biological anthropology topics for research papers

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Biological anthropology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Biological anthropology is the subdiscipline of anthropology that investigates the origins and evolution of hominins. Techniques include both the analysis of fossils and the behaviour, morphology and genetics of living humans.

Language evolution in China

The impetus behind the development of various Chinese dialects is as yet unknown. In a comprehensive quantitative coanalysis of linguistic and genetic data across China, Yang et al. find evidence to suggest that demographic diffusion, cultural diffusion and linguistic assimilation all contributed to the expansive diversity of Chinese dialects.

• Chuan-Chao Wang

Ethnohistorical analysis suggests that endurance running evolved with persistence hunting

Humans are unusually adept at endurance running, due in part to specialized muscle fibres and heat elimination by sweating. Cost–benefit analyses and an ethnohistorical survey of hunting methods suggest that these features could have evolved through the pursuit of evasive species until they are overcome with exhaustion and easily dispatched.

Latest Research and Reviews

Male proboscis monkey cranionasal size and shape is associated with visual and acoustic signalling

• Katharine L. Balolia
• Pippa L. Fitzgerald

Differences in childhood stress between Neanderthals and early modern humans as reflected by dental enamel growth disruptions

• Laura Sophia Limmer
• Matteo Santon
• Sireen El Zaatari

Environmental conditions associated with initial northern expansion of anatomically modern humans

Past global human migration was the result of environmental and cultural factors. Here, the authors develop a statistical approach that combines archaeological, genetic, and palaeoclimate data to identify regional environmental conditions facilitating population expansion routes in northern Eurasia and the Americas.

• Frédérik Saltré
• Joël Chadœuf
• Corey J. A. Bradshaw

Ethnography and ethnohistory support the efficiency of hunting through endurance running in humans

Using foraging theory and ethnohistoric data, the authors’ analysis supports the hypothesis that the human ability to sweat while running long distances evolved in the context of persistent, endurance-based pursuits of game.

• Eugène Morin
• Bruce Winterhalder

Large-scale lexical and genetic alignment supports a hybrid model of Han Chinese demic and cultural diffusions

By digitizing a large lexical dataset of Chinese dialects and comparing it to genetic profiles, Yang et al. reveal a hybrid model of language diffusion, consisting of both population migrations and social learning across different regions of China.

• Chengkun Yang
• Xiaoxi Zhang
• Menghan Zhang

Understanding the genomic heterogeneity of North African Imazighen: from broad to microgeographical perspectives

• Laura Vilà-Valls
• Amine Abdeli
• David Comas

News and Comment

The bioethics of skeletal anatomy collections from india.

Millions of skeletal remains from South Asia were exported in red markets (the underground economy of human tissues/organs) to educational institutions globally for over a century. It is time to recognize the personhood of the people who were systematically made into anatomical objects and acknowledge the scientific racism in creating and continuing to use them.

• Sabrina C. Agarwal

Signalling Palaeolithic identity

The sense of belonging to a larger group is a central feature of humanity but its identification in Palaeolithic societies is challenging. Baker et al. use a pan-European dataset of personal ornaments to show that these markers of group identity form distinct clusters that cannot be explained simply by geographical proximity or shared biological descent.

• Reuven Yeshurun

A broader cultural view is necessary to study the evolution of sexual orientation

The causation of sexual orientation is likely to be complex and influenced by multiple factors. We advocate incorporating a broader cultural view into evolutionary and genetic studies to account for differences in how sexual orientation is experienced, expressed and understood in both humans and nonhuman animals.

• Vincent Savolainen
• Nathan W. Bailey
• Karin J. H. Verweij

Differences between male and female height in Early Neolithic Europe are likely to have been driven by culture

Using a large dataset of individuals from Early Neolithic Europe, we analysed DNA, diet and pathology to determine which factors most affected skeletal height. We found that the male–female height differences in north-central Europe were exceptionally large, and that the short stature of female individuals in this region possibly reflects a cultural preference to support male individuals. By contrast, in the Mediterranean, it is male individuals who were short, probably as a consequence of environmental stress.

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American Journal of Biological Anthropology

The American Journal of Biological Anthropology is the official journal of the AABA. Started as a quarterly in 1918 by the AABA's founding organizer, Ales Hrdlicka, the AJBA is currently published monthly by John Wiley & Sons. It prints over a hundred original scientific papers each year, as well as the abstracts and proceedings from the AABA's annual meetings and other official AABA documents and notices.  To submit a manuscript online, authors can visit the Wiley site: AJBA Online Manuscript Submissions .

AJBA  celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018 . A complete table of contents of articles published from its inception in 1918 to the present is available here . AABA members can access the American Journal of Biological Anthropology by first logging into their member account here .

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Articles on Biological anthropology

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Forensic anthropologists work to identify human skeletal remains and uncover the stories of the unknown dead

Madeline Atwell , Clemson University and Katherine Weisensee , Clemson University

Forget ‘Man the Hunter’ – physiological and archaeological evidence rewrites assumptions about a gendered division of labor in prehistoric times

Sarah Lacy , University of Delaware and Cara Ocobock , University of Notre Dame

English dialects make themselves heard in genes

Yakov Pichkar , Vanderbilt University and Nicole Creanza , Vanderbilt University

Fossil teeth reveal how brains developed in utero over millions of years of human evolution – new research

Tesla Monson , Western Washington University

Human skin stood up better to the sun before there were sunscreens and parasols – an anthropologist explains why

Nina G. Jablonski , Penn State

Teeth of fallen soldiers hold evidence that foreigners fought alongside ancient Greeks, challenging millennia of military history

Katherine Reinberger , University of Georgia

How humans became the best throwers on the planet

Michael P. Lombardo , Grand Valley State University and Robert Deaner , Grand Valley State University

Fast evolution explains the tiny stature of extinct ‘Hobbit’ from Flores Island

José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho , Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) and Pasquale Raia , University of Naples Federico II

Untangling tattoos’ influence on immune response

Christopher D. Lynn , University of Alabama

Ancient DNA is a powerful tool for studying the past – when archaeologists and geneticists work together

Elizabeth Sawchuk , Stony Brook University (The State University of New York) and Mary Prendergast , Saint Louis University – Madrid

Immigration agents X-raying migrants to determine age isn’t just illegal, it’s a misuse of science

Elizabeth A. DiGangi , Binghamton University, State University of New York

Rights of the dead and the living clash when scientists extract DNA from human remains

Chip Colwell , University of Colorado Denver

Fossil jawbone from Israel is the oldest modern human found outside Africa

Rolf Quam , Binghamton University, State University of New York

How we discovered infectious diseases in 2, 000-year -old faeces from the Silk Road

Piers Mitchell , University of Cambridge

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Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies

Jessica dimka.

1 Centre for Research on Pandemics and Society, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo Norway

Taylor P. van Doren

2 Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri, USA

Heather T. Battles

3 Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland New Zealand

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Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Biological anthropologists are ideally suited for the study of pandemics given their strengths in human biology, health, culture, and behavior, yet pandemics have historically not been a major focus of research. The COVID‐19 pandemic has reinforced the need to understand pandemic causes and unequal consequences at multiple levels. Insights from past pandemics can strengthen the knowledge base and inform the study of current and future pandemics through an anthropological lens. In this paper, we discuss the distinctive social and epidemiological features of pandemics, as well as the ways in which biological anthropologists have previously studied infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. We then review interdisciplinary research on three pandemics–1918 influenza, 2009 influenza, and COVID‐19–focusing on persistent social inequalities in morbidity and mortality related to sex and gender; race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity; and pre‐existing health and disability. Following this review of the current state of pandemic research on these topics, we conclude with a discussion of ways biological anthropologists can contribute to this field moving forward. Biological anthropologists can add rich historical and cross‐cultural depth to the study of pandemics, provide insights into the biosocial complexities of pandemics using the theory of syndemics, investigate the social and health impacts of stress and stigma, and address important methodological and ethical issues. As COVID‐19 is unlikely to be the last global pandemic, stronger involvement of biological anthropology in pandemic studies and public health policy and research is vital.

1. INTRODUCTION

The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought into sharp relief the significant effects pandemics have on human health and societies, as well as the complex interaction of political, geographic, ecological, social, economic, demographic, and other factors that contribute to the spread of disease and disparities in outcomes. Yet, COVID‐19 is only the latest in a long history of infectious diseases and pandemics that have affected human populations. Indeed, an investigation of past pandemics illustrates that, while certain factors such as the level of biomedical knowledge may vary, many contributing factors and consequences show enduring trends, such as higher levels of negative impacts on disadvantaged or marginalized populations.

Due to disciplinary interests and strengths, biological and biocultural anthropologists are ideally suited to analyze, interpret, and respond to pandemics. Nonetheless, prior to COVID‐19 and despite a substantial body of work considering infectious diseases more generally, pandemics per se have been relatively under‐addressed in biological anthropology. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to review existing scholarly literature on pandemics from a variety of related fields, and to discuss ways in which biological anthropology can extend this knowledge base. In the interest of space, our focus is on research addressing disparities in morbidity and mortality outcomes, selected because data, at least for mortality, are likely to be available with some degree of historic or even prehistoric depth, while other kinds of data (e.g., acute morbidity or long‐term sequelae) may not be as accessible. Further, these outcomes are relevant to many fields, including epidemiology, public health, medicine, demography, evolutionary theory, political science, and economics, making it more likely they have been the subject of research for past pandemics. We consider disparities based on sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and health status (e.g., underlying chronic health conditions)–variables of interest to biological anthropologists as topics of research as well as of critical analysis and reflection.

In the following sections of this paper, we first establish what makes pandemics distinctive from other sorts of epidemiological events, and then highlight several theoretical approaches and examples of biological anthropological research of infectious diseases. We then review interdisciplinary work on three pandemics–1918 influenza, 2009 influenza, and COVID‐19–as illustrative examples of pandemics with different magnitudes and impacts across time. These three pandemics share the qualities of a relatively quick spread of acute infectious disease to which the general population is/was considered susceptible and against which notable social and governmental action is/was taken. We conclude with a discussion of methodological and theoretical considerations for future research by biological anthropologists in pandemic studies.

2. DEFINING PANDEMICS

Various terms have been used to describe the spread of infectious diseases, most typically “epidemic” (Table  1 provides a glossary of additional epidemiology terms used throughout this paper). In practice, this term is often loosely defined and broadly applied to a variety of health conditions including noncommunicable diseases, as well as behaviors and ideas (Orbann, Sattenspiel, Miller, & Dimka,  2017 ). For example, the term epidemic has been used to describe obesity, autism, prescription drug abuse, suicide, and anti‐vaccination beliefs (Anderson et al.,  2020 ; Mannix, Lee, & Fleegler,  2020 ; Paulozzi et al.,  2012 ; Wazana, Bresnahan, & Kline,  2007 ; WHO,  2000 ). However, most definitions of epidemics, particularly those involving infectious diseases, incorporate three elements. First, epidemics occur within populations bounded by geography or some other common attribute, such as occupation or cultural subgroup. Second, they are also bounded by time, usually by comparing the incidence of cases to a previous period selected as a reference or baseline. Finally, there is some assumed or identified cause, for example a virus or other pathogen (Orbann et al.,  2017 ). In contrast, endemic refers to a disease or condition that occurs at levels that do not deviate significantly from what could be expected in a typical period of time (Antia & Halloran,  2021 ). The endemic state is the baseline against which an epidemic is measured; therefore, endemicity is highly relative (i.e., a condition may be endemic in one area but not another). Endemicity has recently gained global attention given the likely outcome of the COVID‐19 pandemic that, rather than eradication, there will instead be persistent circulation of the virus at relatively low levels like other influenza and coronaviruses (Antia & Halloran,  2021 ; Torjesen,  2021 ).

Glossary of epidemiological terms used throughout this paper as they apply to infectious disease

Note : In epidemiology, the term ‘rate’ is often used more loosely to refer to proportions that are not true rates (i.e., they do not have a measure of time in the denominator).

Source : CDC ( 2012 ).

A straightforward definition of a pandemic, therefore, is an epidemic that affects large regions, multiple countries, or even the whole world approximately simultaneously. Pandemics typically have larger and more severe consequences than more localized outbreaks or seasonal epidemics. Pandemics of acute infectious diseases typically are caused by novel pathogens or strains against which there is limited or no immunity. Thus, although definitions do not specify an absolute number of cases as a criterion, substantial morbidity and mortality can occur during pandemics, even with relatively low or moderate transmission probabilities or case fatality rates. Comparing influenza pandemics to seasonal influenza also shows that pandemics can occur in multiple waves of infection at any time of the year. Different age‐specific rates or patterns may also be seen, such as more cases among presumed healthy young adults, whereas seasonal epidemics more often affect the youngest and oldest age groups and those with underlying health conditions (Fleming,  2005 ; Luk, Gross, & Thompson,  2001 ; Nguyen‐Van‐Tam & Hampson,  2003 ; Simonsen et al.,  2011 ).

