Mélanie Martins
Biographic Data
| ID | 3583268 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mélanie Martins |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mélanie |
| FAMILY NAME | Martins |
| SIGNATURE | MARTINS M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Washington |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0368-2791 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 28 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 62 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Cooperation, subsistence, and the legacy of “Man the Hunter”
A Bayesian Modeling Approach to Optimize Longitudinal Biomarker Sampling Schedules Using Hormonal Data
Relationships Among Maternal Epstein–Barr Virus Antibodies, Covid ‐19, and Stress in Mothers up to 1‐Year Postpartum
OBJECTIVES: Both psychosocial stress and current infection can increase the likelihood of reactivation of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Pregnancy and infection with SARS-CoV-2 can be stressful and modulate immune function. However, it is unknown how SARS-CoV-2 infection and stress further interact among postpartum women to affect EBV antigen and antibody expression. METHODS: We examined associations among COVID-19 diagnosis, self-reported stre…
Early childhood workforce professionalism in South Africa: Policy ideologies and teacher understandings
Despite its pivotal role in young children's development and learning, early childhood care and education (ECCE) remains undervalued and under-resourced, with its professional status and recognition often ambiguous. In South Africa, ECCE professionals experience dislocation and marginality within a fragmented system, hindering their efforts to achieve professionalism and consistency in recognition and status. This article examines workforce profe…
Celebrating Over 10 Years of Human Milk Research in the Human Biology Association
Since we published “Field and Laboratory Methods in Human Milk Research” in 2013, human milk research has increased dramatically in both number and diversity of studies. Anthropological human biologists and biological anthropologists have played key roles in the realization of this research, arguing that evolutionary, developmental, and biocultural perspectives as essential for understanding variation in human milk. The purpose of this review is …
Timing of Complementary Feeding and Infant Growth Trajectories in Prospective Cohort Studies: A Systematized Review and Analysis of Socioecological Variation
Complementary feeding (CF) before 6 months of age is associated with both infant growth faltering and rapid growth. This disparity may reflect reverse causality and local norms. We conducted a systematized review of prospective studies examining infant growth and CF. We examined the potential for reverse causality and socioecological factors that appeared to influence feeding and growth outcomes. In 22 studies that met inclusion criteria, growth …
Drought-compounded stress and immune function in Kenyan pastoralist boys and girls occupying contrasting climate zones
In spite of important differences between climate subregions, the common elements throughout the Samburu pastoralist leanscape include food and water insecurity and overall precarity exacerbated by drought and climate change. Community-driven interventions are needed to reduce precarity for young people pursuing pastoralist livelihoods
Trayectorias hormonales asociadas con la edad a la menarca y el aumento de peso en niñas originarias Qom/Toba
In this exploratory study, we analyzed the hormonal and growth trajectories of 61 Qom/Toba girls aged 8 to 14 years from a peri-urban community in Formosa, Argentina. Monthly measurements of weight and height were taken, and eight urine samples were collected every three months until the menarche was reported or until the end of the study. The urine samples were analyzed using enzyme immunoassay to determine testosterone and C-peptide levels. Bay…
Longitudinal analysis of cortisol changes during pubertal development in indigenous Qom girls
Pubertal research has primarily focused on hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) regulation of puberty, though the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) is increasingly considered critical. Heightened HPA function proxied by increasing cortisol levels may play a role in accelerated pubertal timing. However, the extent to which cortisol varies across ages and its relation to pubertal changes in linear growth are less well substantiated. We…
Can women hunt? Yes. Did women contribute much to human evolution through endurance hunting? Probably not
A recent article by Ocobock and Lacy (Ocobock & Lacy, 2023) argues that human females are "just as, if not more, capable as males at performing arduous physical tasks" and therefore likely to have "meaningfully engaged in hunting during our evolutionary past."This is a direct challenge to the (generally accepted) canon that gendered subsistence activities are a key feature of the human ecological niche, with men typically contributing more to sub…
Social Determinant Pathways to Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Among Nulliparous U.S. Women
Psychosocial and energetic factors on human female pubertal timing: A systematized review
