Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 25/09/2026This is great advice from @kensycoop.bsky.social -- for all stages of the scientific life! 062
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanProfessor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Faculty job open at U-Calgary vet school in tissue biomechanics: careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1827023...careers.ucalgary.caCanada Research Chair (Tier II) in Functional Tissue Biomechanics in Calgary, AB, ...Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Functional Tissue Biomechanics in Calgary, AB, ... 032
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Check out our new paper, led by @amandalea.bsky.social, in PLoS Genetics: "Divergent biological consequences of APOE isoforms across industrialized and non-industrial environments." journals.plos.org/plosgenetics... 044
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 15/09/2026A remembrance of Nick Blurton Jones, who passed away in June, written by Kristen Hawkes. anthro.utah.edu/news/nbj_aug...anthro.utah.eduremembering_nbj - Department of Anthropology - The University of Utah 082
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEd Hagen @edhagen.net · 14/09/2026"Violence was endemic in Neolithic Europe, sometimes reaching levels of intergroup hostilities that ended in the utter destruction of entire communities" 🧪 #BioAnth www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...pnas.orgConflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe | PNASBioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence and early warfare presents important insights into conflict in past societies. This evidence i... 0134
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Can computer vision models accurately estimate BMI from faces across diverse human populations? Check out our new preprint led by @lcdrgeordi.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 151
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Wendell Berry was simply the best. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...nytimes.comWendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America’s Agrarian Past, Dies at 92A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim. 030
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 04/09/2026"...contemporary scientific systems progressively constrain high-risk and conceptually innovative research while being increasingly structured around short funding cycles, productivity-based evaluation criteria and risk-averse frameworks..." www.nature.com/articles/s41... 0115
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDuncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Extremely cool investigation of one of my least favourite creatures. I thought their status as non-disease vectors was their only saving grace. Not so, perhaps, as this study shows us. 232
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 18/08/2026We all know that land leeches are incredibly annoying. In our new paper, we ask: could they also transmit disease? Perhaps so, though local peoples do not seem to recognize them as disease vectors. academic.oup.com/trstmh/advan...academic.oup.comEthno-etiology meets virology: land leeches (family: Haemadipsidae) as potential disease vectorsAbstractObjectives. Hematophagous terrestrial leeches are common in rainforest habitats and widely regarded as pests. Despite limited research, circumstant 183
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanKathleen D. Reinhardt @kathleenreinhardt.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Our new paper is out today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B! How does rapid environmental change reshape human sleep, one of our most fundamental biological processes? 📄: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...doi.orgRecent lifestyle change impacts sleep and circadian rhythms among the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular MalaysiaAbstract. Sleep disorders are rising globally, but their lifestyle causes remain unclear. We recorded sleep–wake patterns via actigraphy from 1039 Orang As 2157
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanZach Garfield @zhgarfield.com · 04/08/2026I’m now @grinnellcollege.bsky.social in Anthropology where I’ll be offering a series of new courses on human #evolutionary social #science & #biologicalanthropology and launching a new lab to support student research and expand my research program. 🧪 #HBES 🌾💎 #Grinnell 0406
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 23/07/2026Congrats to Audrey for leading the way on this new paper exploring how we can best convey genetics concepts to communities! 060
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEd Hagen @edhagen.net · 18/07/2026The relationship between testosterone and grip strength, an index of physical formidability, in a representative sample of US adult men (point sizes are survey weights). 🧪 34213
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanRadical Anthropology @radicalanthro.bsky.social · 10/07/2026Ooh nice piece here on teenage girls as 'language disruptors' and innovators. And it's not mere centuries-old, back to Shakespeare's time. It will go right back to 'The Revolutionary Origins of Language' (Knight, Lewis, forthcoming) www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...smithsonianmag.comTeenage Girls Have Led Language Innovation for CenturiesThey've been on the cutting edge of the English language since at least the 1500s 0104
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanSheina Lew-Levy @sheinalew.bsky.social · 06/07/2026theconversation.com/the-6-7-craz...theconversation.comThe 6-7 craze offered a brief window into the hidden world of childrenFrom Pig Latin to Punch Buggy, kids have long used nonsensical language, gestures and games to carve out cultures of their own. 073
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDorsa Amir @dorsaamir.bsky.social · 06/07/2026When we consider children in cultural evolution, we tend to cast them as recipients of adult culture. In our BBS target article, @sheinalew.bsky.social & I argued there's more: through 'peer cultures', children actively drive cultural adaptation. Our final paper + a rich set of responses is out now!cambridge.orgChildren as agents of cultural adaptation | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge CoreChildren as agents of cultural adaptation - Volume 49 411840
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEd Hagen @edhagen.net · 05/07/2026In her blogpost on the paper we jointly co-authored on the significance of Man the Hunter, Haneul does a better job explaining the significance of Man the Hunter than we did in our paper on the significance of Man the Hunter (if that makes any sense!). Check it out #BioAnth 🧪 0187
