Bribiescas, Richard G.

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Bribiescas, Richard G.

PERSONAL:

Education: Harvard University, Ph.D., 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Anthropology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208277, New Haven, CT 06520-8277. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Yale University, New Haven, CT, associate professor of anthropology, director of the reproductive ecology laboratory.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Woodrow Wilson Faculty Research Fellowship.

WRITINGS:

Men: Evolutionary and Life History, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Richard G. Bribiescas is an anthropologist whose research interests include endocrinology, human evolutionary physiology, and life history theory. He has traveled extensively in Paraguay, Venezuela, and Japan to study the evolution of hunter/gatherers in preparation for his first book, Men: Evolutionary and Life History. His purpose in this book is to throw light on the question of why humans have evolved the way they have, men in particular. Some facets of human behavior, such as the appeal of sexual intercourse, can be explained strictly in evolutionary terms. Others, however, such as why a man's brain appears to be physically different from a woman's, allow for speculation concerning life history, such as gene interactions based on reproductive choices. Most of Bribiescas's research involved men, and he compared both their biology and certain behaviors to other human men, as well as to the males of other species. Booklist reviewer Ray Olson felt that "Bribiescas presents … a text that demands to be closely read, with great fascination." Gloria Maxwell, writing in Library Journal, found the book intriguing, particularly Bribiescas's theories "as to why men tend to engage in warfare and genocide and exert control over economics and politics throughout the world." In a review for the New Statesman, James Plumb concluded that "Bribiescas writes in an intelligent and thoughtful manner."