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

AnthroBiology Podcast

Release Date: 07/31/2025

Dr. Eric Shattuck – How do humans act when we get sick and why? show art Dr. Eric Shattuck – How do humans act when we get sick and why?

AnthroBiology Podcast

Dr. Eric Shattuck of Florida State University joins the show to discuss his research on sickness behavior. He wants to know how humans tend to act when they get sick and why they act that way. Recommendations Shattuck, E.C. and Muehlenbein, M.P. (2015), . Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 157: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22698 Shattuck, EC. (2021). . Brain Behav Immun Health. 18:100367. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100367. PMID: 34761241; PMCID: PMC8566934. Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Meyers LA, Bolnick DI. . Science. 2021 Mar 5;371(6533):eabc8881....

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AnthroBiology Podcast

Summary Dr. Erin Blankenship-Sefczek of Creighton University joins the show to discuss her research examining the connection between developmental stress and accessory cusps in teeth. Her work focuses on the placement and appearance of extra cusps that occur with greater frequency among individuals who have suffered stress during key developmental periods in their lives. Recommendations Blankenship-Sefczek EC, Goodman AH, Hubbe M, Hunter JP, Guatelli-Steinberg D (2024) . PLOS ONE 19(6): e0305123.  Bailey SE, Hublin J-J. [links to pdf of chapter] In:...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

Dr. Samantha Yaussy of James Madison University joins the show to discuss her research on the how sex, socioeconomic status, and developmental stress and the intersectionality therein might interact to affect health outcomes in the past via the lens of frailty in skeletal remains primarily from medieval London. In this episode, we talked about the skeletal markers of frailty in human remains, understanding bias in research and samples, and intersectionality. As part of this, Dr. Yaussy highlighted the morbidity-mortality paradox -- women in modern contexts typically have worse health but...

info_outline Dr. Habiba Chirchir - Why did humans evolve to have less robust skeletons? show art Dr. Habiba Chirchir - Why did humans evolve to have less robust skeletons?

AnthroBiology Podcast

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 confused with . 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 and based...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

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: Eric Guiry et al., . Scientific Advancements. 10, eadm6755(2024). DOI: Yu, H., Jamieson, A.,...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

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: Erlich, H. (2023). . Oxford University Press. Ed. H Erlich, E Stover, TJ...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

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: Schmitt, C., Service, S., Jasinska, A. et al. . Int J Obes 42, 765–774 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.301 Carrey, N. (2011). . Stearns, S.C. (1992). . Oxford...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

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). . Princeton University Press. () Ellison, P.T. (2003). . Harvard University Press. Van Der Sijpt, E. (2018). . Vanderbilt University Press. Nguyen, M. (2024)....

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AnthroBiology Podcast

Dr. Rebecca Gilmour of Mount Royal University talks about bones, their mechanics, and how we can use both to understand humans' lives in the past -- especially around her main focus of disability and care in ancient Rome. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Ed. CS Hirst, RJ Gilmour, FA Cardoso, KA Plomp. (2023). . Elsevier. Gilmour, Rebecca & Plomp, Kimberly. (2022). . (OPEN ACCESS). Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 10.1002/ajpa.24475.. Battles, Heather & Gilmour, Rebecca. (2022). . (OPEN ACCESS). 6. 23–40. 10.5744/bi.2021.0003. ...

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AnthroBiology Podcast

Dr. Jesse Goliath of Mississippi State University joins the show to talk about forensic anthropology, including how he ended up in forensic anthropology and how he developed the Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons. We also talk about the complicated relationship between race and forensic anthropology, along with the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the field. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Goliath, J.R., Yim, A., & Juarez, J.K. (Eds). (2024). . [Special issue]. Humans, 4(1). Hagerman, M.A....

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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.

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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: