Teaching
Biological Anthropology
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Unit 5
Human Behavior
Biological anthropologists are interested in human behavior and what role evolution, genetics, and biology play in determining why we act the way we do. In this unit, students will learn about some of the current discussions regarding aspects of human behavior and what current events may indicate about our ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
Sapiens articles
Chimpanzees Can’t Tell Us Much About Being Human
Although there is merit in recognizing how we resemble our primate relatives, sometimes we need to understand what sets our species apart.
Could Group-Organized Violence Be Rooted in Empathy?
The evolution of empathy may have conferred both the advantage of mercy and the tradeoffs of killing.
Keywords
View All in Biology
![A black squirrel sits atop a trash can in a busy urban setting, with a crowd of people out-of-focus in the background.]()
![A stream of clear water pours into an orange bucket. Behind it, two slightly out-of-focus women and a child look on.]()
![A bearded man in a vest and red scarf holds up his two hands in loose blue gloves, with a small tooth in each hand.]()
![A person wearing a black robe crouches beside a white building to tend to a bed of pea plants.]()
![A historic black-and-white photograph shows a small group of workers on the floor of a pin manufacturing plant tending to rows of machines.]()
![A tawny, black-spotted lynx wearing a radio collar sprints across a rocky, beige landscape studded with tufts of green grass.]()
Are People Projecting Racist Stereotypes Onto Squirrels?
Researchers refute a popular idea that black-furred squirrels behave more aggressively than gray ones—and suggest the myth stems from some people’s racist attitudes.
How Water Insecurity Impacts Women’s Health
Anthropologists and local activists in Indonesia and Peru uncover links between water scarcity and gendered violence, and work together to lessen the harms of gender inequality.
Unraveling a “Ghost” Neanderthal Lineage
Remains in France found by archaeologists and geneticists suggest at least two lineages—not just one—of late Neanderthals in Europe.
People Are Not Peas—Why Genetics Education Needs an Overhaul
The decades out-of-date genetics taught in most U.S. schools stokes misconceptions about race and human diversity. A biological anthropologist calls for change.
How Allocating Work Aided Our Evolutionary Success
Societies divide labor by gender and age. A biological anthropologist considers when and why this behavior arose.
Bringing Back the World’s Most Endangered Cat
A social scientist goes behind the scenes at a breeding center in Portugal to explore the challenges and ethical dilemmas of reintroducing the Iberian lynx.
View All in Culture
![A photo shows the back of a person in a dark suitcoat standing at a podium and speaking to a large, captive, seated audience. Most onlookers wear red MAGA hats and Trump T-shirts.]()
![A gnarled tree stands on a reddish cliff, beyond which stretches a landscape of deeply hued sandstone plateaus that an ox-bowed river cuts through.]()
![A black painted hand covered in red paint holds a skull figure decorated with floral patterns in shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Painted white with black accents to resemble a skull, the face—and also gray hair and flower headband—of the person holding the skull are blurry in the background.Cindy Ord/Getty Images]()
![A stream of clear water pours into an orange bucket. Behind it, two slightly out-of-focus women and a child look on.]()
![Two pairs of scissors, two rocks, and two slips of paper rest on a pale-yellow surface.]()
![A man in a t-shirt, jacket, and jeans sits comfortably with a leg folded, on a stage. A microphone extends in front of him.]()
Five Reasons Why Trump Won Again
In an effort to address toxic polarization in the U.S., an anthropologist of the “Trumpiverse” explains MAGA supporters’ thinking in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Gathering Firewood—and Redefining Land Stewardship—at Bears Ears
At Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, a new co-management plan brings together federal agencies and a consortium of Native American tribes—revealing deep tensions over land rights and demands for environmental justice.
Harvest Song
A poet-anthropologist celebrates relatedness across difference in a poem that honors the festivals of Navratri, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Day of the Dead, and Halloween—all of which draw on otherworldly connections and mysteries.
How Water Insecurity Impacts Women’s Health
Anthropologists and local activists in Indonesia and Peru uncover links between water scarcity and gendered violence, and work together to lessen the harms of gender inequality.
Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors Across the Red-Blue Divide
As toxic polarization deepens in the U.S., some global conflict prevention experts are now addressing political violence at home. An anthropologist shares three key insights from a community action program in Wisconsin.
Revisiting the Spiritual Violence of BS Jobs
Anthropologist David Graeber’s celebrated theory of “bullshit jobs” continues to provide a critical window into why modern work is often so useless, soul-sucking, and absurd.
View All in Evolution
![An ape-like mannequin, with protruding facial features and a body covered in fur, stands in a museum exhibition under dramatic lighting. Next to it, a text panel starts, “The human story begins.”]()
![A bearded man in a vest and red scarf holds up his two hands in loose blue gloves, with a small tooth in each hand.]()
![A historic black-and-white photograph shows a small group of workers on the floor of a pin manufacturing plant tending to rows of machines.]()
![A person with short gray hair wearing a blue shirt holds a black camera up to their face and points it at a figure that looks like a hairy unclothed person with one hand on their lap and the other on its chin.]()
![In a dark and rainy forest, a large Tyrannosaurus rex stares into a green car with its headlights on. The car has a yellow and black graphic on its hood with text that reads, “Jurassic Park.”]()
![On a paved city street fenced off and lined with people, three people wearing colorful clothing stand and hold signs. These read: “Monogamy is not for everyone,” “I love my girlfriend’s boyfriend,” and “Sharing is Caring.”]()
Lessons From Lucy
Fifty years ago, the remains of an Australopithecus afarensis ancestor, named “Lucy” by archaeologists, rewrote the story of human evolution.
Unraveling a “Ghost” Neanderthal Lineage
Remains in France found by archaeologists and geneticists suggest at least two lineages—not just one—of late Neanderthals in Europe.
How Allocating Work Aided Our Evolutionary Success
Societies divide labor by gender and age. A biological anthropologist considers when and why this behavior arose.
What’s Behind the Evolution of Neanderthal Portraits
Since the 1800s, Neanderthal depictions have evolved not only with changing science but also due to social views. An archaeologist explains why visualizations of our evolutionary cousins matter.
Celebrity Status Almost Ruined Ancient DNA Research
An evolutionary anthropologist draws lessons from paleogenetic’s journey from Jurassic Park fiction to Nobel Prize reality.
What Is “Natural” for Human Sexual Relationships?
A biological and anthropological researcher explains how humans' diverse ways of mating might have evolved.
View All in Primates
![Two black-haired chimpanzees lie on the dirt ground in front of a blurred background of brown rocks and green, leafy trees.]()
![A black-and-white illustration depicts a large, hairy bipedal figure walking in a forest, flanked by leafless trees.]()
![A child wearing a plaid shirt and a beanie looks up and holds the hand of an adult wearing jeans and a plaid shirt but whose head isn’t visible. They stand next to a cholla cactus.]()
![A black-and-white photo features three baboons near the side of a dirt road. Two look on as a third bends over to drink from a puddle.]()
![A photograph features three macaques with red faces and beige fur soaking in hot springs as a person takes their picture with a cellphone.]()
![Four chimpanzees sit on a rock in front of trees. Two have one arm in the air and their hands are clasped.]()
Spend a Day Tracking Chimpanzees
A series of short videos captures a rare view into the lives of wild chimps through the eyes of a researcher.
What Bigfoot Teaches Us About Public Mistrust of Science
In the 1960s, credentialed scientists, including physical anthropologists, hunted for the legendary Sasquatch. How did they fall for the hoax?
Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange.
In a new book, Growing Up Human, a bioarchaeologist chronicles some of the most surprising evolutionary adaptations of babies, parents, and grandparents.
Extracting Hominin Evolution From Fossilized Teeth
Two scientists explain how analyses of oxygen isotopes from 17-million-year-old ape teeth could lead to new insights on early human evolution amid environmental changes.
Does “Monkeypox” Give Monkeys a Bad Name?
The debate over naming the virus known as monkeypox says a lot about the close—but fraught—relationships between humans and our fellow primates.