Beyond this definition of a pandemic by epidemiological measures, however, is the political definition. Ultimately, an epidemic is when an outbreak of disease becomes a political event requiring social action; the same is true, again on a larger or even global scale, for a pandemic (Charters & Heitman,  2021 ; Cohen,  2011 ; Flegal,  2006 ). As seen with COVID‐19, the decision to declare something a pandemic may have important implications for how the situation is handled by government bodies, policymakers, and health care workers at all levels. Additionally, it may affect how the disease is discussed in news and social media, how individuals respond, and whether and how much financial and other resources are invested in slowing or stopping the spread of disease and mitigating other social and economic effects caused by, for example, the closure of businesses and schools (Hathaway & Phillips‐Robins,  2020 ; McKeever,  2020 ). As biological and social/cultural phenomena with potential for relatively sudden, global impacts, pandemics present unique challenges and raise different questions across multiple interdisciplinary fields than may be recognized in research on other sorts of epidemics or outbreaks more generally.

3. ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Anthropologists have long been interested in infectious diseases, and a full review of previous research is outside the scope of this paper. However, previous reviews and theoretical articles have discussed numerous examples, including many of the ones noted below. For example, Inhorn and Brown ( 1990 ) grouped work into three categories–biological, ecological, and sociocultural–while also recognizing the holistic nature of the work. Sattenspiel ( 2000 ) focused on the role of biological, environmental, and social factors in tropical infectious diseases, including human behaviors, host‐pathogen relationships, and modes of transmission such as vector‐borne and waterborne routes; cholera, dracunculiasis, and lymphatic filariasis were used as case studies to illustrate these points. Similarly, Larsen ( 2018 ) took a narrower focus, using tuberculosis (TB), treponematosis, dental caries, and periodontitis to illustrate issues of bioarchaeological research on infectious disease. Sattenspiel and Herring ( 2010 ) also discussed thematic trends in research, including geographic distribution and spread of infectious diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and syndemics, concluding with insights regarding the questions asked by anthropologists that overlap with, but are distinct from, epidemiologists.

Applications of anthropology to public health and collaboration with epidemiologists has been more thoroughly addressed by Manderson ( 1998 ) and Trostle and Sommerfeld ( 1996 ). Manderson ( 1998 ) focused on the role of sociocultural medical anthropology in elucidating local knowledge and concerns about infectious diseases and translating those to culturally appropriate public health interventions. Trostle and Sommerfeld ( 1996 ) discussed trends in the intersections between cultural and medical anthropology and epidemiology from a history characterized as “benign neglect” to interdisciplinary borrowing and collaboration on topics such as culture change and stress, behavior, illness classification, and social stratification. They concluded that multimethod research had become increasingly common, but that theoretical challenges and conceptual critiques remained underdeveloped, an observation that holds today. In a more recent perspective piece, van Doren ( 2021 ) emphasized the importance of biocultural anthropology to public health, specifically in how a focus on temporal depth and population health dynamics can contribute to understanding the social determinants of health.

In the following sections, we review illustrative examples of anthropological theory and research on infectious disease. As noted by several of the above authors, most notably Inhorn and Brown ( 1990 ), who argued that analysis of infectious diseases requires a bridge across or perhaps even erasure of “irrelevant” boundaries separating anthropological subfields, such research tends to be interdisciplinary, although some studies fall along more traditional boundaries. Within cultural anthropology specifically, key approaches have included ethnographic and critical medical anthropology (CMA) approaches; see, for example, Joralemon ( 2017 ) and Wiley and Allen ( 2017 ) for discussion of different approaches. Examples of infectious disease research from such perspectives include the classic work on kuru, a neurodegenerative disease caused by prions observed among the Fore of Papua New Guinea and associated, albeit not uncritically, with cannibalism (Lindenbaum,  1979 , 2008 ; Steadman & Merbs,  1982 ); numerous studies on HIV/AIDS and other STIs (e.g., Green, Jurg, & Dgedge,  1993 ; Songwathana & Manderson,  2001 ); and research on vaccine hesitancy and refusal (e.g., Brunson & Sobo,  2017 ). Others have emphasized more nuanced analyses of, for example, gender, socioeconomic, and political issues in relation to health conditions (e.g., Farmer,  1996 , 2004 , 2006 ; Vlassoff & Manderson,  1998 ), reflecting CMA's central focus on power inequities. Given the venue and likely audience, a full discussion of this body of work is outside the scope of this paper. Rather, we focus the following review on biological anthropology, including bioarchaeological and biosocial/biocultural approaches.

3.1. Biological anthropology and bioarchaeology research

Biological anthropologists, bioarchaeologists, and researchers in related fields prioritize biomedical understandings of infectious disease, often focusing on evolutionary and ecological factors contributing to the spread of pathogens and epidemics. For example, a number of authors have noted the likely substantial role of infectious diseases in human evolution and have applied insights from epidemiological transition theory to hypothesize about the types of diseases most likely to be prevalent with different types of social organization, such as with the development of agriculture and permanent settlements (Barrett, Kuzawa, McDade, & Armelagos,  1998 ; Cockburn,  1971 ; Harper & Armelagos,  2010 ; Zuckerman,  2014 ). Further, studies have investigated infectious diseases and epidemics in nonhuman primates, the co‐evolution of humans and pathogens, the role of human behavior in the emergence and spread of zoonoses, and the distribution of traits such as ABO blood types relative to the prevalence of associated infectious diseases (e.g., Genton et al.,  2017 ; Sattenspiel,  2015 ; Van Blerkom,  2003 ; Wolfe, Daszak, Kilpatrick, & Burke,  2005 ).

Other work has used genetic, osteological, bioarchaeological, and paleopathological methods to address the antiquity and impacts of infectious diseases in past populations, using both specific indicators of certain diseases and nonspecific indicators of general health and stress (DeWitte & Wood,  2008 ; Stone, Wilbur, Buikstra, & Roberts,  2009 ; Wilbur, Farnbach, Knudson, & Buikstra,  2008 ). A classic debate centers on whether syphilis originated in the “Old” or “New World” (Arora et al.,  2017 ; Baker & Armelagos,  1988 ; Crosby,  1969 ; Harper, Zuckerman, Harper, Kingston, & Armelagos,  2011 ; Livingstone,  1991 ). More recent work has included investigation of possible selective pressures such as smallpox that contributed to the frequency and geographic distribution of CCR5‐Δ32, a variant allele for the gene that codes for the CCR5 receptor on immune system cells and confers resistance against HIV‐1 infection (Galvani & Slatkin,  2003 ; Hummel, Schmidt, Kremeyer, Herrmann, & Oppermann,  2005 ).

Biological anthropology‐oriented research has also used a variety of historical, archaeological, and epidemiological sources to better understand the impact of infectious diseases on immunologically naïve Indigenous populations (e.g., Hurtado, Hill, Rosenblatt, Bender, & Scharmen,  2003 ; Merbs,  1992 ; Walker, Sattenspiel, & Hill,  2015 ). Interdisciplinary work counters simplistic “virgin soil” epidemic narratives and includes recognition of both Indigenous agency and the effects of colonial conquest and extreme violence (e.g., Cameron, Kelton, & Swedlund,  2015 ). For example, colonial social structures, such as the Spanish caste system, systematically erased Indigenous identities and Indigenous people were legally discriminated against to keep them in states of structural poverty. These new and severe social inequalities likely interacted synergistically with, rather than independently from, novel pathogens (Gutiérrez,  2015 ).

Studies with a biological focus typically still include social and cultural variables, such as socioeconomic measures or insights from observed human behavior. A key example incorporating the environment, human behavior, and biology is the classic research on the relationship between the prevalence of malaria, the distribution of the sickle cell trait, forest clearing, and crop cultivation (Allison,  1954 ; Livingstone,  1958 ). More recent research has further explored malaria elsewhere, such as relationships between malaria, paleoenvironments, and the settlement of Oceania (Clark & Kelly,  1993 ); and malaria, moat‐building, corralling, deforestation, and increased movement of people in Southeast Asia (King, Halcrow, Tayles, & Shkrum,  2017 ). New work suggests a significant malaria burden in mainland Southeast Asia prior to the adoption of agriculture (Vlok et al.,  2021 ). Other recent work has studied environment‐, culture‐ and behavior‐specific stress‐induced epigenetic modifications and their effects on chronic health conditions and acute infectious diseases (Thayer & Kuzawa,  2011 ), which may be further complicated by the epigenetic inheritance of intergenerational trauma (Conching & Thayer,  2019 ). Thus, while considerations of how environment and culture affect the physical body are not new, there have been recent advancements in biocultural methods and theory and increases in application of these approaches to human health and disease.

3.1.1. Biosocial/biocultural integration and syndemics

As noted above, Inhorn and Brown ( 1990 ) observed the bridging role studies of infectious diseases can play between cultural and biological subfields. More recently, McElroy and Townsend ( 2015 ) and Wiley and Allen ( 2017 ) also demonstrated the ways that anthropological subfields and related disciplines can overlap theoretically and methodologically to address research questions related to health and medicine. Biocultural approaches to anthropology have gained popularity in the 21st century; however, Wiley and Cullin ( 2016 ) pointed out that among biocultural research published in major anthropological journals, there is little consensus over the precise definition of a biocultural approach. Recently, Leatherman and Goodman ( 2020 ) considered the state of biocultural anthropology incorporating critical theory, 20 years after the publication of Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political‐Economic Perspectives on Human Biology (Goodman & Leatherman,  1998 ). While they noted that engagement with historical, political‐economic, and sociocultural conditions in work described as biocultural is still lacking, they also highlighted multiple methods and theoretical approaches that indicate that biocultural integration is particularly suited for practical and applied questions related to health in human populations. Such contributions include studies of the developmental origins of health and disease, epigenetics, the microbiome, the measurement and analysis of biomarkers, and embodiment (Leatherman & Goodman,  2020 ), largely conducted using the laboratory‐ and field‐based technologies of biological anthropology approaches.

Krieger ( 1994 ) first encouraged the move away from an emphasis on epidemiological methods, whose goals were to disentangle the “web of causation”, to a discussion of a more broadly conceptualized ecosocial theory. Since then, ecosocial theory has become a prominent social epidemiology framework that describes how social experiences (e.g., sources of social inequalities) are literally integrated into biology, or become embodied, over the course of the lifespan (Krieger,  1999 , 2014 ). However, syndemics, primarily developed by Singer and colleagues (e.g., Singer & Clair,  2003 ), is perhaps currently the most dominant theoretical framework stemming from CMA, integrating anthropological subfields, and even transcending interdisciplinary boundaries into multiple health‐related fields.

Syndemics refer to the syn ergistic interaction of multiple epi demics within adverse social contexts (Singer & Clair,  2003 ). Both biological interactions between relevant health conditions and biosocial interactions between diseases and social conditions can have direct or indirect mutually enhancing effects, resulting in symptoms or consequences that are novel and/or worse than either condition in isolation. Historical and systemic factors leading to social inequalities, such as poverty, stigma, and deleterious environmental exposures, contribute to syndemic configurations by concentrating conditions within specific areas or populations and shaping the distribution of risks and resources (Gravlee,  2020 ; Singer, Bulled, & Ostrach,  2020 ). Numerous publications have considered syndemics associated with infectious diseases, including the earliest developed example of substance abuse, violence, and AIDS (SAVA), particularly among the urban poor (Singer,  1994 , 1996 ; Singer & Snipes,  1992 ). Other studies have applied the syndemic concept to infectious disease configurations of HIV, TB, and homicide (Freudenberg, Fahs, Galea, & Greenberg,  2006 ); HIV and several other STIs (Singer et al.,  2006 ); TB and helminths (Littleton & Park,  2009 ); tickborne diseases (Singer & Bulled,  2016 ); and the 1918 influenza pandemic and TB (Herring & Sattenspiel,  2007 ), as well as a growing body of literature related to COVID‐19 (e.g., Ali,  2021 ; Gravlee,  2020 ; Horton,  2020 ; Singer,  2020 ).

In response to this emerging literature, some of which has suggested that syndemics involving pandemic diseases can be viewed as global syndemics, Singer, Bulled, and Leatherman ( 2021 ) argued that while syndemics are not themselves global, pandemic diseases can give rise to syndemics shaped by local conditions, and the concept of local biologies can help us understand the nature of disease interactions. Local biologies (now a subcategory of the more recently developed concept of situated biologies) refer to nongenetically determined biological differences among people resulting from the body's response to differing environments, some of which have profound consequences for well‐being (Lock,  2017 ). As local biologies emphasize biosocial entanglement and continual, didactic interaction across time and space (Lock,  2017 ; Singer et al.,  2021 ), this concept is a pertinent example of work that crosses traditional academic boundaries.

