Category Archives: Evolution

Running for Science: Science for Running – The Complete Series

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Adam Van Arsdale

The 12-episode series is now a wrap! Thank you to everyone who helped in the process, both as a contributor and as a listener. This post is intended to bring together the whole series into a single, easily sharable post … Continue reading →

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Running for Science: Science for Running – Episode 1, You Have to Walk Before You Can Run (Jeremy DeSilva)

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Adam Van Arsdale

Happy to release episode 1 of “Running for Science: Science for Running.” This episode – You have to walk before you can run – features Dartmouth anthropologist, Jeremy DeSilva. Jerry is a good friend I have known since graduate school, … Continue reading →

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Three papers: January 13-19, 2019

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Adam Van Arsdale

Three papers that caught my attention this week in the world of human evolution: * “Limits of long-term selection against Neandertal introgression.” Petr Martin, Svante Pääbo, Janet Kelso, and Benjamin Vernot It is now well-established the early “modern” humans (that … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Maps: Ancient DNA and Ancient Hominins

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Adam Van Arsdale

A while back Chris Stringer linked to a wonderful interactive map on twitter. Still being updated, a great resource by ⁦@nickyrozenblatt⁩ mapping published ancient genomes + sources https://t.co/WFCZRNOw8O — Chris Stringer (@ChrisStringer65) December 12, 2018 The map, put together by … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Demography, Evolution, Fossils, Genetics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Size, Science, and Scientific Truth

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Adam Van Arsdale

Jerry Coyne, evolutionary geneticist at the University of Chicago and author of several biological texts as well as texts on evolution and faith, started an argument about the politics of the left and science in a post titled, “The ideological … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Evolution | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Moving Beyond Trees: Metaphors for Evolution

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Adam Van Arsdale

…for there is some one entity (or more than one) which always persists and from which all other things are generated. All are not agreed, however, as to the number and character of these principles. Thales, the founder of this … Continue reading →

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Homo naledi, part 1

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Adam Van Arsdale

Paleoanthropology got front-page (above the fold!) coverage last week with the announcement and initial publication of Homo naledi, a new species of Homo, based on the large assemblage of hominin fossils recovered from the Rising Star Cave, South Africa, in … Continue reading →

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Breast milk isn’t magic, it IS an important evolutionary feature in humans

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Adam Van Arsdale

I started the day off yesterday by upsetting some colleagues. @APV2600 @Quinnanthrowman why you got to ruin my day Adam? — Katie Hinde (@Mammals_Suck) May 20, 2015 You see, Dr. Katie Hinde (@Mammals_Suck) is a human evolutionary biologist (I like … Continue reading →

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Reason #1 to enroll in 207x

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Adam Van Arsdale

The actual start of the course (and the end of classes at Wellesley) kept me from finishing this off. But Anthropology 207x (Introduction to Human Evolution) is off to a fantastic start and you can continue to enroll at any … Continue reading →

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Reason #2 to enroll in 207x

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Adam Van Arsdale

Continuing my series on the top 10 reasons to enroll in Anthropology 207x (Introduction to Human Evolution), which officially begins on May 6th…. Previous entries: #10 Origin stories are captivating. Scientific origin stories can be unifying. #9 It’s open and … Continue reading →

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