Anthropology mentors

My research focuses on the interpretation of adaptive function in the fossil record via comparative mammalian anatomy and behavior and the use of these data to reconstruct ecological and evolutionary pressures acting on extinct primate communities. In particular, two main points of interest are: 1) the timing and ecological correlates of brain size evolution, brain proportions, and cranial anatomy in primates, and 2) the use of cranio-dental anatomy to reconstruct ecological adaptations (e.g. feeding ecology) in the fossil record.

I am interested in how the biology of the brain underlies a species’ particular cognitive specializations and behavioral repertoire. My research program investigates neuroanatomical and molecular variation in primates to address questions of evolutionary significance, particularly with regard to the unique cognitive abilities of humans. I use two approaches when evaluating research questions of these types: molecular expression and quantitative neuroanatomical techniques. Additional work pertains to differences in regional neuronal morphology across species.

One focus of my continuing research is upon the events that gave rise to the origins of plant and animal domestication, ultimately resulting in the formation of the pristine state. A second major focus recently has been upon the evolution of the philosophical approaches that Americanist archaeologists have created to investigate the development of socio-political complexity over time. Attention to historical archaeology and the history of archaeology continually reveal empire building in the field, as well as long-term biases regarding various gendered and regional groups.

I work with archaeobotanical remains to answer questions about how people interacted with plants so that they could eat and drink well, manage their landscapes, restore and maintain health, perform rituals, negotiate trade relationships, and enhance many other economic and social activities.  Much of my research focuses on processes of plant domestication and sequences leading to the development of agricultural systems worldwide, especially in North America and Mexico.  General concerns and approaches involve cultural, ecological, and biological aspects of subsistence change and continuity. Recently I’ve become interested in food-ways resulting from interaction between Native Americans and European colonizers.

I have two main research interests: First, what causes people to arrange themselves through time into increasingly complex forms of social organization? Second, how do climate and environment shape human societies through time? Related to this, I am especially interested in the Anthropocene concept, which argues that humans have come to rival nature as a force shaping the earth. My work therefore explores how, when, and to what extent humans have changed climates and especially their environments.

Our lab is involved in a range of research focused on early food-webs. We favor multidisciplinary research, and here in the lab isotope scientists, archaegologists and archaeobotanists work closely to address questions about diet and nutrition, palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment. Our recent projects have included: Eurasian crop plant movement, African terrestrial climate variability, consumption and domestication of small grained grass, environmental context of the food quest in Tibet.

My research focuses on animal domestication and the beginnings of food production in Africa. I am currently conducting research on two unlikely domesticates, donkeys and cats. I am currently conducting interdisciplinary research on the domestication of the donkey with archaeological, morphometric, genetic, behavioral and ethnoarchaeological components.  My research and that of my graduate students contributes to understanding human-animal relations, complex interactions among ancient agricultural, pastoral and hunter-gatherer societies in Africa, the history and resilience of livestock and herding ways of life, and the sustainability of use of African grasslands.

Dr. Krista Milich is a primate behavioral ecologist and socioendocrinologist with a particular interest in reproductive physiology and sexual selection. Her work aims to not only understand the proximate and ultimate mechanisms associated with the evolution of primate social systems, but also to use that knowledge to inform primate conservation efforts.

My research focuses on understanding the factors which have led to the emergence and promoted the maintenance of behavioral diversity in primates. I am particularly interested in the variation of social organization and material culture that has been documented among wild chimpanzee populations. This pursuit involves field studies and collaborative projects to examine instraspecific variation in the behavioral ecology of wild chimpanzees. These studies hold important insights for elucidating the role of ultimate and proximate forces in primate evolutionary history, which will aid in constructing valid models of human evolution from our closest living relatives.

I am a paleoanthropologist who studies the fossil record of human evolution. Humans diverged from non-human apes about seven million years ago in Africa, and my research is directed towards trying to understand several key aspects of our evolutionary history. First, I am interested in understanding how and why the various species of early humans (known as hominins) diversified.  Second, I am interested in the evolution of diet and feeding in fossil hominins. Third, I am interested in paleoanthropological fieldwork. In order to better understand human evolution, it is vital to discover new fossils in order to understand their variation, diversity, evolutionary relationships and ecological context.

My research is concerned with the evolution of the genus Homo as a background to recent human diversity. I have focused on the paleoanthropological study of late archaic and early modern humans, emphasizing biological reflections of the nature, degree and patterning of the behavioral shifts between these two groups of Pleistocene humans. This research includes considerations of the “origins of modern humans” phylogenetic debate, the interpretation of the archeological record, and patterns of recent human anatomical variations.