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Kit Opie

@kitopie.bsky.social
198 followers 292 following 29 posts

Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Anthropology, @bristolantharch.bsky.social University of Bristol - drivers of change in human evolution - origin of the state - origins of inequality.

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Reposted by Kit Opie
Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The current discussion around tax would benefit from a look back in time don't you think? @meadwaj.bsky.social @paulmason.bsky.social @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
c.org/CHYHyMTcSP
c.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
🚨Want to work with us? We’re hiring a Lecturer! Check out the details 👇🏽 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
I hope this isn’t true. There are times when it’s more important to put country before party. This is one of them. Burnham’s longstanding commitment to a fairer voting system could transform our democracy & counter the dire threat of a Reform UK government elected on a minority of the vote
theguardian.com
Greens suggest they will properly contest byelection in blow to Burnham
Statement follows speculation party would not field candidate in Makerfield or barely fight seat
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Arts Matter Bristol @uobartsmatter.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
#ICYMI: Drs @kitopie.bsky.social & @scottclaessens.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) introduced us to their new project which aims to resolve current debates about the origins and drivers of inequality in human societies Read more about this @leverhulme.ac.uk project 👉 brnw.ch/21x24tn
Mumbai’s Lower Parel skyline as seen from Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai’s iconic open-air laundromat.
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Arts Matter Bristol @uobartsmatter.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
✍️ Drs @kitopie.bsky.social & @scottclaessens.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) tell us about their new project which aims to resolve current debates about the origins and drivers of inequality in human societies. Read more about this fascinating @leverhulme.ac.uk project 👉 brnw.ch/21x24tn
Mumbai’s Lower Parel skyline as seen from Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai’s iconic open-air laundromat.
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Government to lift paywall from large parts of the Land Registry
Exclusive: finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Congratulations to Dr Becerra-Valdivia and her colleagues on this new publication! 🐢 🌊
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Want to have a look at our department (and some flint knapping)? Have look below👇📽️ Video created by the wonderful Naia Lewendon-Wicks & Bianca Li, 3rd-year Film & TV BA students at @uobartsmatter.bsky.social.
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Congratulations to Prof Mhairi Gibson and Dr Hannelore Van Bavel for their new publication! This work is a broad review on how anthropologists are contributing to understanding on FGMC. Read through link 👉 doi.org/10.1111/aman...
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j... The 1953 Coup in Iran was led by MI6 with CIA support @dansabbagh.bsky.social #Coup53
theguardian.com
Why Trump’s options are limited when it comes to using force against Iran
As US president tells protesters ‘help is on the way’, any military action would be unlikely to succeed
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Interview (from 17.00) for the Briefing with Monocle_Radio on State formation: grain, tax and writing - from research (with @quentinatkinson.bsky.social) @nathumbehav.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41.... monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
The Gulf states look towards a joint defensive strategy at the 46th GCC summit - Monocle
As Gulf leaders convene for the 46th GCC summit during a tense time for the region, we discuss what role...
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Matilda Brindle @matildabrindle.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
The marvellous @kitopie.bsky.social explaining how both monogamy and 'promiscuous' mating can help females avoid infanticide, "both early humans and chimpanzees are trying to solve the same problem"!
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
How monogamous are humans compared to other animals? Check out this BBC interview with @kitopie.bsky.social to learn more!
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Recent research by @kitopie.bsky.social also discussed in The Archaeology Channel 👇🏽👏🏽 www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/... @uobartsmatter.bsky.social
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Nice to have heard Kit on the radio yesterday discussing his recent publication on @nathumbehav.nature.com! Congrats on all the engagement 🙌 🎉 @uobartsmatter.bsky.social
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Interview (from 17.00) for the Briefing with Monocle_Radio on State formation: grain, tax and writing - from research (with @quentinatkinson.bsky.social) @nathumbehav.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41.... monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
The Gulf states look towards a joint defensive strategy at the 46th GCC summit - Monocle
As Gulf leaders convene for the 46th GCC summit during a tense time for the region, we discuss what role...
