique identical twin design.The paper kicks off with a remarkably lucid introduction:Men would rather drive around lost than stop and ask for directions. Although this is a gross stereotype, the notion that men should be self-sufficient and able to solve their own problems is a dominant ideal within traditional views of masculinity... men who rigidly adhere to su........ Read more »
Sánchez FJ, Bocklandt S, & Vilain E. (2012) The Relationship Between Help-Seeking Attitudes and Masculine Norms Among Monozygotic Male Twins Discordant for Sexual Orientation. Health Psychology. PMID: 23025300
- October 5, 2012
- 04:58 AM
- 290 views
Why do we play? And why it is sexy?!
by Farid Pazhoohi in Epistemophil
Question of the origin of play and playfulness has been one of concerns of Garry Chick, Professor at the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, Penn State University. From an evolutionary perspective, Professor Chick has developed a theory in which he explains adult play and playfulness. It is now known why children and offspring [...]... Read more »
Garry Chick, Careen Yarnal, and Andrew Purrington. (2012) Play and Mate Preference Testing the Signal Theory of Adult Playfulness. American Journal of Play, 4(4). info:/
- October 4, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 247 views
The Feast of Men: Cannibalism in Fiji
by Katy Meyers in Bones Don't Lie
Interpreting cannibalism is complex due to our own Western assumptions about the practice, a lack of attention to context of the acts, and the diverse reasons for its occurrence. Cannibalism occurs for a number of reasons in a number of ways: people consume other humans when they are foreigners or from that culture, it can … Continue reading »... Read more »
S. JONES, H. WALSH-HANEY, & R. QUINN. (2012) Kana Tamata or Feasts of Men: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Cannibalism in Prehistoric Fiji. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. info:/
- October 3, 2012
- 10:02 AM
- 257 views
Prestigious clothing increases your height!
by Farid Pazhoohi in Epistemophil
Do you want to seem taller? Our study shows that your prestigious clothing affects perception of height, at least for the children. Height is a biological factor that can affect how others perceive and behave toward an individual. Clothing, as a non-biological factor, can affect these perceptions of height. In this study we investigated the [...]... Read more »
Mahmoud Rashidi, Katayoun Keshtkaran, Sahar Zabihidan, Masoud Hosseinchari, and Farid Pazhoohi. (2012) Effect of Different Professions’ Clothing on Children’s Height Perception. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15(3). info:/http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n3.39394
- October 3, 2012
- 05:43 AM
- 248 views
Does attractiveness predict reproductive success?
by Farid Pazhoohi in Epistemophil
Thanks to the scientific investigations, now we know physical attractiveness would boost one’s social and sexual success. Attractive females would have more chances of being hired, and having attract/sustain men with more resources. It is hypothesized that female physical attractiveness is the signal for her fertility; i.e. men prefer attractive women because they are more [...]... Read more »
Lena S. Pflüger, Elisabeth Oberzaucher, Stanislav Katina, Iris J. Holzleitner,, & Karl Grammer. (2012) Cues to fertility: perceived attractiveness and facial shape predict reproductive success. Evolution . DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.05.005
- October 2, 2012
- 07:45 PM
- 230 views
Aziz and Aziza in love with Daphnis and Chloe
by Douglas Galbi in purple motes
The story of Aziz and Aziza from the Arabian Nights outrageously re-arranges the romance of Daphnis and Chloe from an ancient Greek novel. ... Read more »
Grunebaum, Gustave E. von. (1942) Greek Form Elements in the Arabian Nights. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 62(4), 277-292. DOI: 10.2307/594031
- October 2, 2012
- 12:22 PM
- 241 views
Darwin on Religion
by Cris Campbell in Genealogy of Religion
In keeping with my back to (foundational) basics reading programme, I have naturally been digging around Darwin’s writing on religion. While doing so I came across “David Hume and Charles Darwin” (1972), an article in which John Greene suggests that Hume had a significant influence on Darwin. Given Darwin’s impressive reading habits, it is not [...]... Read more »
Huntley, William. (1972) David Hume and Charles Darwin. Journal of the History of Ideas, 33(3), 457-470. DOI: 10.2307/2709046
Day, Matthew. (2008) Godless Savages and Superstitious Dogs: Charles Darwin, Imperial Ethnography, and the Problem of Human Uniqueness. Journal of the History of Ideas, 69(1), 49-70. DOI: 10.1353/jhi.2008.0006
- October 2, 2012
- 12:14 PM
- 218 views
Humans and chimps diverged earlier than previously thought
