Hummingbirds are Nature’s…
One of my passions is studying multispecies entanglements. As an anthropologist, the ways in which human activities affect the lives of other living organisms are of central interest…
Tag: Biology
Who Decided It Was Bad to Be Fat?
In 2009, supermodel Kate Moss caused a stir when she categorically stated that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” As jaw-dropping as the sentiment might have seemed…
Spring 2019 Introduction to Anthropology Syllabus
Intro to Anthropology (ANTH 1101-001) UNC Charlotte, Spring 2019 Mon/Wed/Fri (10:10-11:00am) in Rowe 161 Instructor: Adam Johnson Office Hours: M/W 12:30-1:30pm ajohn344@uncc.edu by appointment i…
Secrets Hidden in Ancient Teeth
Fossilized tooth crowns hold lots of information about past climates and life events. Tanya M. Smith This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative…
Why Don’t More Humans Eat Bugs?
Ten years ago, toiling in scorching heat on the parched Fongoli savanna in southeast Senegal, anthropologist Julie Lesnik faced an unpalatable task. She had to taste a termite.…
Decolonizing Primatology: Part I
We all have texts that are formative in our academic, professional, spiritual, personal, mental, and philosophical lives. There are a few books that I can point to as…
What Our Skeletons Say About the Sex Binary
Stanislawa Walasiewicz won the gold for Poland in the women’s 100-meter dash at the 1932 Olympic Games. Upon her death, an autopsy revealed that she had intersex traits.…
Revisiting Geno-colonization: Senator Warren and “Native DNA”
I woke up this morning to the news that Senator Elizabeth Warren has released a DNA test “providing strong evidence” that she has a Native American ancestor 6-10…
Why Can’t Most Humans Drink Milk?
[no-caption] Axel Schmidt/Getty Images This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. A solid white mass found in a broken jar …
The Myth of Badass Sperm
This scanning electron micrograph (SEM) shows healthy spermatozoa emerging from a cavity within the testis. Innerspace Imaging/Getty Images This article was originally published at Aeon. …
The Value of Anthropology: My Story
Dr. Agustín Fuentes argues that it is human creativity that is the defining characteristic of our species ( see my review of The Creative Spark here: Book Review- The Creative…
Why Can’t Apes Talk?
[no-caption] Science Photo Library/Getty Images This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons. We all know that parrots can tal…
Ancestry Tests Pose a Threat to Our Social Fabric
[no-caption] Andrew Brookes/Getty Images I have never understood why anybody would think humans are by nature violent, warlike creatures. True, we have all surely had arguments turn sour…
How Human Smarts Evolved
[no-caption] Sara López Gilabert/SAPIENS Suzana Herculano-Houzel spent most of 2003 perfecting a macabre recipe—a formula for brain soup. Sometimes she froze the jiggly tissue in liquid n…
Biology, Race, and “Orientalism”
Edward Said published Orientalism in 1978 and is highly influential, both in post-colonial studies and social theory. Said argues that through the construction of the ‘Orient’ (the East) a…
The Myth of Racial Purity in Roman Britain
This model at the Museum of London depicts the first bridge over the River Thames, which was built by the Romans in the first century. Steven G. Johnson/Wikimedia…
Chimpanzees Can’t Tell Us Much About Being Human
Do we gain insight by comparing President Trump to a chimpanzee? Can we learn something useful about gender-based violence among humans by studying other primates? Can observing chimpanzees…
Populations, Race, and The Sorites Paradox
The sorites paradox (also called the paradox of the heap) refers to a particular logical contradiction that arises from the analysis of vague terms (Sainsbury, 2009). Terms like…
Fall Semester, 2018 Courses
I am very excited to have three new preps for Fall, 2018. Course overviews are below. LBST 2213: Now this is not a new prep as I have…
Book Review: Not in Our Genes
I’ve been slacking on writing book reviews and so I need to get back to it so the next several posts will be just that (unless something happens…
How ICE’s Bogus Science Is Violating Human Rights
Teeth and bones can tell us something about age—but not someone’s birthday. Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been repu…
Science as a Structure of Violence
The study of human diversity and subsequent racialisation of people has been examined and critiqued but has escaped interrogation as an institution by which structural violence is enacted.…
A Brief History of Race in the Western Thought
Race, as a concept, has important ontology in American society. In order to understand the relationship between race, genetic research, and the American class structure, it is necessary…
Hepatitis B Viruses Discovered in Ancient Human Remains
[no-caption] BSIP/Getty Images Around the world, more than 200 million people live with an infection from the hepatitis B virus, a pathogen that can reside in the human…