AnthroBiology Podcast

• Dr. Habiba Chirchir - Why did humans evolve to have less robust skeletons?

  Dr. Habiba Chirchir of the Ohio State University joins the show to discuss her research into the skeletal gracilization of modern humans. She's trying to understand when and why our skeletons became less robust, and whether self-domestication may have played a role. ------------------ Note: Apparently I got Dmitry Belyayev confused with Nikolai Vavilov. Both geneticists worked in the Soviet Union, but Dr. Belyayev wasn't persecuted to the same extent as Vavilov. Vavilov, who based his work on Mendelian genetics, ultimately died in prison for daring to go against Stalin's favored genetic model created by Trofim Lysenko and based on Lamarckism. Also worth noting: The contributions of Lyudmila Trut who worked with Dr. Belyayev and continued running the study after his death. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Chirchir's staff page at OSU Dr. Chirchir's personal and lab website Assif, L., & Chirchir, H. (2024). Trabecular bone morphology in big cats reflects the complex diversity of limb use but not home range size or daily travel distance. The Anatomical Record, 307(1), 208–222. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25302 H. Chirchir, T.L. Kivell, C.B. Ruff, J. Hublin, K.J. Carlson, B. Zipfel, & B.G. Richmond, Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112 (2) 366-371, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411696112 (2015). Chirchir H, Ruff CB, Junno J-A, and Potts R. Low trabecular bone density in recent sedentary modern humans. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2017; 162:e23138. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23138. Chirchir, H. (2019), Trabecular Bone Fraction Variation in Modern Humans, Fossil Hominins and Other Primates. Anat. Rec., 302: 288-305. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.23967 H. Chirchir, T.L. Kivell, C.B. Ruff, J. Hublin, K.J. Carlson, B. Zipfel, & B.G. Richmond, Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112 (2) 366-371, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411696112 (2015). Chirchir Habiba, Ruff Christopher, Helgen Kristofer M. and Potts Richard. 2022. Effects of reduced mobility on trabecular bone density in captive big catsR. Soc. Open Sci.9211345 http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211345. Chirchir H. Trabecular bone in domestic dogs and wolves: Implications for understanding human self-domestication. Anat Rec. 2021; 304: 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24510 Richmond, Brian & Green, David & Lague, Michael & Chirchir, Habiba & Behrensmeyer, Anna & Bobe, René & Bamford, Marion & Griffin, N & Gunz, Philipp & Mbua, Emma & Merritt, S & Pobiner, Briana & Kiura, Purity & Kibunjia, Mzalendo & Harris, J & Braun, David. (2020). The upper limb of Paranthropus boisei from Ileret, Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution. 141. 102727. 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102727. Perry, T.A. and Chirchir, H. (2019), Cortical and trabecular bone density distribution in primate and felid limb epiphyses. The FASEB Journal, 33: lb150-lb150. https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.lb150 Cartwright C, Ragni A, Hublin JJ, Chirchir H. Trabecular bone volume fraction in Holocene and Late Pleistocene humans. J Hum Evol. 2024 May;190:103499. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103499. Epub 2024 Apr 3. PMID: 38569444. Barak MM, Lieberman DE, Hublin JJ. A Wolff in sheep's clothing: trabecular bone adaptation in response to changes in joint loading orientation. Bone. 2011 Dec;49(6):1141-51. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2011.08.020. Epub 2011 Aug 26. PMID: 21893221. Barak, Meir & Lieberman, Daniel & Hublin, Jean-Jacques. (2012). Sheep in shoes: a new experimental test of Wolff’s Law of trabecular orientation. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3689.5123. Barak, Meir & Hublin, Jean-Jacques & Lieberman, Daniel. (2011). Altering joint loading direction in the sheep generates trabecular orientation adjustment. Assif, L. and ChirChir, H. (2022), Trabecular bone morphology in felids reflects diversity in locomotor strategy but not home range size. The FASEB Journal, 36:. https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R3371 Trut, Lyudmila. Early Canid Domestication: The Farm-Fox Experiment. American Scientist. 1999 Mar; 8(2): 160. Dr. Christopher Ruff's staff profile page at Johns Hopkins Dr. Ruff's Google Scholar profile Dr. Brian Hare's staff profile at Duke Dr. Hare's personal website Dr. Hare's Google Scholar profile Elzinga DC, Kulwicki R, Iselin S, Spence L, Capaldi A. Rapid evolution of prehistoric dogs from wolves by natural and sexual selection emerges from an agent-based model. Proc Biol Sci. 2025 Feb;292(2040):20242646. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2646. Epub 2025 Feb 12. PMID: 39933588; PMCID: PMC11813586. Grantchester on PBS

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• Dr. David Orton – Rats in Europe and Zooarchaeology