3.1.2. Biological anthropology and pandemics

Several diseases studied by biological anthropologists and colleagues arguably fit the broad epidemiological and/or narrow political definitions of a pandemic. These include, but are not limited to, cholera (Sawchuk,  2001 ; Sawchuk, Tripp, & Samakaroon,  2020 ), TB and leprosy (Kelmelis & Dangvard Pedersen,  2019 ; Kelmelis, Price, & Wood,  2017 ; Stone et al.,  2009 ), smallpox (Duggan et al.,  2016 ), scarlet fever (Roberts & Battles,  2020 ; Swedlund & Donta,  2003 ), and polio (Battles,  2017 ). However, in such research, anthropologists have rarely conceptualized or theorized these diseases as pandemics rather than as smaller outbreaks/epidemics or as case studies with no or only minor discussion of the broader contexts of surrounding pandemics, if applicable given the period of study. Even with studies that explicitly frame the work within a pandemic context, the analysis is often at the level of smaller geographic or population scales. Consequently, there is still less emphasis placed on critical analysis of international or global, multilevel factors that contribute to and are the consequences of pandemics. Broader theoretical advances have been made recently, particularly in the realm of bioarchaeology, with the release of a special issue of Bioarchaeology International , which includes, among other papers, substantive discussions of demographic and evolutionary consequences of pandemics (DeWitte & Wissler,  2022 ), addressing intersectionality in the context of pandemics (Yaussy,  2022 ), the long‐term sequelae of disabled pandemic survivors (Battles & Gilmour,  2022 ), and the social vulnerability to pandemics of institutionalized populations (Zuckerman, Emery, DeGaglia, & Gibson,  2022 ).

Perhaps the three pandemics that have received the most attention from biological anthropologists, alongside colleagues in other anthropological subfields and related disciplines, are HIV/AIDS, the Black Death, and the 1918 influenza pandemic. Here, we highlight examples of such work, including studies on the 1918 pandemic that address other research questions than the major themes discussed further below.

As noted above, much work especially from cultural medical anthropologists on the biological and biosocial interactions of syndemics has focused on HIV/AIDS. Additionally, biological anthropology‐oriented studies have looked at, for example, genetic and ecological evidence for emergence of the virus, as well as similarities to related viruses in other primates (Wertheim & Worobey,  2009 ; Wolfe, Dunavan, & Diamond,  2007 ). Further, modeling studies have explored the spread of HIV based on population structure, behaviors, and partnerships (e.g., Goodreau et al.,  2012 ; Katz et al.,  2021 ; Sattenspiel, Koopman, Simon, & Jacquez,  1990 ). Previous reviews of anthropological work on HIV include MacQueen ( 1994 ) and Hutchinson ( 2001 ).

Research on the Black Death (referring to the first epidemic of the Second Pandemic of Plague as it occurred in Europe between 1346 and 1353) can be divided into two broad realms: genetic and bioarchaeological/paleopathological analyses. Genetic analyses have been applied to confirm the causative pathogen, Yersinia pestis , and reconstruct the genome (Bos et al.,  2011 ; Haensch et al.,  2010 ; Schuenemann et al.,  2011 ). For example, Bos et al. ( 2011 ) confirmed that, as the reconstructed genome was ancestral to most extant strains, the Black Death was likely the main event connected to the introduction and spread of all currently circulating strains, which continue to cause sporadic zoonotic infections and outbreaks in human populations today (Barbieri et al.,  2020 ). Further, Bos et al. ( 2011 ) concluded that the increased virulence of the pandemic pathogen was likely due to other factors than the bacterial phenotype, such as social conditions, vector dynamics, and host genetics. For example, one recent study of plague victims later in the Second Pandemic, from 16th‐century Germany, found evidence of selection affecting the frequency of human genes responsible for adaptive immunity (Immel et al.,  2021 ).

Bioarchaeological and paleopathological analyses have teased apart demographic and health information about populations affected by the Black Death, as well as compared trends before, during, and after the pandemic. DeWitte and Wissler ( 2022 ) thoroughly reviewed this research, including selective mortality with respect to factors such as age, sex, and frailty, as well as work on pre and postpandemic health, social inequality, and demography. For example, DeWitte ( 2015 ) argued that observed reductions in survival and increased mortality before the Black Death indicated the populations were stressed beforehand and thus possibly explained the high mortality rates during the pandemic. Further, as with other pandemics, mortality was not indiscriminate, and older adults and those already stressed were more likely to die. This pattern of mortality, combined with better standards of living, likely led to improvements in population health after the Black Death, an argument supported by the frequency of skeletal stress indicators (e.g., periosteal lesions), a greater number of old adults, and a positive association between age and lesions (DeWitte,  2014 ). Analyses from before, during, and after the Black Death in Denmark showed that urbanization had differential impacts on survivorship across the lifespan (Kelmelis & DeWitte,  2021 ). Further, despite potential sex differences following the pandemic (e.g., DeWitte,  2018 ; DeWitte & Lewis,  2021 ), research on whether sex was associated with previous stress, frailty, and thus mortality risks during the Black Death and subsequent recurring plagues has produced mixed results (Curtis & Roosen,  2017 ; DeWitte,  2009 , 2010 ; Godde, Pasillas, & Sanchez,  2020 ).

Of the three pandemics discussed further in this paper, the 1918 influenza pandemic has received the most attention from biological anthropologists, occasionally in collaboration with demographers and historians. For example, research has explored the pandemic in populations in North America and elsewhere, including demographic and health impacts and potential explanations for the geographic spread of disease and regional variation in outcomes (e.g., Herring,  1993 ; Mamelund, Sattenspiel, & Dimka,  2013 ; Palmer, Sattenspiel, & Cassidy,  2007 ; Sattenspiel,  2011 ). Herring and Sattenspiel ( 2007 ) and Sattenspiel and Mamelund ( 2012 ) discussed the pandemic's impacts on parts of Canada and Alaska within the framework of syndemics, highlighting various social, ethnic, and environmental issues, as well as the role of pre‐existing or co‐circulating pathogens such as TB and pneumonia. Similarly, Tripp, Sawchuk, and Saliba ( 2018 ) explored the 1918 influenza pandemic on the islands of Malta and Gozo, reporting considerably different experiences possibly explained by factors such as poverty, isolation, rurality, and the roles of women and children in introducing the disease to households. Additionally, Sattenspiel and colleagues have developed agent‐based and other types of models to investigate how social and geographic spaces, behaviors, demography, mobility, and other factors influence the spread of infectious diseases within small, traditional communities such as those found in early 20th‐century Canada (e.g., Carpenter & Sattenspiel,  2009 ; Dimka & Sattenspiel,  2021 ; O'Neil & Sattenspiel,  2010 ).

Studies on the 1918 flu also have addressed questions of selective mortality and interactions with TB in response to arguments proposed by Noymer and Garenne ( 2000 ) and Noymer ( 2009 , 2011 ) that the pandemic hastened the decline of and reduced sex differentials in post‐pandemic TB mortality. For example, Sawchuk ( 2009 ) showed that health quickly rebounded in Gibraltar following the pandemic, with sex differentials returning to levels comparable to prepandemic estimates. van Doren and Sattenspiel ( 2021 ) analyzed yearly age‐standardized TB mortality rates for the island of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1939, with the expectation that, to support the hypothesis, years soon after the pandemic should show significant declines in TB mortality rates. Female mortality did decline in 1928, which was too late to be confidently associated with the 1918 influenza pandemic, while there were no significant declines for males nor for both sexes combined. Instead, the persistent high TB mortality rates throughout the early 20th century were likely due to social factors like poor nutrition and lack of health care rather than biological interactions between the diseases. van Doren and Sattenspiel ( 2021 ) emphasized, however, that their results should not fundamentally reframe the original observations made by Noymer and Garenne. Instead, populations may exhibit different patterns of post‐pandemic changes due to their cultural, demographic, and epidemiological differences.

Other work has considered factors contributing to local variation that may be driven by gendered roles, exposure, and the larger global impact of troop movement for World War I. This work also argues for the importance of more research addressing the relatively understudied first wave of the pandemic (Bogaert,  2015 ; Rewegan, Bogaert, Yan, Gagnon, & Herring,  2015 ). As described by Mamelund et al. ( 2016 ), there were important dynamics in the first wave, specifically in differences in morbidity between men and women, that help contextualize and explain the observed patterns in the major wave of the pandemic later that year. Further, Mamelund ( 2018 ) showed that there was a crossover in susceptibility of groups with different socioeconomic status (SES), where lower SES groups were hit harder in the first wave, while higher SES groups were hit harder in the second wave. More work is thus needed to better understand the underlying biological and sociocultural determinants of outcomes across waves of the pandemic.

Biological anthropology research into the COVID‐19 pandemic is unsurprisingly still limited. Publications to date have been largely theoretical, with a focus on potential implications for future work and the contributions and perspectives that biological anthropologists and human biologists can provide (Brewis, Wutich, & Mahdavi,  2020 ; Fuentes,  2020 ; Gravlee,  2020 ; Leonard,  2020a , 2020b ; McDade & Sancilio,  2020 ). Common themes of discussion among anthropologists and others include the marked disparities in morbidity, mortality, and access to vaccination and other health care resources, and the socioeconomic impacts of both the disease itself and related public health interventions such as lockdowns and school closures. Such disparities in outcomes and other consequences during COVID‐19 and previous pandemics have been studied by researchers in many fields, offering insights into the kinds of work that might be done by biological anthropologists moving forward.

4. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF SELECTED PANDEMICS

In the following review sections, we consider research investigating disparities during three pandemics with varying degrees of severity: the 1918 influenza pandemic, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic. Here, we provide brief descriptions of these pandemics to place the subsequent literature review into context. The 1918 influenza pandemic has long served as a “worst‐case scenario” for pandemic preparedness planning. Estimates are that this pandemic infected up to half of the global population and may have killed 50 or even 100 million people (Johnson & Mueller,  2002 ; Taubenberger & Morens,  2006 ). Early cases appeared in Kansas (US), but other proposed origins include China and Europe (Barry,  2005 ; Crosby,  2003 ; Humphries,  2013 ; Oxford,  2001 ; Oxford & Gill,  2018 ; Worobey, Cox, & Gill,  2019 ). The cause was unknown at the time, and there were no effective vaccines, antivirals, or other treatments (Crosby,  2003 ; Morens, Taubenberger, Harvey, & Memoli,  2010 ). Broadly speaking, there were three global waves. The first wave in the spring and summer of 1918 was relatively mild, with high morbidity and relatively low mortality. The second wave, beginning in the autumn of 1918, resulted in the most deaths. A third, mild wave was generally observed in early 1919, while some areas showed an “echo” wave in 1920 that varied in size from relatively small to the largest wave of the pandemic in some locations (Chandra & Christensen,  2021 ; Johnson & Mueller,  2002 ; Patterson & Pyle,  1991 ; Sattenspiel,  2011 ). In addition to the substantial mortality overall, one of the most well‐known, but still not fully explained, characteristics of the 1918 pandemic is the signature W‐shaped age distribution of deaths (Figure  1 ), indicating unusually high mortality rates among young adults and lower than expected mortality in the elderly age classes (Gagnon et al.,  2013 ; Luk et al.,  2001 ; Olson, Simonsen, Edelson, & Morse,  2005 ).

The W‐shaped age distribution of influenza deaths during the 1918 pandemic, compared to the U‐shaped pattern of 1915–1917. Data from Olson et al. ( 2005 ), figure 2a

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic began in Mexico in March, with initial cases observed in California in April (Fowlkes et al.,  2011 ; Khandaker et al.,  2011 ). The pandemic quickly spread to the US and Canada, then European and other countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic on June 11, by which time cases had been confirmed across 74 countries (Cortes Garcia et al.,  2012 ; Khandaker et al.,  2011 ; Mytton et al.,  2012 ; Sullivan, Jacobson, Dowdle, & Poland,  2010 ). The pandemic continued until August 2010 (da Costa, Saivish, Santos, de Lima Silva, & Moreli,  2020 ). Two to three waves were reported in different locations, and the timing of these varied as well, for example between the northern and southern hemispheres (Chowell et al.,  2011 ; Jhung et al.,  2011 ; Mytton et al.,  2012 ). Genetic analyses indicated the strain was produced through the regrouping of genes from human, avian, and swine type influenza A viruses (da Costa et al.,  2020 ). The hemagglutinin gene, which codes for an important surface antigen, had evolved from the 1918 virus, and early serologic data suggested many older adults had some cross‐reactive immunity (Jhung et al.,  2011 ). Indeed, there was an age pattern similar to 1918, with children and young adults disproportionately affected relative to those older than 65 years (Campbell et al.,  2011 ; Fowlkes et al.,  2011 ). While the reported number of laboratory‐confirmed deaths was 18,500, a much larger mortality toll of about 201,200 respiratory deaths plus 83,300 associated cardiovascular deaths has been estimated (Dawood et al.,  2012 ). This burden was not dramatically different from seasonal flu, which typically results in 5–15% of the population infected and approximately 291,000–646,000 deaths annually (Iuliano et al.,  2018 ; WHO,  2021b ). Nonetheless, it was a very high‐profile pandemic because of the intense discussion and speculation surrounding when the “next” pandemic would occur in the years leading up to it (e.g., Taubenberger, Morens, & Fauci,  2007 ), as well as the severe stigmatization that emerged in the immediate wake of the pandemic (for example, accusing “illegal aliens” of bringing the flu across the Mexican border to the US and the generally racist rhetoric and political action against Mexico) (Singer,  2009 ).