What Chimpanzees Know About Giving Medicine
New observations of chimpanzees in Gabon lead researchers to wonder if the tendency for self-medication and medicating others really is unique to humans.
View All in Violence
![Two pairs of scissors, two rocks, and two slips of paper rest on a pale-yellow surface.]()
![Dozens of papers with text on them are punctured and strung horizontally on wires.]()
![A white cartoon speech bubble on a red background is wrapped in barbed wire.]()
![A person wearing a gray T-shirt and tan baseball cap pushes buttons on a camera that is attached to a tree in the forest.]()
![A dark shelf leaning against a wall covered in gold-tinted wallpaper displays the personal items of a missing loved one, including a portrait of the person dressed in a black suit and tie, a photograph, a red plastic hard hat, and books.]()
![Clear water streams down moss-covered rocks amid thick, luxurious vegetation with broad tropical leaves and bright red and yellow flowers.]()
Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors Across the Red-Blue Divide
As toxic polarization deepens in the U.S., some global conflict prevention experts are now addressing political violence at home. An anthropologist shares three key insights from a community action program in Wisconsin.
Archived Haints
SAPIENS’ 2024 poet-in-residence conjures the voices of those imprisoned in archives.
Speaking Truth to Israel Requires More Than Academic Freedom
Educators and students critical of Israel’s war on Gaza face censorship, harassment, and dismissal. An anthropologist who researches coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians argues such critics need more than free speech protections.
Payangko, or Echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi)
After a 60-year haitus, an Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was seen in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains. A poet-anthropologist reflects on the echidna’s message through the storied lens of the people of Yongsu Sapari.
For Families of Missing Loved Ones, Forensic Investigations Don’t Always Bring Closure
An anthropologist working in Azerbaijan looks beyond forensic science to understand the value of culturally specific ways people navigate uncertainty in protracted conflict zones.
Coastal Eden
A poet interrogates the garden of Eden origin story by reimagining it against the backdrop of East Africa’s coastal environment.
Professor Talking Points
- Questions about why humans behave as we do are contemplated in a variety of disciplines.
- For biological anthropologists, the evolutionary roots of modern humans are of particular interest in explaining why we act and interact as we do.
- Humans have evolved to be social and cooperative, and to communicate using language and nonverbal cues.
- From an evolutionary view, biological anthropological queries about human nature include: whether or not humans are naturally violent, how we compare to other primates in our behaviors, and to what extent our environment, upbringing, and evolutionary background shape how we behave.
Academic Articles
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Kissel, Marc, and Nam C. Kim. 2018. “The Emergence of Human Warfare: Current Perspectives.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 168 (67): 141–163.
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Schmidt, Karen L., and Jeffrey F. Cohn. 2001. “Human Facial Expressions as Adaptations: Evolutionary Questions in Facial Expression Research.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 116 (33): 3–24.
Student Discussion Questions
- What are the pros and cons of observing nonhuman primates in attempts to understand human behavior?
- What do Kissel and Kim (2018) conclude about the nature of humans and organized violence? How do cooperation and communication, two human strong suits, play into the authors’ arguments about the origins of violence?
- Why are social distancing and isolation so difficult for humans? What types of behaviors can we expect to see in people who are lonely and isolated?
- What have you learned about the study of nonverbal communication? Why is it of interest to biological anthropologists?
Activities
- Split the class into two groups and have them debate the question of “Why Are Humans Violent?”
- Have the students watch psychologist Steven Pinker’s TED Talk “The Surprising Decline in Violence.” His is a controversial argument. Have the students find anthropological critiques of it and write a paper on the evidence and arguments for/against Pinker’s viewpoint.
Additional Resources
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Article: SAPIENS’ “Why Social Distancing Feels So Strange”
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Podcast: SAPIENS’ “Does Generosity Come Naturally?”
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TED Talk: Robert Sapolsky’s “The Biology of Our Best and Worst Selves”
Unit By
Eshe Lewis (2020)
Teaching
Archaeology
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Unit 1
Archaeological Methods
