Melvin Konner
Biographic Data
| ID | 589540 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melvin Konner |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melvin |
| FAMILY NAME | Konner |
| SIGNATURE | KONNER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Emory University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8155-5339 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Hunter‐gatherer diets and activity as a model for health promotion
Beginning in 1985, we and others presented estimates of hunter‐gatherer (and ultimately ancestral) diet and physical activity, hoping to provide a model for health promotion. The Hunter‐Gatherer Model was designed to offset the apparent mismatch between our genes and the current Western‐type lifestyle, a mismatch that arguably affects prevalence of many chronic degenerative diseases. The effort has always been controversial and subject to both sc…
Homo Paedens? Did Kids Invent the Human Species
The evolution of development (“evo-devo”) has become a central concern in both evolutionary and developmental research, and human immaturity is no less a proper focus for evolutionary analysis than that of other species-if anything, it is more so. Two new books by David F. Bjorklund, a founder of evolutionary developmental psychology, summarize what we know now and propose that children invented our species. Due to the new phenomenon of partly …
Nine Levels of Explanation
Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage
The duration of human maturation has been underestimated; an additional 4-6-year pre-adult period of "emerging adulthood," should be included in models of human maturation. It is a period of brain maturation, learning about intimacy and mutual support, intensification of pre-existing friendships, family-oriented socialization, and the attainment of those social skills that are needed for mating and reproduction. We propose that emerging adulthood…
Women after all
"Konner traces the arc of evolution to explain the relationships between women and men, ... [exploring] the knotty question of whether men are necessary in the biological destiny of the human race. He draws on multiple, colorful examples from the natural world--such as the mating habits of the octopus, black widow, angler fish, and jacana--and argues that maleness in humans is hardly necessary to the survival of the species"--Dust jacket flap
Irven DeVore, 1934-2014
Being There
How can an academic who does not believe evil spirits cause illness harbor the hope that her cancer may be cured by a healer who enters a trance to battle her demons? Whose actions are more (or less) honorable: those of a prostitute who sells her daughter’s virginity to a rich man, or those of a professor who sanctions her daughter’s hook-ups with casual acquaintances? As they immerse themselves in foreign cultures and navigate the relationships …
Being There
Who Responds to Crying
Alternative Conceptions of Intellectual Functioning
Research which discusses group differences inintellectual functioning utilizes a very limited definition of intelligence. Intelligence is not assessed within cultural context, and little regard is paid to intellectual activities which do not involve the manipulation of abstract concepts. This orientation de-emphasizes the potential development of other human capacities which might be even more helpful in adapting to or advancing our civilization …
The Promise of Medical Anthropology
General/Theoretical Anthropology
Stone agers in the fast lane
An Anthropological Perspective on Obesity
An anthropological perspective on obesity considers both its evolutionary background and cross-cultural variation. It must explain three basic facts about obesity: gender dimorphism (women greater than men), an increase with modernization, and a positive association with socioeconomic status. Preindustrial diets varied in quality but shared a tendency to periodic shortages. Such shortages, particularly disadvantageous to women in their reproducti…
Timing and Management of Birth among the !Kung
Commentary
Paleolithic Nutrition
HUMANITY has existed as a genus for about 2 million years, and our prehuman hominid ancestors, the australopithecines, appeared at least 4 million years ago (Table 1). This phase of evolutionary history made definitive contributions to our current genetic composition, partly in response to dietary influences at that time. The foods available to evolving hominids varied widely according to the paleontological period, geographical location, and sea…
"More Thoughts on Lactation as "Nature's Contraceptive
The Tangled Wing
Adaptation, An Introduction - The Quest For The Natural - The Crucible - The Fabric of Meaning - The Several Humours - The Beast With Two Backs - The Well of Feeling - Logos - Rage - Fear - Joy - Lust - Love - Grief - Gluttony - Chang - The Invisible Galaxy - The Prospect - The Dawn Of Wonder
Nursing Frequency, Gonadal Function, and Birth Spacing Among !Kung Hunter-Gatherers
Mothers among !Kung hunter-gatherers nurse briefly and frequently, with brief intervals between nursing bouts (mean ± standard error, 13.19 ± 1.28 minutes). The low levels of 17β-estradiol and progesterone in the serum of the mother are correlated with infant's age and with interbout interval, but not with total nursing time. Maternal gonadal function is apparently suppressed by a timing-dependent, prolactin-mediated effect of breast stimulation.…
Relations among infants and juveniles in comparative perspective
Timing and Management of Birth among the !Kung
The Promise of Medical Anthropology
Who Responds to Crying
Relations among infants and juveniles in comparative perspective
Hunter‐gatherer diets and activity as a model for health promotion