In late December 2019, a pneumonia of unknown etiology broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, apparently associated with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. A new pathogen, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), was identified on January 7 and is responsible for the disease, which came to be known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) (Guarner,  2020 ; Sohrabi et al.,  2020 ; Wu, Chen, & Chan,  2020 ). Genetic analyses support a zoonotic origin, although some have argued that other explanations, such as the so‐called “lab‐leak hypothesis”, cannot be ruled out (Maxmen & Mallapaty,  2021 ; Thacker,  2021 ; Wu et al.,  2020 ). After declaring the disease a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, the WHO characterized it as a pandemic on March 11 (Sohrabi et al.,  2020 ; Williamson et al.,  2020 ). Many countries around the world have experienced three or more waves of infection, with approximately 470 million cases and more than 6 million deaths reported as of this writing (Johns Hopkins University & Medicine,  2022 ). Unlike the two influenza pandemics described above, increased mortality among young adults has been less of an issue, with most COVID‐19 deaths occurring among the elderly (Islam et al.,  2021 ). This age profile appears to be dependent on SES, however, as some low‐ and middle‐income countries have reported “flatter” age‐based mortality curves, suggesting higher relative mortality in the younger age classes than seen in high‐income countries that report virtually no child or young adult mortality (Bonanad et al.,  2020 ). The age profile of cases also has been affected by the introduction of vaccines, which were not initially approved for younger children, and the emergence of variant strains (e.g., Wu,  2021 ).

5. EVIDENCE OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY DISPARITIES

In the following review of interdisciplinary literature on the three pandemics, we focus on morbidity and mortality disparities based on sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and health/disability status. These topics were chosen as (some but not the only) examples of concepts of interest to anthropologists that transcend any single pandemic or related research question, and indeed can be used to demonstrate how the relevance or salience of these variables may change over time or in different contexts. In addition to being variables commonly collected during anthropological and epidemiological research and important components of identity that may influence behavior or perceptions, they also invite opportunities for broader theoretical engagement. Each of these concepts reflect social constructs derived at least to some extent from and applied to biological characteristics; as such, they also correspond to systems of oppression, that is, sexism/patriarchy, racism, and ableism, that contribute to observed disparities. Nonetheless, as our review shows, while many epidemiological studies in particular often included more than one of the discussed factors, they typically gave little attention to these larger social issues or how they intersect. We further discuss the lack of and need for more theoretical engagement with such concepts below and in Section  6 .

For each of the topics, we discuss results for each pandemic and build to integrated summaries and general observations on the literature. Overall, the volume of research and sophistication of analyses clearly have increased over time. This trend is likely due to, among other factors, the availability of individual‐ and population‐level data, epidemiological surveillance practices and regulations in different countries, and improvements in statistical computing power. In one of the first epidemiological descriptions of the 1918 influenza pandemic, Frost ( 1919 ) acknowledged that because of the difficulty in disaggregating influenza and other respiratory causes of morbidity, especially when the seasonal curves overlap, the two things required for accurate study of an epidemiological event (systematic occurrences of the event and clear differential diagnoses) were not yet up to par in 1918. Even today, testing and diagnosis issues, asymptomatic cases, and limited access to health care result in underestimates of infections, cases, and deaths. Further, because COVID‐19 is an ongoing pandemic at the time of this writing, the findings are provisional and subject to revision, although many results have shown consistency.

5.1. Sex and gender

Sex and gender are relatively understudied in the pandemic literature, and therefore their patterns and effects on populations are not well understood. Many of the papers examined as part of this literature review use the terms “sex” and “gender” in interchangeable ways, that is, as synonyms rather than as distinct concepts. Thus, unclear definitions of the concepts of sex and gender, as well as a lack of critical evaluation of how and when they do and do not overlap, impede epidemiological research on disparities and may hinder public health interventions for the affected populations.

5.1.1. 1918 influenza

Much of the early research on the 1918 influenza pandemic was first released in a series in the journal Public Health Reports , which used survey and mortality data from 12 locations in the US that were then required to report such information (Armstrong & Hopkins,  1921 ; Britten,  1932 ; Collins,  1931 ). Collins ( 1931 ) noted that the survey data may have had some gender bias, since women were more likely to answer survey questions and to remember their own experiences with influenza‐like illnesses than those of their family members. Nonetheless, Collins ( 1931 ) reported that the incidence rates between the sexes showed small differences that were unlikely to be significant, although pneumonia incidence was reported to be much higher for males aged 10–50 years. Both mortality and case fatality were reportedly much higher in males in almost all the areas surveyed, corroborating initial observations in the US that despite a likely higher incidence of influenza and pneumonia, females were less likely to die than males (Frost,  1919 ; Sydenstricker,  1927 ).

There is often no clear answer to whether the 1918 pandemic affected males or females more severely, due to the complex ways in which age and sex interacted to increase vulnerability to the virus, as illustrated by the W‐shaped age‐specific mortality curve (Luk et al.,  2001 ; Taubenberger & Morens,  2006 ). In one of the few studies on the 1918 influenza pandemic that analyzes age‐specific mortality between males and females, Viboud et al.'s ( 2013 ) analysis in Kentucky showed that sex‐based differences in mortality were highly age‐dependent. Male mortality was 20–80% higher for ages 15–50, while female mortality was higher in all other groups.

In the US on a national level, age‐standardized male mortality in 1918 far exceeded that of females by 174 deaths per 100,000, driven by much higher mortality in younger (ages 20–49) males, while there was a slight excess in elderly (ages 70+) female mortality (Noymer,  2011 ; Noymer & Garenne,  2000 ). Higher male mortality was generally observed outside the US as well, although results are mixed by age and epidemic wave. For example, on the island of Newfoundland, there were no statistically significant differences in sex‐based mortality rates, but logistic regression models accounting for age and region of death suggested that females aged 20–44 were consistently more likely to die during the pandemic (Paskoff & Sattenspiel,  2019 ). The overall pattern in Newfoundland showed that males had higher mortality during the earliest wave in the spring of 1918, followed by higher female mortality in the fall 1918 and winter 1920 waves, suggesting early exposure to the influenza virus and possibly some acquired immunity for the later waves in males (Paskoff & Sattenspiel,  2019 ). This overall epidemic pattern also was observed in Bergen, Norway, with higher levels of influenza‐like illness for males aged 10–39 in the summer and higher levels for females aged 20–39 in the fall; similar trends were observed in Baltimore and rural areas of Maryland, as well (Mamelund, Haneberg, & Mjaaland,  2016 ). In Australia, the pandemic was quite delayed and did not hit the continent until 1919. It subsequently resulted in almost twice as many male deaths as female deaths. By the second wave in June and July, however, females died at slightly higher rates, again suggesting early exposure of males (Curson & McCracken,  2006 ). In a rare study of morbidity, on the Maltese Islands, reproductive‐aged females (aged 15–44) displayed significantly higher morbidity rates than males (138.3 per 1000 vs. 97.3 per 1000 individuals, respectively) than in the pre and postreproductive age groups (this study used the categorical age classes of prereproductive, reproductive, and postreproductive rather than numbered ages) (Tripp et al.,  2018 ).

The mixed results of research investigating sex‐based differences in 1918 influenza pandemic outcomes raise issues with interpreting and explaining the observed patterns. One biological explanation for explaining higher female mortality and/or morbidity may be the potential effects of pregnancy. After the major fall wave, a survey collected information from US obstetricians on the experiences and outcomes of their pregnant patients. Results indicated no single month of pregnancy was more dangerous than the others, and that severe influenza outcomes in pregnant women were highly variable. Ultimately, the author determined that no immediate conclusions could be drawn regarding the relationship between pregnancy and the risk of severe disease or mortality during the pandemic (Harris,  1919 ). However, it is now well‐known there are differences in immunological responses to pathogens between males and females generally and specifically in the context of pregnancy (Gabriel & Arck,  2014 ; Kadel & Kovats,  2018 ; Van Lunzen & Altfeld,  2014 ). Pregnancy can cause immune systems influenced by circulating sex steroid hormones and X‐linked genes to develop an overactive immune response that ultimately increases risk for severe respiratory pandemic outcomes (Garenne,  2015 ; see Mertz et al.,  2017 for a systematic review of pregnancy and influenza). Females are better protected from death during infections, but their stronger immune systems carry higher risk of the overactive immune response known as the “cytokine storm”, or the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines that can result in death (Capuano, Rossi, & Paolisso,  2020 ; Gabriel & Arck,  2014 ; Klein, Hodgson, & Robinson,  2012 ; Scully, Haverfield, Ursin, Tannenbaum, & Klein,  2020 ).

More socially oriented explanations for differential outcomes include gendered behaviors. In particular, the overlap of the pandemic and World War I may account for observed excess male morbidity and mortality in general (Crosby,  2003 ). Viboud et al. ( 2013 ) observed that male mortality in Kentucky is likely underestimated because it does not include deaths of Kentucky residents who were out of state for training or combat, which should be considered in age‐ and sex‐based analyses for belligerent countries. World War I cannot explain all the variation observed, however, because even nonbelligerent countries exhibited the W‐shaped mortality curve and sex‐based mortality patterns (Mamelund,  2011 ). However, because these two major historical events are so intertwined, it is impossible to entirely separate their effects (Humphries,  2013 ).

Gendered labor and social roles also likely influenced differential outcomes. As noted, men were likely exposed to the virus earlier in many locations, probably facilitated by the fact that men had higher workforce participation and were more likely to work outside of the home (Curson & McCracken,  2006 ; Mamelund et al.,  2016 ; Paskoff & Sattenspiel,  2019 ; Tuckel, Sassler, Maisel, & Levkam,  2006 ). Further, Paskoff and Sattenspiel ( 2019 ) noted that urban/rural regional variation in social and labor roles on the island of Newfoundland was important for explaining why, in some spaces, women were the ones who experienced the most exposure due to their tight‐knit social networks and caregiving behavior in their communities, rather than only with their own families.

5.1.2. 2009 influenza

International differences in surveillance, reporting, and analyses limit comparisons of sex differences for the 2009 pandemic. For example, while a report produced by the WHO in 2010 analyzed general trends of seasonal and 2009 pandemic influenza, a major limitation was that many countries including Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, and some aggregated European countries did not regularly stratify seasonal influenza data by sex (WHO,  2010 ). Further, analyses of the interaction between age and sex are uncommon, and countries such as Belgium, Italy, and Peru did not report age‐stratified results despite finding no differences in the aggregate sex‐based analyses (WHO,  2010 ).

Several studies reported no sex differences or mixed results. For example, there were no significant differences in hospitalizations for Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Mexico, or for an analysis of 19 pooled countries (WHO,  2010 ; Van Kerkhove et al.,  2011 ), or in terms of cases, symptoms, or duration of illness in the first few hundred cases in the UK (McLean et al.,  2010 ). In the earliest confirmed cases in Japan, females aged 20–79 had significantly higher case rates than males, while males under 20 and over 80 had higher rates, again suggesting an important intersection with age (Eshima et al.,  2011 ). In another pooled analysis of fatal cases worldwide, Vaillant, La Ruche, Tarantola, and Barboza ( 2009 ) found a male/female sex ratio of 1.04 but did not report statistical significance.

Other research investigating sex‐based differences have found a more consistent bias towards more severe outcomes in males during the 2009 pandemic. For example, male sex was identified as a statistically significant independent risk factor for a positive influenza test among early cases identified in China (May–June 2009) (Cao et al.,  2009 ). Out of almost 1000 cases in Delhi, India, at the peak of the pandemic, 64% were male (Kumar et al.,  2012 ), and of the nearly 400 positive cases studied in a cluster of medical facilities in Japan, almost 59%, a statistically significant difference, were male (Takayama et al.,  2011 ). In a study of hospitalizations in China, males accounted for 56% of admissions (Wang et al.,  2014 ). From May–September 2009 in Victoria, Australia, more than half of the fatal cases (58%) were male (WHO,  2010 ), and in the United States, males had significantly higher excess mortality rates for almost all age groups (Nguyen & Noymer,  2013 ).

There was a considerable lack of discussion of reasons for the observed sex differences in the 2009 H1N1 impacts. Pregnancy was acknowledged as a significant risk factor, with early emphasis placed on vaccination priority for people in any stage of pregnancy (WHO,  2010 ; Özyer et al.,  2011 ; Siston et al.,  2010 ). In terms of gendered behaviors that may influence outcomes, women are more likely to be caregivers, work in direct contact with sick patients in healthcare facilities, and put health education on malnutrition into practice (WHO,  2010 ). For example, in a case study of a hospital in the Republic of Korea, most of the confirmed cases among healthcare practitioners were women and less than 40 years old, a result which likely says less about biological determinants of pandemic respiratory disease vulnerability and more about how many of the hospital's nurses and technicians in close contact with confirmed cases were women (Choi, Chung, Jeon, & Lee,  2011 ). It is notable that while most of the epidemiological analyses with sex‐disaggregated data described above show evidence of poorer pandemic outcomes for males, those that did attempt to consider potential behavioral determinants focused on women's roles and activities.

