Evolutionary Anthropology

Evolutionary anthropologists seek to understand how humans differ from our primate relatives, how such differences came to be, and how evolutionary forces have shaped modern human variation. Our program produces scholars who contribute to basic explanations of our species’ distinctive characteristics (including life history, diet, social relationships, and cognition), how the environment and the history of population movements and settlements influence variation, and to the understanding of contemporary world issues, such as environmental conservation, aging, violence, parental investment, race, and socioecological, genetic, and geographic contributors to disease and fertility.


Our interdisciplinary approach includes field and/or laboratory programs in human behavioral ecology, life history theory, primate behavior, paleoanthropology, bioarchaeology, human biology and genetics. We maintain well-equipped laboratories for computational research, endocrinology, molecular genetics, paleontology, and skeletal biology. The graduate training program emphasizes a broad comparative perspective, integration of evolutionary theory, and the collection of high-quality field data to test hypotheses. Faculty members place priority in teaching each student a professional-level configuration of skills that is identified as most appropriate for their chosen dissertation project and career trajectory, such as analytic design and data analysis, endocrinology, or analysis of genetic, isotopic, geological or skeletal data.


The Evolutionary Anthropology program is part of the Human Evolutionary and Behavioral Sciences (HEBS) Network that links research across the departments of Anthropology, Biology and Psychology.


Graduate degrees offered: MA or MS in Anthropology; PhD in Anthropology.

Faculty


Evolutionary Anthropology Faculty

James Boone
Professor of Anthropology
(Archaeology/ Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
jboone@unm.edu
505-990-4514
Heather Edgar
Assistant Professor
of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Assistant Professor,
Health Sciences Library
and Informatics Center
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
hjhedgar@unm.edu
505-277-3535 Lab
505-277-4415 Office
Melissa Emery Thompson
Research Assistant
Professor of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
memery@unm.edu
505-
359-4220
Keith Hunley
Associate Professor
of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
khunley@unm.edu
505-990-4519
Hillard Kaplan
Professor of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
hkaplan@unm.edu
505-
277-4524
Jane Lancaster
Professor of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Editor, Human Nature:
An Interdisciplinary
Biosocial Perspective
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
jlancas@unm.edu
505.990.8536
Jeffrey Long
Professor of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
jlo@unm.edu
505-277-2635
Martin Muller
Associate Professor
of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
muller@unm.edu
505-
990-8377
Sherry Nelson
Assistant Professor
of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
svnelson@unm.edu
505
990-4528
Osbjorn Pearson
Associate Professor
of Anthropology
(Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
ompear@unm.edu
Keith Prufer
Associate Professor
of Anthropology
(Archaeology/Evolutionary Anthropology)
Faculty Profile
Curriculum Vitae
kmp(at)unm.edu
505-715-6629
Maxwell Museum
Human Nature
To support the Anthropology Newsletter, the department has designed the bag and mug pictured above. The 12 oz mug, in black and red, is very attractive and the shopping bag, made of 100% recyclable materials, is machine washable (do not put in dryer) and has been manufactured to reduce our use of plastic bags from the grocery store. You may receive either item for a donation of the following amount: Mug $15.00, Bag $12.50 (prices include shipping within US)

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