by sahelanthropus in EvoAnth
Our lineage’s fossil record is especially sparse between 4 – 8 million years ago. From that time period we have roughly 50 fragmented specimens making up only 6 or so individuals. It isn’t much to go on, which is particularly disappointing since genetic data indicates that humans and chimps diverged during this period. Indeed, with … Continue reading »... Read more »
Langergraber KE, Prüfer K, Rowney C, Boesch C, Crockford C, Fawcett K, Inoue E, Inoue-Muruyama M, Mitani JC, Muller MN.... (2012) Generation times in wild chimpanzees and gorillas suggest earlier divergence times in great ape and human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(39), 15716-21. PMID: 22891323
- September 30, 2012
- 04:28 AM
- 347 views
Milk, meat and blood: how diet drives natural selection in the Maasai
by aatishb in Empirical Zeal
This post is a little different from the usual fare at this blog, as I am discussing a paper on which I’m a co-author. My collaborators and I just put up a paper in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. We analyzed genetic data … Continue reading →... Read more »
Kshitij Wagh, Aatish Bhatia, Gabriela Alexe, Anupama Reddy, Vijay Ravikumar, Michael Seiler, Michael Boemo, Ming Yao, Lee Cronk, Asad Naqvi, Shridar Ganesan, Arnold J. Levine, Gyan Bhanot. (2012) Lactase Persistence and Lipid Pathway Selection in the Maasai. PLOS ONE, 7(9). info:/10.1371/journal.pone.0044751
- September 30, 2012
- 01:45 AM
- 205 views
Malaria, sickle-cell anemia and microRNA
by zacharoo in Lawn Chair Anthropology
This is the first time I'm teaching Introduction to Biological Anthropology here at Nazarbayev University. It's exciting and curious that for nearly every class session, I'm able to find a very recent outside article or blog post that's relevant to the field and/or something we're talking about at the moment. For instance, the 30-paper barrage of the ENCODE project came out right as we were beginning the unit focused on evolution and genetics. Serendipity!Recently in this first unit, w........ Read more »
Feliciano P. (2012) miRNAs and malaria resistance. Nature genetics, 44(10), 1079. PMID: 23011225
Lamonte G, Philip N, Reardon J, Lacsina JR, Majoros W, Chapman L, Thornburg CD, Telen MJ, Ohler U, Nicchitta CV.... (2012) Translocation of Sickle Cell Erythrocyte MicroRNAs into Plasmodium falciparum Inhibits Parasite Translation and Contributes to Malaria Resistance. Cell host , 12(2), 187-99. PMID: 22901539
- September 24, 2012
- 10:50 AM
- 278 views
Sex, War & Revolution: The Epidemiology of Gonorrhea in the USA
by Rebecca Kreston in BODY HORRORS
The epidemiology of gonorrhea in the United States has been influenced by several profound social and cultural forces - World War II, the emergence of Baby Boomer generation and the sexual revolution.... Read more »
orke JA, Hethcote HW and Nold A. (1978) Dynamics and control of the transmission of gonorrhea. . Sex Transm Dis. . DOI: 10.1097/00007435-197804000-00003
- September 22, 2012
- 11:03 PM
- 187 views
Marian aretalogy of an impious Christian physician to Abbasid caliphs
by Douglas Galbi in purple motes
An aretalogy fragment from the early Abbasid caliphate features the Christian physician Yūhannā ibn Māsawayhi, known also for being crude and impious.... Read more »
Howard C. Kee. (1973) Aretalogy and Gospel. Journal of Biblical Literature, 92(3), 402-422. DOI: 10.2307/3263581
- September 21, 2012
- 06:12 PM
- 607 views
New DNA study shows humankind’s complex origins in Africa
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The Khoe and San peoples in southern Africa play an important role for our understanding of the evolutionary history of humans. These peoples are directly descended from the first branching of the genealogical tree of today’s humans. This is shown in a study led by Uppsala University researchers and being presented in the early online version of the journal Science today.... Read more »
Anneli Waara. (2012) New DNA study shows humankind’s complex origins in Africa. News from Uppsala University. info:/
- September 21, 2012
- 06:00 PM
- 270 views
A Tale of Two Memories: Long-Term Memory and “Google Memory”
by S. Garrity Guenther in WhatAreTheseIdeas.com
The Google Effect proposes that the availability of information on the Internet is impairing our ability to remember information. Though there are very clear cognitive consequences, not all are negative.... Read more »
Betsy Sparrow1, Jenny Liu, & Daniel M. Wegner. (2011) Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips. Science . DOI: 10.1126/science.1207745
Manuel London, Jeffrey T. Polzer, & Heather Omoregie. (2005) Interpersonal Congruence, Transactive Memory, and Feedback Processes: An Integrative Model of Group Learning. Human Resource Development Review. DOI: 10.1177/1534484305275767
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