Fields of Research
Research in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology focuses on the evolutionary history of the mammalian radiation containing the human species and on the origins of human nature. By being taxon-based, evolutionary anthropology is inherently interdisciplinary, and brings techniques and concepts from a variety of traditional academic disciplines to bear on the core questions of who we are and where we came from. These disciplines include evolutionary biology, archaeology, geology, paleontology, behavioral ecology, genetics, developmental biology, psychology, economics and other social sciences.
- Evolutionary Medicine
- Functional Morphology
- Paleontology
- Primate Behavior & Ecology
- Primate Cognition/Human Cognitive Evolution
- Systematics & Comparative Methods
Charles L Nunn
Gosnell Family Professor in Global Health
Office: 106 BioSci Bldg., Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 613-0465
Steven E. Churchill
Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: Duke University, Evolutionary Anthropology, 130 Science Drive, Room 108, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 448-7025
I am a human paleontologist studying morphological and behavioral adaptation in archaic and modern humans of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Through comparative functional-morphological analysis of human fossil remains, coupled with investigation of the archeological record of...
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Richard Frederick Kay
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 0013 Biological Sciences Building, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 684-2143
I have two areas of research:1) the evolution of primates in South America; and 2) the use of primate anatomy to reconstruct the phylogenetic history and adapations of living and extinct primates, especially Anthropoidea.
1) Evolution of primates and mammalian faunal evolution,...
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V. Louise Roth
Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 241 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
Phone: (919) 660-7352
In addition to conceptual work on the biological bases of homology, variation, and parallel evolution, my research has focused on evolutionary changes in size and shape in mammals: the functional consequences of these changes, and the evolutionary modifications of ontogenetic processes that...
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Daniel Oliver Schmitt
Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 203 Biological Sciences Buildi, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: (919) 684-5664
Christine Elizabeth Wall
Research Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: Room 202 Biological Sciences Building, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 403-9693
The focus of my work is the functional and evolutionary anatomy of the head, with an emphasis on how the feeding apparatus works and how it influences and is influenced by other structures and functions. My research focuses primarily on the functional anatomy of extant and extinct primates, but...
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Angel Zeininger
Lecturning Fellow, Senior of Evolutionary Anthropology
My primary areas of interest are the ontogeny of locomotion, trabecular bone remodeling, and the evolution and functional morphology of the hands and feet. I am interested in how forces incurred during locomotion influence the microarchitecture of trabecular bone. In particular, my research aims...
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Steven E. Churchill
Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: Duke University, Evolutionary Anthropology, 130 Science Drive, Room 108, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 448-7025
I am a human paleontologist studying morphological and behavioral adaptation in archaic and modern humans of the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Through comparative functional-morphological analysis of human fossil remains, coupled with investigation of the archeological record of...
Full Profile »
Richard Frederick Kay
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 0013 Biological Sciences Building, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 684-2143
I have two areas of research:1) the evolution of primates in South America; and 2) the use of primate anatomy to reconstruct the phylogenetic history and adapations of living and extinct primates, especially Anthropoidea.
1) Evolution of primates and mammalian faunal evolution,...
Full Profile »
Blythe A. Williams
Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 0013 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
My research has focused on the evolutionary relationships (phylogenetics) and ecological adaptations of Primates from a paleontological perspective. I’m also interested in the evolutionary history of human dance. My current teaching includes Dance Science, Ethics in Evolutionary Anthropology,...
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Susan C. Alberts
Robert F. Durden Distinguished Professor of Biology
Office: 130 Science Drive, Rm 137, Duke Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
Phone: (919) 884-8714
Leslie J. Digby
Associate Professor of the Practice of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 08A Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
My research focuses on the behavior and ecology of non-human primates, including how primates balance cooperation and competition in their breeding strategies. In addition, I examine how animals mitigate the costs of temperature extremes through behavior and the use of microhabitats. Our...
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Christine M. Drea
Earl D. McLean Professor
Office: 129 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, 08 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 660-7367
I have two broad research interests, sexual differentiation and social behavior, both focused on hyenas and primates. I am particularly interested in unusual species in which the females display a suite of masculinized characteristics, including male- like or exaggerated external genitalia...
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Kenneth Earl Glander
Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 130 Science Dr., 108 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: (919) 699-2995
...
Brian Hare
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 004 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 660-7292
Jenny Tung
Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 08 Bio Sci, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: (919) 668-4912
Christine M. Drea
Earl D. McLean Professor
Office: 129 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, 08 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 660-7367
I have two broad research interests, sexual differentiation and social behavior, both focused on hyenas and primates. I am particularly interested in unusual species in which the females display a suite of masculinized characteristics, including male- like or exaggerated external genitalia...
Full Profile »
Brian Hare
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 004 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 660-7292
Thomas T Struhsaker
Adjunct Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Currently involved in ecological and demographic studies of the Udzungwa Red Colobus Monkey in the Udzungwa Mts. of Tanzania. The long-term goal of this project is to increase our understanding of this vulnerable, endemic species and to improve the conservation of it and its habitat along with...
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Vanessa Woods
Research Scientist
Office: Rm 004A Biological Sciences, Durham, NC 27703
Phone: +1 919 684 4124
Richard Frederick Kay
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
Office: 0013 Biological Sciences Building, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 684-2143
I have two areas of research:1) the evolution of primates in South America; and 2) the use of primate anatomy to reconstruct the phylogenetic history and adapations of living and extinct primates, especially Anthropoidea.
1) Evolution of primates and mammalian faunal evolution,...
Full Profile »
Charles L Nunn
Gosnell Family Professor in Global Health
Office: 106 BioSci Bldg., Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Duke Box 90383, Durham, NC 27708-0383
Phone: (919) 613-0465
Anne Daphne Yoder
Braxton Craven Distinguished Professor of Evolutionary Biology
Office: 128 Biol Sciences Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Campus Box: Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
Phone: (919) 660-7275
My work integrates field inventory activities with molecular phylogenetic techniques and geospatial analysis to investigate Madagascar, an area of the world that is biologically complex, poorly understood, and urgently threatened. Madagascar has been designated as one of the most critical...
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