Beginning in 1985, we and others presented estimates of hunter‐gatherer (and ultimately ancestral) diet and physical activity, hoping to provide a model for health promotion. The Hunter‐Gatherer Model was designed to offset the apparent mismatch between our genes and the current Western‐type lifestyle, a mismatch that arguably affects prevalence of many chronic degenerative diseases. The effort has always been controversial and subject to both sc…
Nine Levels of Explanation
Commentary
Relations among infants and juveniles in comparative perspective
Nursing Frequency, Gonadal Function, and Birth Spacing Among !Kung Hunter-Gatherers
Mothers among !Kung hunter-gatherers nurse briefly and frequently, with brief intervals between nursing bouts (mean ± standard error, 13.19 ± 1.28 minutes). The low levels of 17β-estradiol and progesterone in the serum of the mother are correlated with infant's age and with interbout interval, but not with total nursing time. Maternal gonadal function is apparently suppressed by a timing-dependent, prolactin-mediated effect of breast stimulation.…
The Tangled Wing
Adaptation, An Introduction - The Quest For The Natural - The Crucible - The Fabric of Meaning - The Several Humours - The Beast With Two Backs - The Well of Feeling - Logos - Rage - Fear - Joy - Lust - Love - Grief - Gluttony - Chang - The Invisible Galaxy - The Prospect - The Dawn Of Wonder
Paleolithic Nutrition
HUMANITY has existed as a genus for about 2 million years, and our prehuman hominid ancestors, the australopithecines, appeared at least 4 million years ago (Table 1). This phase of evolutionary history made definitive contributions to our current genetic composition, partly in response to dietary influences at that time. The foods available to evolving hominids varied widely according to the paleontological period, geographical location, and sea…
"More Thoughts on Lactation as "Nature's Contraceptive
Commentary
An Anthropological Perspective on Obesity
An anthropological perspective on obesity considers both its evolutionary background and cross-cultural variation. It must explain three basic facts about obesity: gender dimorphism (women greater than men), an increase with modernization, and a positive association with socioeconomic status. Preindustrial diets varied in quality but shared a tendency to periodic shortages. Such shortages, particularly disadvantageous to women in their reproducti…
Timing and Management of Birth among the !Kung
Stone agers in the fast lane
General/Theoretical Anthropology
The Promise of Medical Anthropology
Alternative Conceptions of Intellectual Functioning
Research which discusses group differences inintellectual functioning utilizes a very limited definition of intelligence. Intelligence is not assessed within cultural context, and little regard is paid to intellectual activities which do not involve the manipulation of abstract concepts. This orientation de-emphasizes the potential development of other human capacities which might be even more helpful in adapting to or advancing our civilization …
Who Responds to Crying
Being There
How can an academic who does not believe evil spirits cause illness harbor the hope that her cancer may be cured by a healer who enters a trance to battle her demons? Whose actions are more (or less) honorable: those of a prostitute who sells her daughter’s virginity to a rich man, or those of a professor who sanctions her daughter’s hook-ups with casual acquaintances? As they immerse themselves in foreign cultures and navigate the relationships …
Being There
Women after all
"Konner traces the arc of evolution to explain the relationships between women and men, ... [exploring] the knotty question of whether men are necessary in the biological destiny of the human race. He draws on multiple, colorful examples from the natural world--such as the mating habits of the octopus, black widow, angler fish, and jacana--and argues that maleness in humans is hardly necessary to the survival of the species"--Dust jacket flap
Irven DeVore, 1934-2014
Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage
The duration of human maturation has been underestimated; an additional 4-6-year pre-adult period of "emerging adulthood," should be included in models of human maturation. It is a period of brain maturation, learning about intimacy and mutual support, intensification of pre-existing friendships, family-oriented socialization, and the attainment of those social skills that are needed for mating and reproduction. We propose that emerging adulthood…
Homo Paedens? Did Kids Invent the Human Species
The evolution of development (“evo-devo”) has become a central concern in both evolutionary and developmental research, and human immaturity is no less a proper focus for evolutionary analysis than that of other species-if anything, it is more so. Two new books by David F. Bjorklund, a founder of evolutionary developmental psychology, summarize what we know now and propose that children invented our species. Due to the new phenomenon of partly …
Nine Levels of Explanation
Hunter‐gatherer diets and activity as a model for health promotion
Beginning in 1985, we and others presented estimates of hunter‐gatherer (and ultimately ancestral) diet and physical activity, hoping to provide a model for health promotion. The Hunter‐Gatherer Model was designed to offset the apparent mismatch between our genes and the current Western‐type lifestyle, a mismatch that arguably affects prevalence of many chronic degenerative diseases. The effort has always been controversial and subject to both sc…
Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Biology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Anthropology (5 works) · Citation (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Library science (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Diet and metabolism studies (4 works)