5.1.3. COVID‐19

Although there has been ample research on the COVID‐19 pandemic within its first 2 years, many of the initial conclusions are that it is too early to make generalizable statements about sex‐ and gender‐based differences in COVID‐19 outcomes. The GenderSci Lab at Harvard University has consistently reported sex‐disaggregated deaths, mortality rates (crude and age‐adjusted), and time series of age‐adjusted sex ratios for all 50 US states and two territories (Harvard GenderSciLab,  2020 ). Recently, using this data, the first longitudinal study of sex disparities by state in the US during 13 months of the COVID‐19 pandemic was published using weekly case and mortality rates (Danielsen et al.,  2020 ). A guide produced by this lab for communicating sex and gender disparities acknowledges that sex‐disaggregated data does not capture the complexity of biological sex and socially constructed gender (Danielsen & Noll,  2020 ; Harvard GenderSciLab, 2020). Worldwide, however, inconsistent reporting of data disaggregated by sex is a limitation. Most of the African and Asian continents have not reported sex‐disaggregated data on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and much of South America only reports one or two of these measures with sex‐disaggregated data (Global Health 5050,  2021 ). Further, while early analyses found few differences between males and females in terms of median age of cases, symptoms, or comorbidities (Jin et al.,  2020 ), and no statistically significantly differences in exposure rates (Ruprecht et al.,  2021 ), number of cases in the US (Klein et al.,  2020 ; Scully et al.,  2020 ), or case fatality rates (Ahrenfeldt, Otavova, Christensen, & Lindahl‐Jacobsen,  2020 ; Gebhard, Regitz‐Zagrosek, Neuhauser, Morgan, & Klein,  2020 ), pandemic outcomes are variable across the world. For example, females in South Korea accounted for about 60% of positive tests (Scully et al.,  2020 ), most cases in a Washington State long‐term care facility were female (Klein et al.,  2020 ), elderly females in India had higher case fatality rates (Dehingia & Raj,  2021 ), and female risk of mortality in India increased with age (Joe, Kumar, Rajpal, Mishra, & Subramanian,  2020 ). In Massachusetts, absolute mortality rates were higher for males, but relative excess mortality for males and females was virtually identical (Krieger, Chen, & Waterman,  2020 ).

Yet, the overwhelming majority of COVID‐19 research on sex‐based differences in pandemic outcomes to date again shows that males are at far greater risk for almost every outcome. According to clinical classifications of severity based on, for example, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation, cases in males were more severe worldwide (Jin et al.,  2020 ; Takahashi et al.,  2020 ); however, Shattuck‐Heidorn et al. ( 2021 ) have suggested that Takahashi et al. ( 2020 ) were uncritical in their analyses and interpretation of sex differences that were identified. Further, intubated males were more likely to acquire ventilator‐associated pneumonia (Ahmed & Dumanski,  2020 ). Male hospitalizations in Switzerland and France outnumbered those of females 1.5‐fold (Gebhard et al.,  2020 ) and were double those of females in China (Klein et al.,  2020 ). Male mortality in Italy was almost double that of females, with similar findings for six other European countries, China, and the Philippines (Capuano et al.,  2020 ; Takahashi et al.,  2020 ; Xie, Tong, Guan, Du, & Qui,  2020 ). Further, the risk of death increased with age, and males aged 30 and above had a significantly higher risk of mortality than females (Scully et al.,  2020 ). Indeed, cumulative mortality rates and relative risks for males versus females were higher in 10 European regions for every age group (Ahrenfeldt et al.,  2020 ). Nonetheless, Shattuck‐Heidorn et al. ( 2021 ) recently argued for more careful and deeper engagement with the complexities of biological sex and gendered determinants of behavior that could further explain emerging differences.

With the COVID‐19 pandemic, there has been more research on how gendered behaviors drive the unequal outcomes discussed above. For example, studies have found that men are less likely to engage in nonpharmaceutical interventions such as handwashing and social distancing, behaviors that are likely influenced by media consumption and perception of the degree of the public health emergency (Ahmed & Dumanski,  2020 ; Johnson, Sholcosky, Gabello, Ragni, & Ogonosky,  2003 ; Galasso et al.,  2020 ; Mamelund, Dimka, & Bakkeli,  2021 ; Pedersen & Favero,  2020 ). Women, on the other hand, are more likely to wear a mask and are also more likely to seek health care (Haischer et al.,  2020 ; Hearne & Niño,  2021 ; Howard,  2021 ). Yet, Scully et al. ( 2020 ) argued that the consistent observation of higher risk of death for males suggests a common biological explanation more than any gendered determinants that contribute to risk. Testing of this hypothesis will rely on more comprehensive research in the coming years.

5.1.4. Summary and observations

Most of the identified studies did not explicitly aim to investigate sex disparities but instead typically included these analyses as part of broader descriptions of pandemic impacts. This lack of focus on sex‐ and gender‐based determinants of outcomes may be due to an assumption that pandemic respiratory diseases are indiscriminate (Mamelund & Dimka,  2021 ), so males and females are at equal risk. However, a consistent trend across pandemics suggests that, although there is variability, males most often have more severe outcomes. Indeed, Klein et al. ( 2020 ) likened COVID‐19 to the 1918 influenza pandemic under the generalization that male outcomes were more severe.

Two general hypotheses are used to explain observed sex‐based differences in disease prevalence and severity. The physiological hypothesis recognizes the importance of gonadal hormones and genetics in determining differences in disease manifestation, while the behavioral hypothesis emphasizes behavior that is determined by gender roles (Guerra‐Silveira & Abad‐Franch,  2013 ). While this distinction is useful for disentangling determinants, sex and gender – and thus the hypotheses – are not independent (Anker,  2007 ). Yet, much of the epidemiological literature lacks clear definitions of sex (the nonbinary spectrum of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics) and gender (the socially constructed roles and behaviors along the spectrum of gender identities) (Gentile,  1993 ; Torgrimson & Minson,  2005 ), and these terms are often used inconsistently and incorrectly (Gahagan, Gray, & Whynacht,  2015 ).

Despite the widely studied effects of gonadal hormones and sex chromosomes on immune function, most of the literature discussed here approaches sex as a binary category. However, some of the people who have suffered the most from the COVID‐19 pandemic have been sexual and gender minority groups (i.e., those who do not identify with one of the binary sex or gender distinctions) (Gibb et al.,  2020 ). Recently, biocultural anthropologists have highlighted that frameworks of biological “normalcy”, which position biological, binary sexes as “normal”, imply the existence of biological “abnormalcy” (DuBois & Shattuck‐Heidorn,  2021 ; Wiley & Allen,  2017 ). This implication creates a tenuous situation for research on unequal pandemic outcomes for those that were born a biological sex outside the arbitrarily defined “normal” bounds of the binary, especially when sex is considered independently from the context of cultural effects on human biology. Additionally, Anker ( 2007 ) argued that, as gender roles are not homogeneous cross‐culturally, a narrow description of gendered behaviors that lead to observed differences in infectious disease outcomes leads to a similarly narrow understanding of exactly how gender intersects with sex, culture, and behavior. Overall, then, a lack of clear definitions and nuanced consideration of sex and gender impedes pandemic research that seeks to explain variation in outcomes, and further fails to serve sex and gender minority communities that suffer highly unequal impacts of pandemic events. Biological and biocultural anthropologists therefore have much to contribute to the understanding of sex and gender in pandemic studies.

5.2. Race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity

Populations studied in the research reviewed here largely fell into the general, not mutually exclusive categories of Indigenous populations, minority ethnic immigrant groups, historically marginalized racialized (i.e., non‐White) groups, and “majority ethnic”/nonimmigrant populations that were sometimes used to compare to members of the same ethnic group who had emigrated elsewhere. We highlight illustrative examples of research on this topic with a particular focus on Indigenous populations, who are often overlooked compared to other racial and ethnic groups in both research and similar reviews.

5.2.1. 1918 influenza

The approach of the centenary of the pandemic in 2018, along with concerns that “the next pandemic” would be a pandemic flu, likely contributed to increased research interest in the 1918 influenza and its impact, particularly for populations that had received less attention previously. Research on Indigenous populations around the world and Black Americans in the US illustrates the range of factors that have been explored to explain disparities, or lack thereof in some cases, in morbidity and mortality rates during the 1918 influenza pandemic, revealing a number of commonalities.

Several articles and reviews published in the past decade have helped to generate a clearer picture of the 1918 pandemic's impact with regards to Indigenous groups. Mortality rates for Indigenous populations relative to European settler populations were consistently found to be higher across a range of studies and countries/regions, including North America, Nordic countries, Australia, and the Pacific Islands (Mamelund,  2011 ). Generally, while potential genetic susceptibilities are often raised despite lacking scientific evidence, explanations for disparities focus on differences in exposure due to the remoteness and isolation of Indigenous communities, in terms of either prior exposure to the milder first wave in 1918 and/or lifetime exposure to nonpandemic influenza strains. When isolated Indigenous populations were hit by the 1918 flu, they suffered some of the highest observed influenza‐related mortality. For example, Mamelund et al. ( 2013 ) reported mortality rates up to 90% in some Alaskan and Labrador communities. Similarly, the most isolated populations in the South Pacific had the highest influenza‐related mortality in the Pacific region, both in terms of entire island populations and ethnically homogenous communities on individual islands (Shanks, Wilson, Kippen, & Brundage,  2018 ). Small populations in remote Arctic, Pacific, and Australian communities and limited contact meant long periods without exposure to influenza (Mamelund,  2011 ). Some groups even missed exposure to the 1918 flu altogether (Mamelund,  2011 ; Mamelund et al.,  2013 ; Philip & Lackman,  1962 ). Evidence for a lack of exposure to other influenza strains prior to 1918 comes in part from the age patterns of mortality, as remote Arctic and Pacific peoples generally had sustained high mortality in adults rather than the classic W‐shaped pattern (Mamelund,  2011 ). A lack of previous influenza exposure combined with other factors such as crowding also was one likely explanation identified for the comparatively high mortality rate among Māori military personnel. Mortality for Māori in New Zealand was higher among both civilians (7.3 times) and military (2.3 times) (Wilson, Barnard, Summers, Shanks, & Baker,  2012 ). Shanks et al. ( 2018 ) found that Māori soldiers serving overseas in Europe and the Middle East had higher mortality than other New Zealand soldiers, so it was not just Māori in New Zealand who had higher flu mortality; the authors state the cause of this difference is unknown.

Conversely, the absence of disparities is also often explained by a lack of difference in previous influenza exposure. In contrast to the Sami's higher mortality in Norway, mortality for another ethnic minority, Kven (Finnish immigrants and their descendants), did not differ significantly from the ethnic Norwegian majority population (Mamelund,  2003 ). This finding is explained by a relatively high degree of economic and cultural assimilation of the Kven into Norwegian society, as opposed to the Sami, in the late 1910s (Mamelund,  2003 ). Further, isolation from previous influenza outbreaks did not explain mortality disparities everywhere in the South Pacific; for example, Shanks et al. ( 2018 ) found that it did not explain high mortality in New Zealand or Samoa.

Beyond exposure, other factors that have been proposed to explain higher 1918 flu morbidity and mortality in Indigenous populations include poor nutritional status, a lack of nursing and medical care, and concurrent infectious disease burden (e.g., Mamelund,  2011 ). It is beyond the scope of this review to cover the full extent of the health impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples, much or all of which could have increased susceptibility to the 1918 flu (as well as to other diseases). However, some factors particularly relevant to the 1918 flu have received significant attention, including high rates of respiratory infections, particularly TB (Herring & Sattenspiel,  2007 ; Summers, Baker, & Wilson,  2018 ).

Research on other racial and ethnic groups has focused on Black Americans. In a working paper, Eiermann et al. ( 2021 ) report strikingly small differences in White versus non‐White mortality. However, other research has found that in the autumn of 1918, Black Americans had lower morbidity and mortality but higher case fatality than the White population (Crosby,  1976 , 2003 ; Økland & Mamelund,  2019 ). The data suggest that Black people had either lower exposure or a lower risk of developing disease given exposure, but a higher risk of dying if they did get sick (Økland & Mamelund,  2019 ). In a study of mortality rates in a community of people with disabilities institutionalized at the Mississippi State Asylum, Zuckerman et al. ( 2022 ) found that from 1918 to 1919, respiratory and influenza mortality rates were significantly elevated for Black patients compared to White patients. Reasons for these observations are unclear, but hypothesized explanations include higher exposure for Black people during the herald wave in 1918 (Crosby,  1976 , 2003 ; Økland & Mamelund,  2019 ), with an alternative proposed explanation being lower exposure of Black Americans throughout the pandemic due to racial segregation (Gamble,  2010 ). Higher exposure in the herald wave, combined with higher case fatality throughout the pandemic, would fit with interpretations pointing to the role of poverty, systemic racism, and structural violence against Black Americans, especially in the American South (Zuckerman et al.,  2022 ). Due to conditions of overcrowding and poor sanitation, Black Americans had increased exposure not only to pandemic influenza but also to other diseases associated with higher influenza mortality risk, including respiratory diseases such as TB and diarrheal and parasitic diseases that cause malnutrition (Zuckerman et al.,  2022 ), while racism and segregation also limited Black peoples' access to medical care before and during the pandemic (Gamble,  2010 ).

