I'm so honored to have received this award in memory of Frans de Waal for my PhD thesis! His work (and briefly working with him) truly shaped my scientific thinking and research.
@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
➡️ New article out! ⬅️
There Is No Measurement Error in Biology
by Philipp Mitteroecker
Open access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🚨🧪NEW PAPER!🚨 Led by the great @jclark997.bsky.social - We present the Tool Systems Approach: A method to calculate cultural complexity in a way that allows comparisons between the archaeological, ethnographic and primatological records, hence tackling big Qs in CE link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A question for biologists: we often talk about evolutionary novelty. What does “novelty” mean for you? What’s your favorite definition if any? Or just a rule of thumb for what is and isn’t novel.
Mind if I chime in? "Our findings support the notion that the last common ancestor of humans and great apes—living approximately 14 Ma—was already capable of the tool-use behaviours studied here" royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
With all this talk of cow tools now's a good time to mention my new paper with @abigaildesmond.bsky.social titled 'Why don't all animals use tools?' 🧪🛠️🐮
It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🚨new article alert 🚨 I’ve been sorting through historical documents on the development of the Out of Africa theory with @chrisbstringer.bsky.social - this is the fascinating BBC radio transcript about the 1987 Human Revolution conference #AcademicSky
📣 Yonatan Sahle and I are delighted to invite abstracts for Session# 18 of the 17th PanAf Congress (July 26–31, 2026, Maputo, Mozambique). The session welcomes interdisciplinary contributions on the Middle and Late Pleistocene archaeology of eastern Africa. Submit your abstract by March 15, 2026.
My colleague Ryan McRae and I wrote our annual round up of top discoveries in human evolution from this year for the @plos.org Sci Comm blog - enjoy! scicomm.plos.org/2025/12/19/t...
And check out the Chibanian puzzle SI in there too!! 😎😎
@mroksand.bsky.social
Screenshot of the first page of a Philosophy of Science journal article titled “Tool Use Beyond Humans” by Gianmaria Dani and Grant Ramsey, published by the Philosophy of Science Association. The authors are affiliated with the Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science at KU Leuven, Belgium. Abstract: The definition of tool use has long been debated, especially when applied beyond humans. Recent work argues that the phenomena included within tool use are so broad and varied that there is little hope of using the category for scientific generalizations, explanations, and predictions about the evolution, ecology, and psychology of tool users. One response to this argument has been the development of tooling as a replacement for tool use. In this article, we analyze the tool use and tooling frameworks. Identifying advantages and limitations in each, we offer a synthetic approach that suggests promising avenues for future research.
Defining non-human #ToolUse remains contested, complicating scientific generalization & inspiring the concept of “tooling.” Our new 📄 @philscijournal.bsky.social proposes a synthetic framework to advance research on 🔧 use & tooling 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #philsci #cogsci #evosky #HPbio
It is an interesting article 👇🏽🤓
This week we welcome Prof. Steven Shapin to the pod!🎙️
We explore his journey through interdisciplinary spaces, revisit Leviathan and the Air-Pump 40 years on, and explore how credibility, trust and expertise are shaped by the fragmentation of expertise and (recent) political & cultural challenges
Line drawing of fossil human skull viewing face features
Bernard Vandermeersch and Ofer Bar-Yosef led excavation at Qafzeh Cave in 1967 when the burials of two skeletons were uncovered. Oafzeh 9 is an adult found in a flexed position, with the Qafzeh 10 child skeleton at its feet. Both lived sometime between 100,000 and 90,000 years ago. #inktober
Compared to the costs of training LLMs, the education system is so cost effective, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly.
Excellent explainer on why private industry and venture capital can’t replace government funded basic science research.
Nuestra conversación--- CEIICH UNAM www.youtube.com/watch?v=enQ6...
With great joy—and a touch of nervousness—I’m thrilled to share that my first academic monograph will be published by @mitpress.bsky.social in May 2026! It examines the organism–environment relationship in biology from an integrated #HPS perspective: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282... #evosky #philsky
En la UNAM el 25 de agosto...presentación de mi libro
Sex is a Spectrum:The Biological Limits of the Binary...acompañanos
New paper! Material matters: raw material influences stone tool performance in capuchin monkeys 🐒 🔨🌰 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social @neoprego.org 🧪
We’re excited to share that the #CROSSROADS VOLUME is published and also printed!🥳It features 28 contributions from the closing CROSSROADS symposium (Feb. 2022, Tübingen).
It took time, but was worth the wait!✨️Edited by K. Harvati & M. Ioannidou.
Congrats to all involved!🎉
Link: tinyurl.com/4s5mwdht
End of a field season, no fossils, but beautiful views…
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Emeritus Professor Charles Oxnard on the 27th of June at the age of 91. We extend our deepest condolences to Eleanor and their sons, Guy and Hugh, and to their extended families.
Save the date! Interdisciplinary Workshop:
The Human Diversity Dilemma: Navigating the Intersection of Microbiomes, Ethics, and Society in Africa
#hpbio #histbio #philbio 🌱🐋
Check the Call for Abstracts for our special issue on our website: perspectivesrace.wixsite.com/the-human-di...
Hello,
Our paper on enamel proteins from Paranthropus robustus has finally been peer reviewed, please have a read here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paranthropus robustus has been puzzling scientists since its discovery in 1938 in South Africa, where a high number of fossils have been found.
If you're interested in philosophy of biology—particularly its intersections with #evolution, #paleosky, and comparative studies of #behavior, #cognition, and #culture —consider following @theramseylab.bsky.social! We're a cool group of philosophers with a broad range of expertise! #philsci #HPbio
A todas y todos los interesados en la Ecología (y sus distintas vertientes, incluso históricas 🤓), ¡los invito a inscribirse a este magnífico evento!
The course is conducted online via Zoom, and proficiency in Spanish is a prerequisite, as all sessions are conducted in Spanish. The costs are accessible (the full course is approximately 295 dollars, with the possibility of discounts and fee waivers).