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDuncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Haneul will be editing a double special issue for HGR, alongside @ceciliapad.bsky.social. The first issue will foster intergenerational dialogue and critical reflections while the second will put perspectives from local researchers in the spotlight. bsky.app/profile/hane... 154
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDuncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Wonderful blog here from Haneul which aptly expresses why so many hunter-gatherer experts, at different career stages and with very different research programmes and theoretical perspectives/commitments, felt compelled to collaborate on the Meaning of MTH paper. 1106
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanHaneul Jang @haneuljang.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Happy to have contributed to the latest HBES newsletter on our recent paper, The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter, led by @vivek123.bsky.social I reflect on MTH through the lens of my research on Bayaka women's foraging & cooperation in the Congolese rainforest www.hbes.com/revisiting-m...hbes.comRevisiting Man the Hunter - HBES– by Haneul Jang For decades, the phrase Man the Hunter has occupied a central place in discussions of human evolution. Today, however, the phrase sounds outdated, evoking a familiar image of men hunt... 02316
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanMany Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · 15/06/2026The ethnographic record shows that women do hunt, sometimes for big game. Does that mean that 'Man the Hunter' was a myth all along? Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @vivek123.bsky.social! Listen: disi.org/is-man-the-h... 0105
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEd Hagen @edhagen.net · 14/06/20261. Attempted cancellations of prominent scholars as proxy wars on ideas one doesn't like: the case of Margaret Mead...and a mea culpa 🧪 #AcademicSky 25831
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanPat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 11/06/2026This is a great episode - fascinating paper and topic, and Kensy does a good job of pushing beyond the paper for some frank discussions about things like the responsibility of scientists for how academic research is (mis)represented in the popular consciousness. 263
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanKensy Cooperrider @kensycoop.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Really enjoyed this chat with @vivek123.bsky.social! We work through the history of Man the Hunter ideas, the current status of the evidence (archaeological, ethnographic, etc.), and three splashy recent "debunkings." Also, of course, some fun detours along the way. 0113
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDuncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 09/06/2026While I've seen both men and women building Hadza huts, much more often it is women (pictured). The sexual division of labour lit has zeroed in on hunting-vs-gathering; but much less is said about women's differential contributions to water-fetching, food-preparation, cooking, and house-building. 1198
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanBaylor Anthropology @bayloranthro.bsky.social · 09/06/2026This podcast interview with Vivek Venkataraman (@vivek123.bsky.social) explores work coauthored by Baylor Anthropology's own @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social. Well worth a listen! 097
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanMany Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · 08/06/2026This episode focuses on a paper by @vivek123.bsky.social and colleagues, 'The Meanings and Dividends of Man the Hunter,' available here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Commentaries on the article are available here: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...sciencedirect.comThe Meanings and Dividends of Man the HunterThe phrase Man the Hunter is associated with disparate meanings across communities of scholars, journalists, and the public, which has led to unnecess… 061
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanMany Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · 08/06/2026New episode!! 🎙️🎉 A conversation w/ @vivek123.bsky.social about Man the Hunter. The idea that male hunting propelled our evolution is old and contested. Yet it endures, especially in the popular imagination. Is it merely a "paleofantasy," or is there more to it? Listen: disi.org/is-man-the-h... 1197
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanWill @evolvingmoloch.bsky.social · 05/06/2026The sexual division of labour regarding house construction shows a very consistent pattern cross-culturally: women usually construct the shelters in nomadic societies, while in sedentary societies men do it. 1198
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanHaneul Jang @haneuljang.bsky.social · 03/06/2026💙 Call for contributions! 💙 To mark 60 years since the Man the Hunter conference (1966), Hunter Gatherer Research is curating a two-part special issue on “Lessons and Reflections from Hunter-Gatherer Research” www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/journal/hgr A thread on the two issues & formats👇 12621
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanCecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 29/05/2026The first issue aims to curate a collection of reminiscences and interviews from senior hunter-gatherer scholars. The second will focus on local perspectives and hunter-gatherer voices, which have long been central to the production of knowledge but remain underrepresented in academic publication. 183
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanCecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 29/05/2026🚨NEW SPECIAL ISSUE SERIES OF HUNTER-GATHERER RESEARCH🚨Celebrating and critically reflecting on the history and methodologies of the field, co-edited by @haneuljang.bsky.social and I. More info, check the submissions page of our website: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/journal/hgr or get in touch!liverpooluniversitypress.co.ukHunter Gatherer Research HomeThe journal encompasses social and cultural anthropology, applied research, archaeology, ecology, ethnography, ethnohistory, evolutionary anthropology, genetics, indigenous rights, and linguistics, and is an indispensable resource for anyone with a research or activist interest in hunter-gatherers. 12411
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEd Hagen @edhagen.net · 26/05/2026The grandmother hypothesis is seen as the "feminist" version of human evolution, but if so it's a dark version. At its heart is the recognition that despite higher male mortality, menopause sharply restricted the pool of fertile women relative to fertile men👇 intensifying male-male competition 🧪🧵1/4 161