The research on 1918 influenza morbidity and mortality disparities for Indigenous populations and Black Americans thus share similar profiles, with substantial focus on differential exposure patterns, as well as other factors (nutrition, co‐morbidities and co‐infections, health care access) traceable to structural inequalities and inequities, albeit with different histories.

5.2.2. 2009 influenza

In contrast to the historical 1918 pandemic, much of the literature on 2009 H1N1 influenza disparities for Indigenous populations and other racial and ethnic groups focuses on hospitalization rates. The results are not straightforward, with different studies finding higher hospitalization rates for Indigenous groups alongside higher severity and mortality, lower hospitalization rates but a higher rate of severe outcomes, or higher hospitalization but little disparity in severity or mortality. For example, The ANZIC Influenza Investigators ( 2009 ) found that Indigenous groups in Australia and New Zealand were relatively overrepresented in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions for the study period of June–August 2009. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders account for 2.5% of the Australian population but made up 9.7% of patients with 2009 H1N1 influenza who were admitted to Australian ICUs; similarly, Māori represent 13.6% of the New Zealand population but accounted for 25.0% of the patients admitted to New Zealand ICUs (The ANZIC Influenza Investigators,  2009 ). Similarly, in the US, hospitalization was significantly higher among American Indians compared to non‐Hispanic Whites (Thompson et al.,  2011 ). On the other hand, several studies in different national contexts found that Indigenous people, including Aboriginal Australians and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada, were less likely to be admitted to the hospital but were more likely to have severe outcomes such as ICU admission and/or death (Mertz et al.,  2013 ; Helferty et al.,  2010 ). Harris et al. ( 2010 ) showed that, unexpectedly given the prevalence of comorbidities, patients admitted for pandemic H1N1 in north Queensland, Australia, appeared less likely to be Indigenous. The authors suggested factors such as higher use of emergency services, targeted public health efforts to test Indigenous populations, and uneven availability of clinical data among locations making for an unrepresentative sample may explain the greater proportion of Indigenous patients in the nonadmitted group (Harris et al.,  2010 ).

Echoing the shift in disparities seen with the 1918 pandemic, variation was also observed across waves of the 2009 pandemic. For example, Helferty et al. ( 2010 ) found that the proportion of hospital admissions and deaths involving Aboriginal people (First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and unknown Aboriginal ethnicity) admitted to the hospital in Canada decreased from the first to second wave (27.8% to 6.1% and 17.6% to 8.9%, respectively), and the median age of Aboriginal patients increased from 11 to 26 years. Further, the proportion of Aboriginal patients who had underlying medical conditions was higher in the second wave, and the proportion of women of child‐bearing age who were pregnant was lower (Helferty et al.,  2010 ).

Severe cases and mortality were also higher for Indigenous populations. In a global pooled analysis, Van Kerkhove et al. ( 2011 ) noted that Indigenous populations and ethnic minorities were reported to experience a disproportionately high burden, particularly in the Americas and the Australasia‐Pacific region. Zarychanski et al. ( 2010 ) reported similar findings and noted that while there is a possibility that host genetic factors may play a role in susceptibility to severe influenza infection outcomes, Indigenous groups in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand do not share a recent common ancestry. Rather, they share a history of colonization combined with persisting social inequities causing significant disparities in health. Analyses demonstrate that despite some improvements, these disparities have persisted over time; Wilson et al. ( 2012 ) found that the Māori death rate for 2009 was closer to, but still higher than, the New Zealand European death rate, compared to previous pandemics (rate ratio of 2.6, compared to 7.3 for 1918 flu and 6.2 for 1957 flu).

For other racial and ethnic groups, several studies have shown patterns of more hospitalization during the 2009 pandemic but fewer or no significant differences in terms of severe outcomes and death. A systematic review by Mertz et al. ( 2013 ) included a small number of studies on 1918 pandemic outcomes as well as nonpandemic flu and just under 100 studies for 2009. Results showed that Hispanic and Black patients were more likely to have been admitted to the hospital but were at lower risk for more severe outcomes. The authors suggested that this outcome might be due to healthcare providers' perception of an increased risk of complications among these groups, such that they were selectively admitted to hospitals. Further, while data on seasonal influenza by ethnicity was scarce, they found no significant differences in all‐cause mortality among Asian, Black, or Native (Indigenous) populations compared with Whites during either seasonal or pandemic influenza (Mertz et al.,  2013 ). Pandemic H1N1‐related hospitalization was significantly higher among American Indians, Blacks and Hispanics than among non‐Hispanic Whites in New Mexico, US, and was higher among persons of younger age and lower household income (Thompson et al.,  2011 ). Similarly, Tricco, Lillie, Soobiah, Perrier, & Straus ( 2013 ) found significantly more hospitalizations among ethnic minorities versus nonethnic minorities in North America, yet no differences in ICU admissions or deaths among hospitalized patients in North America and Australia. They argued that their results suggest a similar burden of H1N1 between ethnic minorities and nonethnic minorities living in high‐income countries (Tricco et al.,  2013 ).

Several studies did show significant differences in outcomes other than hospitalization. For example, patients of South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi) ethnic minority groups in England had higher morbidity and mortality during the first wave of the pandemic. As these individuals were younger, more often male, and more often from deprived areas than cases from other ethnic groups, proposed explanations for these disparities include these factors, as well as being offered antiviral treatment less often (Trienekens, Shepherd, Pebody, Mangtani, & Cleary,  2021 ). Zhao, Harris, Ellis, and Pebody ( 2015 ) also found increased mortality risk in England for people in the non‐White (“ethnic minority”) category than those in the White (“nonethnic”) category, with the highest risk among Pakistani people. Similarly, people living in areas with a higher level of deprivation had an increased risk of mortality associated with influenza infection (Zhao et al.,  2015 ).

Spurred in part by the 2009 influenza pandemic, the past decade has seen more work on genetic and immunological susceptibility to influenza at both the individual‐ and population‐level. Some of this work focused specifically on the H1N1 strain responsible for the pandemic (e.g., Liu et al.,  2013 ; To et al.,  2014 ; Zhou et al.,  2012 ; Zúñiga et al.,  2012 ), which also allowed some comparison with the 1918 H1N1 pandemic (see Short, Kedzierska & van de Sant,  2018 ), while other studies considered susceptibility to other strains (e.g., Quinones‐Parra et al.,  2014 ) or to influenza A in general (e.g., Clemens et al.,  2016 ; Everitt et al.,  2012 ). Of particular relevance to the issue of ethnic disparities is the work of Sambaturu et al. ( 2018 ), who modeled H1N1 influenza epidemics at the population level and considered variation in flu strains and ethnicity. This modeling found that while certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles might be associated with a stronger immune response in individuals, diversity mattered. Each person has six HLA class‐I alleles comprising their HLA genotype; greater diversity in these individual levels of susceptibility would act as a barrier to influenza spread (Sambaturu et al.,  2018 ). This work adds further dimension to considerations of differences in genetic susceptibility between populations as explanations for ethnic disparities.

5.2.3. COVID‐19

Commentaries and editorials early in the COVID‐19 pandemic drew on work on past pandemics of respiratory diseases to inform assessments of potentially vulnerable populations and consequent policy decisions. For example, New Zealand's elimination strategy was based in part on research that indicated COVID‐19 posed high risks to Māori and Pacific people, and these groups were also prioritized for vaccination (e.g., Steyn et al.,  2020 ). As statistics from the first and subsequent waves became available, the predicted patterns largely bore out, with Indigenous, minority ethnic, and racialized groups disproportionately affected.

To date, research has shown that illness, hospitalization, and death is typically higher among Asian, Indigenous, and Black people than in White populations, with studies particularly focusing on US and UK contexts (e.g., de Lusignan et al.,  2020 ; Gu et al.,  2020 ; Holmes et al.,  2020 ; Price‐Haywood, Burton, Fort, & Seoane,  2020 ; Public Health England,  2020 ). For example, of 51 cases in Wales, individuals from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations represented 35% of ICU admissions and 35% of deaths, despite accounting for less than 5% of the population covered by the hospital (Baumer, Phillips, Dhadda, & Szakmany,  2020 ). Similarly, Black people accounted for 45% of confirmed cases and 69% of deaths in Milwaukee County, WI, US, while representing only 27% of the population (Rast, Martinez, & Williams,  2020 ). Research in countries other than the US and UK also show disparities; for example, in a study from Brazil, Pardo (mixed ethnicity) status was the second most important risk factor for death in hospitalized patients after age (Baqui et al.,  2020 ).

While much of what has been published to date does indicate higher risks of morbidity and mortality among Indigenous populations, such as those in the US and Mexico (e.g., Argoty‐Pantoja, Robles‐Rivera, Rivera‐Paredez, & Salmeron,  2021 ; Arrazola et al.,  2020 ; Hatcher et al.,  2020 ), research on disparities for Indigenous populations is still limited, and questions have been raised about how much confidence should be placed in the findings. In a systematic review, Mackey et al. ( 2021 ) were only able to draw a low‐confidence conclusion on higher mortality and no conclusions for other outcomes in American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Pacific Islanders, and other ethnic groups. In contrast, evidence enabled moderate to high confidence conclusions for Black and Hispanic populations and low confidence conclusions for Asians for all outcomes considered (Mackey et al.,  2021 ).

Proposed explanations for higher COVID‐19 mortality in non‐White populations include a range of factors linked to racism and social inequality. For example, regarding disparities between Black and White Americans, Holmes et al. ( 2020 ) pointed to lower healthcare access, clinician bias, lower educational attainment, structural poverty, food insecurity, compromised immune systems, residential segregation, and workplace segregation. Explanations for higher case fatality among Indigenous, minority ethnic, and racialized groups include higher prevalence of chronic diseases and comorbidities (Bertocchi & Dimico,  2020 ; Holmes et al.,  2020 ; Price‐Haywood et al.,  2020 ). Some authors have proposed vitamin D deficiency as a possible driver of ethnic disparities in COVID‐19 outcomes (i.e., greater severity in people with darker skin pigmentation) in higher latitude settings such as the UK (Rhodes, Subramanian, Laird, Griffin, & Kenny,  2021 ), but studies so far have found conflicting evidence for this hypothesis (Hastie et al.,  2020 ; Meltzer et al.,  2021 ).

Several large initiatives have emerged to facilitate research into genetic factors influencing COVID‐19 outcomes, including the COVID‐19 Host Genetics Initiative ( 2020 , 2021 ). Zeberg and Pääbo ( 2020 ) found that a gene cluster on chromosome 3 associated with respiratory failure after infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 is found in a higher proportion (~50%) of people with South Asian ethnicity than those of European ethnicity (~16%). This gene cluster is found in highest frequencies in Bangladesh (63%), which Zeberg and Pääbo ( 2020 ) suggested may at least partly explain why individuals of Bangladeshi origin in the UK have approximately twice the risk of dying from COVID‐19 than the general population (Public Health England,  2020 ). To date, the researchers involved with the COVID‐19 Host Genetics Initiative have reported 13 genome‐wide significant loci associated with either infection with the virus or severe COVID‐19 disease (COVID‐19 Host Genetics Initiative,  2021 ). However, as response to viral infection is influenced by many different genes (and other variables), each genetic risk factor identified for COVID‐19 is likely to have limited impact on its own (Schurr,  2020 ).

5.2.4. Summary and observations

The literature across these three pandemics suggests race‐related disparities were largely similar over time, in terms of worse outcomes for marginalized groups. Across different ethnic and racialized groups, common factors associated with higher morbidity and mortality include younger populations (Helferty et al.,  2010 ; Thompson et al.,  2011 ; Trienekens et al.,  2021 ), and deprivation/social disparities that put certain populations at greater risk of infection (e.g., due to crowding) and severe outcomes (e.g., due to comorbidities). However, data quality is an issue, both in terms of availability and bias. For example, Esteban‐Vasallo et al. ( 2012 ) noted that, except for the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands, European countries rarely collect health data by ethnicity. Further, due to lack of access to medical care, cases and deaths in Black populations may have been undercounted during past pandemics (Gamble,  2010 ), and similar concerns have been raised about data on Indigenous populations (Kelm,  1999 ; Mallard, Pesantes, Zavaleta‐Cortijo, & Ward,  2021 ).