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Jess Mulligan @jessmull.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Fascinating stuff.
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Arts Matter Bristol @uobartsmatter.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
'It may feel worlds apart, but the challenges and choices facing states today have been playing out since the dawn of the earliest states, thousands of years ago.' Dr @kitopie.bsky.social (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) writes in a new piece for The Conversation theconversation.com/the-real-rea...
theconversation.com
The real reason states first emerged thousands of years ago – new research
New findings add weight to the theory that states didn’t just spring up from any kind of farming – it had to be grain.
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Here’s @theconversation.com piece accompanying the recent paper by Kit and colleague. Check it out👇🏽
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Initial work on this project funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk.
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The current discussion around tax would benefit from a look back in time don't you think? @meadwaj.bsky.social @paulmason.bsky.social @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Tax the rich to help the poor? That’s certain NOT how states originally emerged. People were forced to grow grain because it was eminently taxable. Those taxes were then used to construct extreme hierarchies with the rich at the top. Writing was used to record taxes and build their institutions.
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Our research shows strong evidence to support James Scott's view of the origin of the state @lukekemp.bsky.social, as you discuss in your great book Goliath's Curse.
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Grain, tax and the birth of states. Great piece by @chrisnsimms.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2505... in @newscientist.com on our research rdcu.be/eRGzT (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com. Understanding the origins of tax @newsagents.bsky.social for the budget.
newscientist.com
Easily taxed grains were crucial to the birth of the first states
The cultivation of wheat, barley and maize, which are easily stored and taxed, seems to have led to the emergence of large societies, rather than agriculture generally
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Reposted by Kit Opie
Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Congratulations to our own, @kitopie.bsky.social, and his colleague on this new @nathumbehav.nature.com paper on the role of cereal grains in the creation of early states! 🙌👏 Clink on the post below to access and enjoy 👇
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The invention of agriculture (around 9,000 years ago) spurred the rise of early states? NO. Our research www.nature.com/articles/s41... (with @drqueue.bsky.social) in @nathumbehav.nature.com supports an alternative theory that States almost invariably formed in societies that grew cereal grains.
nature.com
State formation across cultures and the role of grain, intensive agriculture, taxation and writing - Nature Human Behaviour
Opie and Atkinson conduct a global phylogenetic analysis of 868 cultures and find evidence indicating that cereal grain cultivation, not agricultural surplus, drove state formation. Their findings als...
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Prof Nichola Raihani @nicholaraihani.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
My colleague Quentin Atkinson wrote this piece - How Not To Run a University. It is an insanely good read about how managerialism is destroying universities. Make time for it. Talk about it. Share it. quentinatkinson.substack.com/s/how-not-to...
quentinatkinson.substack.com
How not to run a university | Quentin’s Substack | Quentin Atkinson | Substack
A case study of one university’s managerial misadventures, why it is happening and what we can do about it. Click to read Quentin’s Substack, by Quentin Atkinson, a Substack publication. Launched a mo...
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The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
🗨️ "According to these findings, opportunity in England is determined by inherited circumstances more so than compared to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland." What does the OECD's new measure of inequality say about the state of opportunity in the UK? ⤵️ www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...
suttontrust.com
New evidence on international inequality of opportunity - how does the UK rank? - The Sutton Trust
A new OECD measure offers insights into the state of opportunity in the UK.
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The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
✍️"It’s striking and somewhat depressing that so many of those providing commentary on the issues affecting British people’s lives – columnists, talking heads and podcasters – are from a private school background." @carlcullinane.bsky.social in @theguardian.com 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
This news just in: we hoped the middle- and upper-class capture of the media would lessen. It’s got worse | Carl Cullinane
Since our last survey, we find more columnists, podcasters and executives are from privileged backgrounds. That’s too narrow a segment of society, says Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy ...
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Tax wealth now!
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Tax wealth now!
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Public Citizen @publiccitizen.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Starbucks CEO pay: $96 MILLION Starbucks worker pay: $15,000 Coca-Cola CEO pay: $28 MILLION Coca-Cola worker pay: $14,000 CEOs used to make like 20x the average worker. In 2024, the average CEO earned 632x more. The system is rigged.