  Dr. David Orton of the University of York joins the show to discuss how he uses zooarchaeology (the study of animal remains in archaeological contexts) to understand the how rat and human populations interacted and affected each other over time in Europe. He gets into the spread of rats, the plague, using ancient DNA and isotopic analysis to analyze rats, and what rats can tell us about historic events. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Orton's University of York faculty profile RATTUS project website Eric Guiry et al., The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition. Scientific Advancements. 10, eadm6755(2024). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adm6755 Yu, H., Jamieson, A., Hulme-Beaman, A. et al. Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history. Nature Communications. 13, 2399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30009-z Jason Munshi-South et al., The evolutionary history of wild and domestic brown rats (Rattus norvegicus). Science. 385, 1292-1297. (2024). DOI:10.1126/science.adp1166 E. E. Puckett, D. Orton, J. Munshi-South, Commensal Rats and Humans: Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies. BioEssays 2020, 42, 1900160. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201900160 Guiry, E.J., Gaulton, B.C. Inferring Human Behaviors from Isotopic Analyses of Rat Diet: a Critical Review and Historical Application. J Archaeol Method Theory 23, 399–426 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9248-9 Susat, Julian et al. A 5,000-year-old hunter-gatherer already plagued by Yersinia pestis. Cell Reports, Volume 35, Issue 13, 109278. Hall, A. R., Kenward, H. K., and Williams, D. Environmental Evidence from Roman Deposits in Skeldergate. The Archaeology of York. Volume 14, Issue 3. (1980). Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Owl Pellet Teaching Tips. Beisaw, April. (2013). Identifying and Interpreting Animal Bones: A Manual. Texas A&M University Press. O'Connor, Terry. (2008). The Archaeology of Animal Bones. Texas A&M University Press. O'Connor, Terry. (2014). Animals as Neighbors: The Past and Present of Commensal Animals. Michigan State University Press. MacArthur, R.H. and E.O. Wilson. (1967). The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press. Kalmring, Sven. (2024). Towns and Commerce in Viking-Age Scandinavia. Cambridge University Press. Vinge, Vernor. (2010). A Fire Upon the Deep. Tor Books. Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur's Gate 3. Chambers, Becky. (2021). The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Harper Voyager Books.

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• Dr. Henry Erlich - Genetic Reconstruction of the Past

  Dr. Henry Erlich, Researcher Emeritus at Benioff UCSF Children's Hospital, joins the show to discuss his book, Genetic Reconstruction of the Past: DNA Analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution. We chatted about what it was like to pioneer PCR tests along with how PCR testing works, its applications (including medicine, understanding human evolution, and forensics), and some of the ethical dilemmas around DNA testing more generally. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Erlich's personal website Dr. Erlich's Medium profile Erlich, H. (2023). Genetic Reconstruction of the Past: DNA Analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution. Oxford University Press. Ed. H Erlich, E Stover, TJ White. (2020). Silent Witness: Forensic DNA Evidence in Criminal Investigations and Humanitarian Disasters. Oxford University Press. Wulf, A. (2016). The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World. Knopf - Vintage.

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• Dr. Christopher Schmitt - Vervets and woolly monkeys

  Dr. Christopher Schmitt of Boston University joins the show to talk about how he uses life history theory and epigenetics as a lens for his work with vervets and woolly monkeys. We also chatted about the highs of fieldwork, along with understanding how identity can affect an individual's experience of the field. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Schmitt's personal website Dr. Schmitt's faculty profile at Boston University Schmitt, C., Service, S., Jasinska, A. et al. Obesity and obesogenic growth are both highly heritable and modified by diet in a nonhuman primate model, the African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Int J Obes 42, 765–774 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.301 Carrey, N. (2011). The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance. Stearns, S.C. (1992). The Evolution of Life Histories. Oxford University Press. Turner, T. R., Schmitt, C. A., & Cramer, J. D. (2019). Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Cambridge University Press.

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• Dr. Kate Clancy - Period: The Real Story of Menstruation

  Dr. Kate Clancy of Illinois State University Urbana-Champaign joins the show to talk about her book, Period: The Real Story of Menstruation. We touch on what periods are, why humans might menstruate, factors that affect menstruation, the study of women's health in general, and a few things to keep in when doing research. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Clancy, K. (2023). Period: The Real Story of Menstruation. Princeton University Press. (Audiobook version) Dr. Clancy's website Dr. Clancy's faculty profile at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dr. Clancy's Bluesky profile Dr. Clancy's Buttondown profile Ellison, P.T. (2003). On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction. Harvard University Press. Van Der Sijpt, E. (2018). Wasted Wombs: Navigating Reproductive Interruptions in Cameroon. Vanderbilt University Press. Nguyen, M. (2024). The Promise of Beauty. Duke University Press. Gladstone, M. (2012). Three Parts Dead. Tor Books.

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