Genetic/genomic studies search for specific genes conferring immunity/resistance or heightened susceptibility to these pandemic diseases or to comorbid conditions that also increase susceptibility, as well as analyze distribution of these genes in different populations. Biosocial/biocultural approaches to understanding and explaining disparities attend primarily to historical trends in socioeconomic and other conditions, in particular how racism has led to deprivation and discrimination that directly impacts morbidity and mortality via increased risk of exposure, complications, and prevalence of pre‐existing or comorbid conditions. These two approaches reflect the complicated and contentious nature of concepts like race, ethnicity, and ancestry, which biological and other anthropologists helped produce and more recently have thoroughly critiqued (e.g., AAPA,  2019 ). Similarly, pandemic research on these topics varies widely in how they frame population groups (e.g., minority ethnic, Indigenous, BIPOC (North America), BAME (UK)). Often the categories used reflect the peculiarities of the available data and national context, which may conflate race, ethnicity, nationality, and linguistic distinctions. For example, the US census as well as research funded by the National Institutes of Health currently uses a classification system consisting of five racial and two ethnic categories (Kaneshiro, Geling, Gellert, & Millar,  2011 ; NIH,  2001 ). The lack of standard definitions of race and ethnicity and the conflation of these concepts is a well‐known problem in epidemiological research (Comstock, Castillo, & Lindsay,  2004 ; Kaneshiro et al.,  2011 ; Lin & Kelsey,  2000 ).

Much of the literature, especially with the more recent pandemics, includes at least some discussion of socioeconomic or class issues, which are distinct from, yet deeply intertwined with, race and ethnicity, pointing to the importance of an intersectional approach to health inequalities (Bambra, Riordan, Ford, & Matthews,  2020 ; Gkiouleka, Huijts, Beckfield, & Bambra,  2018 ). Indeed, SES is by itself a major topic in health and disease studies. Mamelund and Dimka ( 2021 ) recently reviewed disparities based on SES during the 1918 influenza and COVID‐19, and discussed how SES and other social factors including socially constructed race and ethnicity should be considered in the context of pandemic preparedness. Further, Nyland et al. ( 2015 ) suggested that disentangling the contributions of ethnicity and SES to influenza outcomes is a future research challenge. Accounting for the effects of SES and other confounding variables likely would, in many situations, indicate that it is social disadvantage that increases likelihood of exposure to influenza and outcome disparities; see, for example, Quinn et al. ( 2011 ), who found that racial differences in susceptibility to complications from H1N1 influenza reported in a nationally representative US survey were not seen after controlling for SES and other demographic variables. However, as with sex, much research in more clinical epidemiological and public health fields typically only briefly touches on such issues in discussion, while more frequently including race or ethnicity as analytical or control variables uncritically, reinforcing misperceptions of these categories as biologically real. Therefore, there is much need for biological anthropological work in this area.

5.3. Pre‐existing health and disability

The literature review for this section considers studies on broad general health topics such as underlying or pre‐existing health, the immune system, stress, nutrition, and the microbiome. Additionally, research on specific chronic conditions, such as TB, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and obesity, is reviewed. While such chronic diseases can fit the definition of disability as conditions or impairments of the body or mind that, as a result of the interaction of personal and environmental factors, limit activities and restrict social participation (CDC,  2020 ; WHO,  2021a ), the term disability is often not applied to these conditions in lay usage or even the epidemiological literature discussed below. Thus, disability is considered separately, as many conditions more commonly recognized as disabilities–such as neurologic disorders, mobility and sensory impairments, intellectual and learning disabilities, and mental health conditions–are biologically, socially, and politically defined, and tend to be associated with histories of discrimination and differential treatment within health care systems and societies more generally.

5.3.1. 1918 influenza

Overall, there has been very little research on these topics for the 1918 influenza pandemic, likely due to unavailability of data, especially at the individual level. Some pre‐existing conditions may have gone undetected, the ways some conditions are diagnosed or understood have changed over time, and comorbidities may not have been recorded on death certificates at the time. For general health concerns, most relevant research has focused on the role of the immune system, typically with the aim to explain the W‐shaped age mortality profile. The idea of a “honeymoon” period for children approximately aged 5–14 has been used to explain the relatively low mortality in these age groups from most infectious diseases including the 1918 pandemic compared to other age groups (e.g., Ahmed, Oldstone, & Palese,  2007 ; Mamelund, Haneberg, & Mjaaland,  2017 ). Similarly, protective immunity from exposure to previously circulating strains may explain rates observed for older age categories (Ahmed, Oldstone, & Palese,  2007 ). Further, priming of the immune system based on exposure to a different strain, such as the 1889 flu pandemic, in infancy may have led to a dysfunctional, pathogenic response, explaining the atypical high mortality among young adults (Gagnon et al.,  2013 ; McAuley, Kedzierska, Brown, & Shanks,  2015 ; van Wijhe, Ingholt, Andreasen, & Simonsen,  2018 ). Most of these hypotheses rely on knowledge of immune system function and observations of broad trends, and are difficult, if not impossible, to empirically test.

Additionally, Mamelund ( 2011 ) considered nutritional status, alongside other proposed explanations, for mortality among Indigenous populations in selected areas of North America, Europe, and Oceania. He argued that nutrient‐rich traditional Alaskan diets (e.g., fish and caribou) were likely beneficial to the immune system and so nutrition is not as plausible an explanation in some areas. Further, novel and innovative research using bioarchaeological analyses of skeletal lesions in documented assemblages tested the hypothesis that healthy adults were as likely to die as frail individuals during the pandemic. Analyses indicated that while more nonfrail individuals died during the pandemic compared to the prepandemic period, frail individuals still had lower survivorship and greater risk of mortality during the pandemic (Wissler,  2021 ).

Discussion of chronic diseases has largely been in a broad sense, such as the recognition that comorbid conditions helped form the backdrop of disease in different locations, contributing to the development of syndemics (Herring & Sattenspiel,  2007 ; Sattenspiel & Mamelund,  2012 ). However, as discussed above, much research has specifically investigated TB in relation to hypotheses about post‐pandemic mortality trends (Noymer & Garenne,  2000 ; Sawchuk,  2009 ; van Doren & Sattenspiel,  2021 ), but it is so far unclear whether this interaction was active (i.e., a biological interaction of the pathogens and/or disease processes) rather than passive (i.e., increased TB mortality during the pandemic followed by decreased mortality in subsequent decades was more attributable to an overlap in age groups at risk of death from both diseases) (Noymer,  2009 ). Dahal et al. ( 2018 ) calculated excess mortality for TB during the pandemic using data from Arizona, which had a very high prevalence of TB at the time due to the treatment‐related benefits of its climate. Results showed a moderate rise in TB mortality during the fall and winter, with a notable increase among young adults in the fall wave, supporting the hypothesis that TB was a risk factor. In analysis of data from a Swiss sanatorium, Oei and Nishiura ( 2012 ) found a marginal association between TB and influenza case fatality, while there were no deaths among non‐TB controls. Similarly, Mamelund and Dimka ( 2019 ) showed that while influenza morbidity was significantly higher among staff in Norwegian sanatoria, case fatality was significantly higher among the TB patients.

As with other health conditions, there is a dearth of studies considering disability as a risk factor during the 1918 pandemic. Using the same Norwegian data source as above, Dimka and Mamelund ( 2020 ) showed a similar morbidity‐mortality crossover when comparing (presumed nondisabled) staff to resident patients at psychiatric institutions. High morbidity and mortality levels were also suggested by records of Norwegian schools for children with disabilities, although data were insufficient for statistical analyses (Dimka & Mamelund,  2020 ). In a nonpeer‐reviewed blog post, Chamberlain ( 2020 ) reported that more than 80% of the population at a Pennsylvania school for children with intellectual disabilities fell ill, but any distinctions between staff and students were not clear. Further, while Zuckerman et al. ( 2022 ) analyzed mortality rates among institutionalized individuals in the Mississippi State Asylum, data were not available for comparisons to noninstitutionalized or other populations.

5.3.2. 2009 influenza

Comparatively, a substantial body of work looked at differential outcomes based on health status during the 2009 pandemic. While very few of the identified publications investigated broad or general health topics, many studies focused on one or more specific chronic health conditions. For example, Campbell et al. ( 2011 ) found that cases with immunosuppression, and chronic kidney, neurological, and respiratory diseases were all individually associated with a 10–20‐times increased risk for hospitalization, and patients with pre‐existing conditions also had longer hospital stays. Similarly, the risk of admission to pediatric intensive care units for children in Ireland increased with the number of underlying conditions for both seasonal and pandemic influenza (Rebolledo et al.,  2014 ). For patients over 16 years old in Sydney, Australia, after adjusting for age and sex, hospitalization risk factors included immune suppression, lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. (Ward, Spokes, & McAnulty,  2011 ). In a sample of hospitalized patients from Montréal, diabetes tripled the risk of hospitalization and quadrupled the risk of ICU admission (Allard, Leclerc, Tremblay, & Tannenbaum,  2010 ).

Underlying health conditions were also associated with more severe outcomes and death. For example, in a global pooled sample of 70,000 lab‐confirmed hospitalized patients, the proportion of cases with one or more chronic conditions increased across the severity levels of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death (Van Kerkhove et al.,  2011 ). In a sample of nearly 10,000 patients in China, chronic medical conditions increased risk for severe illness across all age groups, with 33% of severe cases versus 14% of less severe cases reporting such conditions (Yu et al.,  2011 ). However, Cortes Garcia et al. ( 2012 ) found that diabetes was not an independent risk factor for ICU admission or death in Spain, when compared to controls matched by age and sex. Similarly, national data from Spain showed that while the age‐specific prevalence of diabetes was higher among hospitalized patients than the general population for most age groups, diabetes was not independently associated with dying while hospitalized (Jimenez‐Garcia et al.,  2013 ).

Research on this pandemic also indicated the need to consider a wider range of potential risk factors than those commonly recognized. For example, compared to children who died from seasonal flu in 2007–2009, children in the US who died of influenza during the 2009 pandemic were older (median of 9.4 vs. 6.2 years) and more had high‐risk medical conditions (68% vs. 46% of those with information on pre‐existing conditions). Notably, these analyses also investigated several conditions not then included on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) recommendations for seasonal vaccination. These conditions, which generally had equal or higher prevalence than those that were identified as high risk, included gastrointestinal disorder, prematurity, scoliosis, and obesity (Cox, Blanton, Dhara, Brammer, & Finelli,  2011 ). Similarly, Louie, Jean et al. ( 2011 ) found that 80% of 541 fatal cases among Californian adults had comorbid conditions; older individuals were also more likely to have comorbidities not associated with severe flu by ACIP (e.g., chronic GI disease and hypertension). Louie, Acosta et al.’s ( 2011 ) analysis of outcomes among 534 adults was among the studies that identified obesity as a novel risk factor for influenza during this pandemic, showing that BMI ≥40 and BMI ≥45 were independently associated with death. Further, a systematic review pooling more than 25,000 lab‐confirmed cases supported the association between obesity and increased risk of critical and fatal complications despite some potential confounding from treatment (Sun et al.,  2016 ).

Fewer studies on the 2009 pandemic have looked at disabilities, with much work documenting disparities for children with neurologic diseases or intellectual disabilities. Out of 48 US children who died between April 17 and July 23, 69% had a reported underlying condition; of these, neurologic disorders including cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and Down syndrome were the most common category of conditions, at 79% of deaths (Fowlkes et al.,  2011 ). Of 336 child deaths reported to the CDC with information on underlying health (98% of all deaths reported for the pandemic period of April 15, 2009, to September 30, 2010), 43% had neurologic disorders and 68% had one or more high‐risk condition in general (Blanton et al.,  2012 ). Hospitalization also was more frequent for children with such conditions (Launes et al.,  2012 ). Analysis of pandemic influenza patients from Mexico showed that Down syndrome was associated with a 16‐fold and 335‐fold increased likelihood of hospitalization and death, respectively (Perez‐Padilla et al.,  2010 ). Indeed, Bettinger et al. ( 2010 ) noted that underlying neurologic or developmental conditions were added to the list for vaccination recommendations in Canada in part because of data from hospitalized Canadian children during the 2009 pandemic.

5.3.3. COVID‐19

Some work to date on COVID‐19 outcomes has considered measures of general health, including stress, nutrition, and characteristics of the microbiome. For example, Ramezani et al. ( 2020 ) found that levels of serum cortisol and scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were higher in patients who died than those who survived, even though all presented with mild to moderate cases. Using Controlling Nutritional Status scores to assess diagnosed patients, Zhou, Ma et al. ( 2021 ) found that, among other variables, nutritional status was a risk factor for adverse outcomes. Studies also have shown dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiome in correlation with COVID‐19 severity, where opportunistic pathogens are enriched and beneficial symbionts are depleted (Finlay et al.,  2021 ; Scaldaferri et al.,  2020 ; Zuo et al.,  2020 ). In a preprint manuscript, Hurst et al. ( 2021 ) report that nasopharyngeal microbiomes also show patterns associated with COVID‐19. Species abundance varies with infection and presence or absence of symptoms, and is independently associated with age. Since the upper respiratory microbiome changes during early childhood, this finding may help explain lower susceptibility to infection and severity of cases for younger age groups observed early in the pandemic (Hurst et al.,  2021 ).