Childhood psychosocial stressors have been proposed to favour fast life history strategies promoting earlier puberty in females. However, studies demonstrating this association often do not elucidate causal mechanisms, nor account for greater childhood energetic availability – also known to promote rapid growth and earlier puberty. To assess the extent to which such confounding has been considered, we conducted a systematized review to identify s…
Traditional and biomedical maternal and neonatal care practices in a rural Indigenous population of the Bolivian Amazon
In recent decades, Bolivia has expanded maternal and child health insurance coverage to improve access to prenatal and early life health care. Nationally, however, maternal and child health disparities persist along a rural-urban divide. Research is needed among rural populations to better understand local barriers to health care access and usage. Particularly among Indigenous populations, disparities may be compounded by differences in preferenc…
Birth mode and infectious morbidity risks in Qom children of Argentina
OBJECTIVES: Cesarean delivery may increase childhood infectious morbidity risks via altered birth exposures and subsequent immune, microbial, and epigenetic development. Many Latin American indigenous populations experience dual burdens of infectious and chronic diseases, and are particularly vulnerable to rising rates of cesarean delivery and associated adverse outcomes. The Qom/Toba are an indigenous population in Argentina experiencing rapid l…
Biological Anthropology in 2018: Grounded in Theory, Questioning Contexts, Embracing Innovation
Biological anthropology in 2018 encapsulated what past scholars envisioned for its future: a multidisciplinary approach to understanding human and nonhuman primate evolution and diversity using the most innovative techniques and rigorous standards available. This year also built on a tradition of introspection about what biological anthropology encompasses and by whom and how it is conducted. This review highlights research and movements in the f…
Inhliziyo ekhombisa uthando ’: Exploring children’s conceptions of spirituality
In this study we explored young isiZulu children’s conceptions of spirituality. The children (n = 8; females = 5; male = 3) were nine to eleven years old and attended a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. They drew pictures depicting their sense of spirituality and answered questions on vignettes or scenarios that contained a moral dilemma. The children also engaged in conversations with a picture, and wrote a letter to God. Thematic a…
Timing of pubertal growth and menarche in indigenous Qom girls of Argentina
Qom participants in this study exhibit relatively fast pubertal development as compared to other Latin American indigenous populations studied previously by others. Genetic and environmental factors influencing body size, diet and/or activity levels should be investigated further in this population
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs V
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs IV
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs II
Exploring Patterns and Pathways of Dietary Change: Preferred Foods, Oral Health, and Stable Isotope Analysis of Hair from the Dani of Mulia, Papua, Indonesia
Interregional encounters frequently result in dietary, health, and cultural changes for participating groups. This paper investigates the patterns and pathways of dietary change among the Mulia Dani of highland western New Guinea, who at the time of data collection had been in contact with Christian missionaries and the global food market for 29 years. We explore three lines of data: food preferences (from survey responses), oral health (indicate…
EAS at the 2016 AAA meetings in Minneapolis
EAS at AAA 2016
An Evolutionary Anthropology Master Syllabus
Conflict or congruence? Maternal and infant-centric factors associated with shorter exclusive breastfeeding durations among the Tsimane
Modernization is associated with intensive breastfeeding patterns in the Bolivian Amazon
Learning Subjective Language
Subjectivity in natural language refers to aspects of language used to express opinions, evaluations, and speculations. There are numerous natural language processing applications for which subjectivity analysis is relevant, including information extraction and text categorization. The goal of this work is learning subjective language from corpora. Clues of subjectivity are generated and tested, including low-frequency words, collocations, and ad…
Conflict or congruence? Maternal and infant-centric factors associated with shorter exclusive breastfeeding durations among the Tsimane
Biological Anthropology in 2018: Grounded in Theory, Questioning Contexts, Embracing Innovation
Biological anthropology in 2018 encapsulated what past scholars envisioned for its future: a multidisciplinary approach to understanding human and nonhuman primate evolution and diversity using the most innovative techniques and rigorous standards available. This year also built on a tradition of introspection about what biological anthropology encompasses and by whom and how it is conducted. This review highlights research and movements in the f…
Drought-compounded stress and immune function in Kenyan pastoralist boys and girls occupying contrasting climate zones
In spite of important differences between climate subregions, the common elements throughout the Samburu pastoralist leanscape include food and water insecurity and overall precarity exacerbated by drought and climate change. Community-driven interventions are needed to reduce precarity for young people pursuing pastoralist livelihoods
