Center for the Study of Human Origins - CSHO

07/01/2026

Current CSHO PhD student Adela Cebeiro and CSHO faculty Justin Pargeter publish on stone tool use in a new population of semi-free-ranging robust capuchins (Sapajus spp.) at Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, South Africa. Cebeiro et al. find high success in capuchin nut-cracking (75%) and variation in anvil type (with a preference for organic anvils such as roots and logs) and hammerstone size (with preference for medium to large stones). The study is published in the journal Primates.

Once thought to be uniquely human, tool use is now recognized in a range of non-human animals, with non-human primates frequently using tools in foraging contexts. Stone tool use is a common behavior in different species of capuchin monkeys, with evidence of behavioral and cultural differences acros...

07/01/2026

CSHO Prof. James Higham and numerous NYU/CSHO alumni (Drs. Rachel Petersen, Sam Patterson, Christina Costa, Laura Newman, Alex Decasien, Kenny Chiou, Kirstin Sterner, and Mike Montague) find that early life adversity often affects the same genetic sites across tissues, whereas aging effects were more variable; that is, adversity and aging have distinct, intersecting effects on rhesus macaques (summary from Corinne Simonti). Their study is published in Science.

Age and early life adversity (ELA) are key determinants of health, but whether they affect similar physiological mechanisms across tissues is unknown. We generated DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles across 14 tissues in 237 semi–free-ranging rhesus macaques ...

05/21/2026

Professor Pam Crabtree‘s career spotlighted by Barnard College, where she received her undergraduate degree.

Ahead of her retirement in August, the veteran zooarchaeologist reflects on more than 50 years of groundbreaking work with some of the world’s oldest remains.

05/06/2026

CSHO Visiting Assistant Professor Tom Synder leads a study on a bioarchaeological path analysis of precipitation variability, fertility, and metabolic stress over 5 millennia in the ancient Andes.

Drought in the ancient Andes affected childhood stress, but variation characterizes responses to adverse climate conditions.

05/01/2026

Last Friday, CSHO and friends held “PamFest,” a symposium celebrating Professor Pam Crabtree’s long and productive career at NYU. It was organized by Pam’s colleagues and former students. Thanks for your service, Pam, and happy retirement!

05/01/2026

CSHO (NYU undergrad and CSHO PhD student) alumna Dr. Alex DeCasien (National Institute of Aging) leads a new study published in Science on s*x effects on gene expression in the human cerebral cortex:

S*x differences in neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disease susceptibility may arise from s*x chromosome and hormonal influences on cell type–specific gene expression. We present a single-cell transcriptomic analysis of adult human ...

04/16/2026

Former CSHO PhD student Rachel Petersen (Vanderbilt) leads a study out in PLoS Biology showing that the female vaginal tract is responsive and harmful to genetically similar male s***m in olive baboons. In other words, it demonstrates the existence of genetically-based s***m discrimination in a primate.

Female s***m discrimination that can bias fertilisation outcomes has been observed in animals, but in vivo evidence is lacking in large mammals. This study shows that the female olive baboon vaginal tract can exert post-copulatory mate selection by altering s***m survival via vaginal immune response...

03/03/2026

CSHO faculty member Lara Sánchez-Morales publishes in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on architecture and artifacts preserved from a Maya Terminal Classic to Postclassic (800-1500 CE) tropical wetlands field complex and highlights modern land uses and its deleterious effects on wetlands as well as wooden archaeological material. Link to the paper in comments.

Rare architecture and artifacts date to the Postclassic period when Maya urban centers were undergoing significant societal and environmental challenges

02/26/2026

CSHO PhD student Asithandile Ntsondwa is a Leakey Foundation Baldwin Fellow working with faculty member Dr. Justin Pargeter. Read about her work in this summary posted by the Leakey Foundation.

01/07/2026

CSHO faculty member Shara Bailey contributes to a Nature paper led by Jean-Jacques Hublin that describes 773,000-year-old fossils from Morocco that likely represent an ancestor of the human lineage. Link to the paper in the comments.

Jawbones and other remains, similar to specimens found in Europe, were dated to 773,000 years and help close a gap in Africa’s fossil record of human origins.