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Jeremy Kendal @jeremykendal.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Physical copies of this 71-chapter tome now exist. Do encourage your library to buy a copy…also doubles as excellent door stop! Co-edited with Jamie Tehrani and @rachkendal.bsky.social. @oxunipress.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social
The Oxford Handbook of Cultural Evolution hard copy
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Time for you to get to know another of our staff members! Tune in to hear from Kit Opie, a Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Anthropology 📺 Clip made by Bianca Li and Naia Lewendon-Wicks from @uobartsmatter.bsky.social.
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Best to watch the film Coup 53 (coup53.com) to understand who’s really to blame for this.
theguardian.com
Easy regime change in Tehran is a nice idea. But look to history: it’s a near-impossible one | Martin Kettle
No one doubts the malignity of the Iranian government, but if we forget the tragedies of interventions past, we’ll make the same mistakes, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Congratulations to @drsarahmyers.bsky.social, our own Mhairi and colleagues on this paper! 🙌 Check it out through the link 👇
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Nature Human Behaviour @nathumbehav.nature.com · 10/06/2025
This socio-centric social network study estimates the social influence and social selection on preference for cutting female relatives using data from 5163 Ethiopian Arsi Oromo adults. @drsarahmyers.bsky.social @bristolantharch.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Social clustering of preference for female genital mutilation/cutting in south-central Ethiopia - Nature Human Behaviour
Recent estimates indicate that half of Ethiopian girls aged 15–19 years have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC). This socio-centric social network study estimates the social influenc...
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Dr Sarah Myers @drsarahmyers.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
New paper with Eshetu Gurmu, Alex Alvergne @danielredhead.bsky.social Janet Howard & Mhairi Gibson! rdcu.be/eqjfT
rdcu.be
Social clustering of preference for female genital mutilation/cutting in south-central Ethiopia
Nature Human Behaviour - Recent estimates indicate that half of Ethiopian girls aged 15–19 years have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC). This socio-centric social...
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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
First was a thought-provoking talk by @kitopie.bsky.social on primate mating systems at @radicalanthro.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-q1... (2/4)
youtube.com
Primate mating systems and the evolution of language by Kit Opie 18 March 2025
YouTube video by Radical Anthropology
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Looks really useful. Thanks both.
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
All our Vimeos from last term are posted on this 🧵 👇
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Really enjoyed giving the talk - thanks for inviting me @radicalanthro.bsky.social Sharing with @bristolantharch.bsky.social
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.c.im.ap.brid.gy · 14/04/2025
Kit Opie 'Primate mating systems and the evolution of language' vimeo.com/1075096840
vimeo.com
Primate mating systems and the evolution of language by Kit Opie 18 March 2025
Cheap signals, such as language, can only emerge from an alliance where trust has already been built. The coalition that enabled the evolution of language in modern…
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
@kitopie.bsky.social Our recording from March 18
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Arts Matter Bristol @uobartsmatter.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
📻 Dr Kit Opie (@bristolantharch.bsky.social) joins BBC CrowdScience on the World Service to discuss mating systems in primates and early humans Listen to the full programme 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... @kitopie.bsky.social @carolinesteel.bsky.social
bbc.co.uk
CrowdScience - Are humans naturally monogamous? - BBC Sounds
Why is one partner usually the norm for humans around the world?
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Kit Opie @kitopie.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Great to be involved.
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Details for @kitopie.bsky.social On 'Primate mating systems and the evolution of language' TONIGHT's session LIVE + ZOOM 👇👇👇
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Radical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Details for @kitopie.bsky.social On 'Primate mating systems and the evolution of language' TOMORROW evening's session LIVE + ZOOM 👇👇👇
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Bristol Anthro & Archaeo @bristolantharch.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Listen to our own @kitopie.bsky.social on this episode of CrowdScience (BBC Sounds) talk about the mating systems of our closest primate relatives 🔈 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
CrowdScience - Are humans naturally monogamous? - BBC Sounds
Why is one partner usually the norm for humans around the world?
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