Exploring Patterns and Pathways of Dietary Change: Preferred Foods, Oral Health, and Stable Isotope Analysis of Hair from the Dani of Mulia, Papua, Indonesia
Interregional encounters frequently result in dietary, health, and cultural changes for participating groups. This paper investigates the patterns and pathways of dietary change among the Mulia Dani of highland western New Guinea, who at the time of data collection had been in contact with Christian missionaries and the global food market for 29 years. We explore three lines of data: food preferences (from survey responses), oral health (indicate…
Can women hunt? Yes. Did women contribute much to human evolution through endurance hunting? Probably not
A recent article by Ocobock and Lacy (Ocobock & Lacy, 2023) argues that human females are "just as, if not more, capable as males at performing arduous physical tasks" and therefore likely to have "meaningfully engaged in hunting during our evolutionary past."This is a direct challenge to the (generally accepted) canon that gendered subsistence activities are a key feature of the human ecological niche, with men typically contributing more to sub…
Learning Subjective Language
Subjectivity in natural language refers to aspects of language used to express opinions, evaluations, and speculations. There are numerous natural language processing applications for which subjectivity analysis is relevant, including information extraction and text categorization. The goal of this work is learning subjective language from corpora. Clues of subjectivity are generated and tested, including low-frequency words, collocations, and ad…
Fatty acid composition in the mature milk of Bolivian forager‐horticulturalists: Controlled comparisons with a US sample
Breast milk fatty acid (FA) composition varies greatly among individual women, including in percentages of the long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (LCPUFA) 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, AA) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), which are important for infant neurological development. It has been suggested that owing to wide variation in milk LCPUFA and low DHA in Western diets, standards of milk FA composition should be derived from populations consum…
Modernization is associated with intensive breastfeeding patterns in the Bolivian Amazon
EAS at the 2016 AAA meetings in Minneapolis
EAS at AAA 2016
An Evolutionary Anthropology Master Syllabus
Conflict or congruence? Maternal and infant-centric factors associated with shorter exclusive breastfeeding durations among the Tsimane
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs IV
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs II
Exploring Patterns and Pathways of Dietary Change: Preferred Foods, Oral Health, and Stable Isotope Analysis of Hair from the Dani of Mulia, Papua, Indonesia
Interregional encounters frequently result in dietary, health, and cultural changes for participating groups. This paper investigates the patterns and pathways of dietary change among the Mulia Dani of highland western New Guinea, who at the time of data collection had been in contact with Christian missionaries and the global food market for 29 years. We explore three lines of data: food preferences (from survey responses), oral health (indicate…
Inhliziyo ekhombisa uthando ’: Exploring children’s conceptions of spirituality
In this study we explored young isiZulu children’s conceptions of spirituality. The children (n = 8; females = 5; male = 3) were nine to eleven years old and attended a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. They drew pictures depicting their sense of spirituality and answered questions on vignettes or scenarios that contained a moral dilemma. The children also engaged in conversations with a picture, and wrote a letter to God. Thematic a…
Timing of pubertal growth and menarche in indigenous Qom girls of Argentina
Qom participants in this study exhibit relatively fast pubertal development as compared to other Latin American indigenous populations studied previously by others. Genetic and environmental factors influencing body size, diet and/or activity levels should be investigated further in this population
Evolutionary Anthropology Graduate Programs V
Birth mode and infectious morbidity risks in Qom children of Argentina
OBJECTIVES: Cesarean delivery may increase childhood infectious morbidity risks via altered birth exposures and subsequent immune, microbial, and epigenetic development. Many Latin American indigenous populations experience dual burdens of infectious and chronic diseases, and are particularly vulnerable to rising rates of cesarean delivery and associated adverse outcomes. The Qom/Toba are an indigenous population in Argentina experiencing rapid l…
Biological Anthropology in 2018: Grounded in Theory, Questioning Contexts, Embracing Innovation
Biological anthropology in 2018 encapsulated what past scholars envisioned for its future: a multidisciplinary approach to understanding human and nonhuman primate evolution and diversity using the most innovative techniques and rigorous standards available. This year also built on a tradition of introspection about what biological anthropology encompasses and by whom and how it is conducted. This review highlights research and movements in the f…