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanKevin Hong @kevin-hong.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Why did many ancient civilizations believe the human body has 365 bones — one for each day of the year? My new paper in Evolution and Human Behavior explores the cognitive roots of "numerological correspondence." 👇 sciencedirect.com/science/arti...sciencedirect.comThe calendar in the body: Cognition, culture, and the allure of numerological correspondenceHuman cultures frequently construct “numerological correspondences”—symbolic systems where discrete quantities in one domain are believed to mirror th… 175
Reposted by Vivek V. Venkataramanlouisbachaud.bsky.social @louisbachaud.bsky.social · 20/05/2026New Open Access study out in EvoDevo: link.springer.com/article/10.1... Some study findings below: 273
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanAndra Meneganzin @andrameneganzin.bsky.social · 20/05/2026👉Very happy to share a new preprint w/ Matteo Bedetti, forthcoming in Biology & Philosophy. We examine how evidential standards are negotiated in funerary #archaeology debates, using the Homo #naledi burial controversy as a case study in epistemological practice.🧪🏺 #evosky #philbio #philskyphilsci-archive.pitt.edu Buried, or Maybe Not: Adherence to Evidential Standards in Paleoanthropology - PhilSci-Archive 4225
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDavid Pietraszewski @dpietra.bsky.social · 18/05/2026“The foraging economy is not organized by only two types of actors, nor captured by a simple sex-by-age matrix, but by a multi-actor network of individuals whose roles are shaped by the intersection of biological parameters, accumulated embodied capital, and current time-allocation demands…” 074
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanEric Schniter @humannature.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Our new commentary is out: "More than the sum of its sexes" — on embodied capital & age-structured labor in forager economies. Big thanks to Venkataraman et al. for their excellent "Man the Hunter" piece that clarifies much. Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...sciencedirect.comMore than the sum of its sexes: functional constraints, embodied capital, and age-structured labor in human forager economies 297
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanKevin Hong @kevin-hong.bsky.social · 16/05/2026Why do menstrual taboos--restrictions on food prep, ritual participation, and social contact--recur and persist in diverse human societies? In this new paper in Evolution and Human Behavior, I propose a new framework: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...sciencedirect.comThe evolutionary-cognitive foundation and cultural persistence of menstrual taboos in human societiesMenstrual prohibitions—restrictions on food preparation, sex, ritual participation, and contact with valued objects—are widespread across human societ… 284
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanAmy Boddy @amyboddy.bsky.social · 08/05/2026🌴🌞🌊 We are recruiting 🌊🌞🌴 UCSB seeks a lecturer broadly trained across anthropological fields to teach anthropological approaches to health. More info: recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03100 UCSB is an Equal Opportunity Employer Expected salary range: $70,977–$98,249recruit.ap.ucsb.eduLecturer (Health Track), AnthropologyUniversity of California Santa Barbara is hiring. Apply now! 01613
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanMU-Peter Shimon 🀄 @mu-peter.bsky.social · 08/05/2026From diversity to flexibility: Seasonality as the forgotten dividend of Man the Hunter🏺🧪 @ceciliapad.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 60 years later, Venkataraman et al have done something important: they have rescued MTH from misconceptions that have followed from its own title. 0113
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanCecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 08/05/2026🚨New paper!🚨 I really enjoyed @vivek123.bsky.social & colleagues' article reflecting on the diversity of perspectives within the Man The Hunter conference. My commentary out today discussing not only diversity across societies but within them🤩: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Thoughts welcome!sciencedirect.comFrom diversity to flexibility: Seasonality as the forgotten dividend of Man the Hunter 0134
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanAeon Magazine @aeon.co · 01/05/2026For a century, this theory of human origins has died and returned. To free it from limbo, we must disentangle its many meanings. An Essay by @vivek123.bsky.socialaeon.coWhy ‘Man the Hunter’ continues to die – and return | Aeon EssaysFor a century, this theory of human origins has died and returned. To free it from limbo, we must disentangle its many meanings 066
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 28/04/2026I can't access this (can anyone send?), but I think I agree with what it probably says! Anthropology is needed now more than ever. 021
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Not up for a 15,000 word manuscript about the intellectual history of Man the Hunter? Fair enough! Instead, check out my popular article published today in @aeon.co aeon.co/essays/why-m...aeon.co 1167
Reposted by Vivek V. VenkataramanDuncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Thanks to the Baylor media office for doing a nice write-up of my recent PNAS Nexus article with @kris-smith.bsky.social. Of course, we also saw tremendous generosity in these economic experiments (!), but "life-like" sharing patterns only occurred when people took from peers in surplus. 083
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 27/04/2026New paper out in ProcB! Congrats to lead author Rachel Peterson and the Orang Asli Health and Lifeways Project (OAHeLP) team! "Early life environments shape adult cardiometabolic health during rapid lifestyle change" 172
Vivek V. Venkataraman @vivek123.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Our new paper is out in Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health! Led by the amazing @marinawatowich.bsky.social What drives worsening cardiometabolic health during urbanization in Indigenous populations? We expected it to be diet. But actually, it was the built environment.academic.oup.comBuilt environment is a key driver of cardiometabolic health in two indigenous groups undergoing rapid lifestyle changeAbstractBackground. Globally, subsistence-level societies are experiencing rapid urbanization and concomitant increases in cardiometabolic diseases. Genera 1148