Traditional and biomedical maternal and neonatal care practices in a rural Indigenous population of the Bolivian Amazon
In recent decades, Bolivia has expanded maternal and child health insurance coverage to improve access to prenatal and early life health care. Nationally, however, maternal and child health disparities persist along a rural-urban divide. Research is needed among rural populations to better understand local barriers to health care access and usage. Particularly among Indigenous populations, disparities may be compounded by differences in preferenc…
Psychosocial and energetic factors on human female pubertal timing: A systematized review
Childhood psychosocial stressors have been proposed to favour fast life history strategies promoting earlier puberty in females. However, studies demonstrating this association often do not elucidate causal mechanisms, nor account for greater childhood energetic availability – also known to promote rapid growth and earlier puberty. To assess the extent to which such confounding has been considered, we conducted a systematized review to identify s…
Social Determinant Pathways to Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Among Nulliparous U.S. Women
Longitudinal analysis of cortisol changes during pubertal development in indigenous Qom girls
Pubertal research has primarily focused on hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) regulation of puberty, though the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) is increasingly considered critical. Heightened HPA function proxied by increasing cortisol levels may play a role in accelerated pubertal timing. However, the extent to which cortisol varies across ages and its relation to pubertal changes in linear growth are less well substantiated. We…
Can women hunt? Yes. Did women contribute much to human evolution through endurance hunting? Probably not
A recent article by Ocobock and Lacy (Ocobock & Lacy, 2023) argues that human females are "just as, if not more, capable as males at performing arduous physical tasks" and therefore likely to have "meaningfully engaged in hunting during our evolutionary past."This is a direct challenge to the (generally accepted) canon that gendered subsistence activities are a key feature of the human ecological niche, with men typically contributing more to sub…
Early childhood workforce professionalism in South Africa: Policy ideologies and teacher understandings
Despite its pivotal role in young children's development and learning, early childhood care and education (ECCE) remains undervalued and under-resourced, with its professional status and recognition often ambiguous. In South Africa, ECCE professionals experience dislocation and marginality within a fragmented system, hindering their efforts to achieve professionalism and consistency in recognition and status. This article examines workforce profe…
Celebrating Over 10 Years of Human Milk Research in the Human Biology Association
Since we published “Field and Laboratory Methods in Human Milk Research” in 2013, human milk research has increased dramatically in both number and diversity of studies. Anthropological human biologists and biological anthropologists have played key roles in the realization of this research, arguing that evolutionary, developmental, and biocultural perspectives as essential for understanding variation in human milk. The purpose of this review is …
Timing of Complementary Feeding and Infant Growth Trajectories in Prospective Cohort Studies: A Systematized Review and Analysis of Socioecological Variation
Complementary feeding (CF) before 6 months of age is associated with both infant growth faltering and rapid growth. This disparity may reflect reverse causality and local norms. We conducted a systematized review of prospective studies examining infant growth and CF. We examined the potential for reverse causality and socioecological factors that appeared to influence feeding and growth outcomes. In 22 studies that met inclusion criteria, growth …
Drought-compounded stress and immune function in Kenyan pastoralist boys and girls occupying contrasting climate zones
In spite of important differences between climate subregions, the common elements throughout the Samburu pastoralist leanscape include food and water insecurity and overall precarity exacerbated by drought and climate change. Community-driven interventions are needed to reduce precarity for young people pursuing pastoralist livelihoods
Trayectorias hormonales asociadas con la edad a la menarca y el aumento de peso en niñas originarias Qom/Toba
In this exploratory study, we analyzed the hormonal and growth trajectories of 61 Qom/Toba girls aged 8 to 14 years from a peri-urban community in Formosa, Argentina. Monthly measurements of weight and height were taken, and eight urine samples were collected every three months until the menarche was reported or until the end of the study. The urine samples were analyzed using enzyme immunoassay to determine testosterone and C-peptide levels. Bay…
Sociology (13 works) · Medicine (11 works) · Environmental health (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Demography (7 works) · Biology (6 works) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (6 works) · Citation (6 works) · Demography (6 works) · Library science (6 works)