There are also higher risks associated with specific chronic medical conditions. Logistic regression on monthly US Medicare data for hospitalization rates per 100 COVID‐19 Medicare beneficiaries from January through September 2020 showed hospitalization was associated with all but two of 27 selected chronic health, mental health, and substance abuse conditions, adjusted for age, sex, race and ethnicity, and urban–rural residence (Chang, Moonesinghe, & Truman,  2021 ). Among hospitalized patients in Portugal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases were associated with mortality and ICU admission; diabetes and cancer were also associated with serious outcomes when all cases in the country were analyzed (Laires et al.,  2021 ). Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses have consistently shown higher risks of more severe cases associated with obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes (Matsushita et al.,  2020 ; Popkin et al.,  2020 ; Yang et al.,  2020 ).

In terms of mortality, a systematic review of 25 studies involving a pooled sample of more than 65,000 patients found that conditions significantly associated with mortality risk included cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and cancer (Ssentongo, Ssentongo, Heilbrunn, Ba, & Chinchilli,  2020 ). Further, Wortham et al. ( 2020 ) analyzed deaths reported in the US between February 12 and May 18, 2020, and found that, of those with available information, about 83% of deaths among individuals younger than 65 years had one or more underlying conditions. They noted that missing data was higher for this variable than others included in the analyses, so results should be considered minimum estimates. Additionally, case–control analyses for a sample from Sardinia showed that, out of 90 deceased cases with information on underlying health (93% of total deaths), 89 had at least one underlying condition or risk factor, most commonly cardiovascular, chronic neurological, and chronic lung diseases, and diabetes mellitus (Deiana et al.,  2020 ). Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses focused on diabetes showed that this condition was associated with severe outcomes; for example, Kumar et al. ( 2020 ) found a two‐fold increase in mortality and Mantovani, Byrne, Zheng, and Targher ( 2020 ) reported an approximately threefold increased risk of in‐hospital mortality. Kumar et al. ( 2020 ) cautioned, however, that they could not conclude whether diabetes was an independent risk factor. Mortality was independently associated with obesity, however. For example, for hospitalized patients younger than 50, the odds ratio for mortality was 5.1 with BMI ≥40. Although this association was also significant for those older than 50, the odds ratio was lower at 1.6 (Klang et al.,  2020 ).

Research on other conditions has found inconsistent or nonsignificant results. For example, Gao et al. ( 2021 ) reported in a letter to the editor that a meta‐analysis of six studies from China indicated that TB was more prevalent, but not significantly so, in severe versus nonsevere cases, and was not associated with an increased mortality risk, although sample size could be an issue. However, risk of death was more than two times higher in patients from the Philippines with TB than in those without, and the time to death was also significantly shorter, while the time to recovery was significantly longer (Sy, Haw, & Uy,  2020 ). Further, some analyses found that, unlike with influenza, individuals with asthma were not more likely to have severe cases requiring hospitalization or intubation (Broadhurst et al.,  2020 ). A meta‐analysis of 11 studies with a pooled sample of nearly 108,000 COVID‐19 patients showed that those with asthma were more likely to be younger and obese, had an increased risk of intubation especially if <50 years old, and had longer hospital stays if <65; however, there were no significant differences in terms of comorbidities, laboratory testing, hospitalization rates, ICU admission or development of acute respiratory distress syndrome between the groups. Additionally, asthmatic patients had better recovery and were less likely to die than nonasthmatic patients (Hussein et al.,  2021 ).

Although under‐addressed relative to other noninfectious, pre‐existing conditions, several studies have looked at disability as a risk factor for COVID‐19. For example, the presence of chronic neurologic disorders was an independent predictor of death but not of more severe disease among a retrospective cohort of hospitalized patients in Spain, with 44.8% versus 17% mortality. Analyses indicated that the higher death rate could not be explained by a worse immune response, differences in care, or delayed presentation in emergency departments (Garcia‐Azorin et al.,  2020 ). Most identified studies have focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), with an emphasis on institutionalized populations. In a descriptive study of 66 deaths among people with intellectual disability, approximately a third had Down syndrome and 55 lived in supported living, residential, or nursing homes (Perera et al.,  2020 ). While Californians receiving IDD services had a lower case rate than those who did not, the case fatality rate was 2.8 times higher, with results varying significantly based on type of residence. Individuals living on their own or in a family home had the least severe outcomes. There were higher case rates in types with more residents, likely related to exposure, and higher case fatality and mortality rates in those with 24‐hour skilled nursing care, perhaps because residents in these settings have more severe disabilities and health conditions. However, the authors noted that information about age, intensity of services, or pre‐existing conditions were not available, so availability of skilled nursing care served only as a proxy measure (Landes, Turk, & Wong,  2021 ). Case fatality rates were also higher for people with IDD living in residential group homes in New York (15%) compared to the general population of the state (7.9%) (Landes, Turk, Formica, McDonald, & Stevens,  2020 ).

Studies including noninstitutionalized populations also show disparities. Gleason et al. ( 2021 ) conducted a cross‐sectional study across 547 health care organizations in the US from January 2019 through November 2020 and found that intellectual disability was the strongest independent risk factor for being diagnosed with COVID‐19 and the strongest other than age for death (Gleason et al.,  2021 ). The UK Office for National Statistics investigated mortality between January and November 2020 in England based on self‐reported level of limitation of daily activities. Risk of death was 3.1 times greater for more disabled men (“limited a lot”) and 1.9 times greater for less disabled men (“limited a little”) compared to nondisabled. For women, the risks were 3.5 and 2.0 times greater, respectively. Differences were reduced but still significant for all but less disabled men after controlling for several variables including residence type and demographic and socioeconomic measures, suggesting that a range of factors jointly contribute to the increased risk of death. However, the largest effect for those with learning disabilities was associated with communal residence (Ayoubkhani & Bosworth,  2021 ). Further, Turk, Landes, Formica, and Goss ( 2020 ) investigated trends among more than 30,000 patients, 474 of whom had a recorded IDD, using electronic medical records from the global TriNetX COVID‐19 Research Network platform, and noted distinctive age differences. Although peak percentages of overall deaths were similar for both groups, this peak occurred in the 18–74 age range for those with IDD and the 75+ range for those without. The peak percentage of cases was higher for those with IDD in the 0–17 age range (26.4% vs. 2.7%) and lower in the 75+ range (8% vs. 15.3%), and case fatality rates also showed an age‐related bias (1.6% among 0–17 with IDD vs. <0.1% without, 4.5% among 18–74 with IDD vs. 2.7% without) (Turk et al.,  2020 ). As noted earlier, pandemics often have atypical age‐specific mortality curves; this study as well as others that indicate chronic health conditions increase risks in younger adult age groups may help explain these patterns.

This limited body of work clearly indicates the need for more research on different kinds of disabilities. Provocatively, Zhou, Liu, Sun, Huang, and Ye ( 2021 ) explored associations of test‐confirmed COVID‐19 with an array of nearly 1000 medical conditions, 30 blood biomarkers, and genetic variants for two genes related to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, for 389,620 participants in the UK Biobank, a large, population‐based prospective study. Results showed that the most significant risk factors for COVID‐19 included Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and an overall category of delirium, dementia, amnestic, and other cognitive disorders. Associations were also found with several other, novel risk factors. However, the authors stressed that the study identified associations only; determining possible mechanisms is more complicated (Zhou, Liu et al.,  2021 ).

5.3.4. Summary and observations

Research on disparities in outcomes related to pre‐existing health status increased dramatically for the two later pandemics, most likely due to the availability of surveillance data as well as the high prevalence of relevant conditions especially in high‐income countries where many of the epidemiological studies have been performed. Probably for similar reasons, most studies also focus on hospitalized patients and/or lab‐confirmed cases; many mild or asymptomatic cases might be excluded from analyses, as well as cases in populations that have no or less access to testing or health care resources. Nonetheless, results show consistent trends of worse outcomes including severe illness and death for individuals with poorer general health and specific chronic conditions, although not all studies were able to demonstrate independent associations after controlling for other factors.

Although health conditions may seem, at first glance, clearly defined or distinguishable, social factors cross‐culturally and over time influence the diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment of different conditions. For example, in addition to numerous critiques against some measures of obesity such as BMI, risks associated with obesity may partially or fully reflect delays in care due to discrimination or sizeism. Additionally, data collection practices may vary for different studies (e.g., self‐reported survey data or biomedical diagnoses reported by health care professionals). As Gleason et al. ( 2021 ) noted, some conditions, such as many disabilities, may be underreported. Studies on disparities related to underlying health also tend to focus on conditions previously identified as risk factors, which as Zhou, Liu et al. ( 2021 ) observed, may be due to ease of data collection, clinical experience, and prior publications. Yet, the examples of neurologic disorders and obesity during the 2009 pandemic reveal that some conditions have become, or become recognized as, risk factors. An emphasis on certain risk factors means that other conditions and affected populations may be overlooked in health research, preparedness planning, and public health responses (e.g., Landes, Stevens, & Turk,  2020 ; Landes, Turk, Formica, McDonald, & Stevens,  2020 ; Landes et al.,  2021 ); to quote Reed, Meeks, and Swenor ( 2020 : e423), “who counts depends on who is counted.”

This review suggests several opportunities for future research, including identification and analysis of historical health data for the 1918 flu and other past pandemics, development of methods for studying nonhospitalized populations, and work on both general health measures of interest to human biologists (e.g., stress or nutrition) and chronic medical conditions and disabilities that are traditionally less studied. In particular, studies considering disability are relatively rare in both pandemic research and biological anthropology, arguably with the exception of bioarchaeology of care research (see Tilley & Schrenk,  2017 ); further, such studies rarely apply relevant theoretical perspectives from disability studies (Battles & Gilmour,  2022 ).

6. DISCUSSION

The above review demonstrates consistent patterns of morbidity and mortality disparities based on sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and pre‐existing health/disability across three large pandemics. At the same time, various studies showed differences in the magnitude or statistical significance of disparities and in some cases their direction, for example whether males or females were more at risk in different regions. Such findings suggest that while the proximate determinants of pandemics, such as the causative pathogen, may change, ultimate determinants, likely including both social factors such as inequalities and some biological differences in host characteristics that predispose individuals for severe cases, remain relatively consistent. Pandemics are not biological events independent of social context, and compartmentalized discussion of biological and social issues should be avoided (Fuentes,  2020 ). Yet, despite ideally situated expertise for addressing these relationships, research on pandemics has not been a major focus relative to other health‐related topics in biological anthropology.

This limited emphasis may be due to several reasons. Many recent large pandemics have been caused by influenza, which has also been the most likely candidate in pandemic preparedness. Although seasonal influenza causes substantial illness, death, and social and economic costs every year (Molinari et al.,  2007 ), it also is often perceived as commonplace. Additionally, the SARS outbreak in 2002–2004 and the 2009 flu pandemic were relatively minor, or at least not as severe as feared. Therefore, investigation into epidemics and pandemics of influenza and similar diseases may not seem as urgent or attractive to researchers and funding bodies compared to other acute, emerging, and chronic conditions, or at least available research funding has not been significantly extended to the social sciences. Similarly, data on such pandemics are also easier to obtain for historical events, and studies of historical health and demography seem relatively undervalued or underemphasized in biological anthropology, bioarchaeology, and human biology compared to prehistoric or living populations.

On a more practical note, while pandemics are not completely unexpected, the exact emergence and timing of them cannot be predicted, so research activities and funding may be difficult to put into place when they occur. Biological anthropologists are also affected by travel restrictions and the massive disruptions to work and home life that typically accompany large pandemics, limiting the potential for real‐time, in‐person research. This limitation is further exacerbated by the ethical concerns associated with conducting anthropological research with at‐risk populations during an ongoing pandemic. Finally, academic research and scientific publishing in general and in anthropology specifically tends to be a slow process, even with preprints made available online and emergency funding calls. Nonetheless, the attention shown by biological anthropologists to COVID‐19, including commentary pieces and (social) media engagement, suggests that pandemics are likely to be of greater interest moving forward.

A fundamental step in the development of pandemic studies in biological anthropology will be stronger theorization of what constitutes a pandemic and how best to study one, such as how data is collected and analyzed. Pandemics are global and anthropogenic in nature and can significantly impact and interact with all aspects of human societies and biology. Anthropologists will need to consider whether, how, and when to integrate environmental, epidemiological, viral, genetic, individual, social, political, economic, and other data, in order to conceptualize and investigate these phenomena as distinct from infectious diseases or epidemics more broadly. Historical influences and trends; ecological interactions between humans, animals, and the environment; and issues of globalization and an interconnected world need to be considered, as well as the importance of foregrounding the experiences and potential vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. One of the most important contributions anthropologists can make to interdisciplinary pandemic studies is to investigate the nuanced, interacting, holistic nature of pandemics within societies, cross‐culturally, and over time, such as the ways that global emergencies manifest differently in local contexts and why. We conclude this paper with discussion of several potential research directions and important considerations.

6.1. Considerations for biological anthropology research in pandemic studies

In addition to the research directions we have highlighted in this review, numerous other angles of interdisciplinary research on the causes and consequences of pandemics are clearly of interest and relevance to anthropology. For example, with more recent pandemics, the global economic and political issues surrounding the development, production, and unequal distribution of vaccines require critical analysis. Even with research specifically on sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and underlying health, other issues besides morbidity and mortality are apparent and indeed likely play a role in differential outcomes. For example, pandemics have gendered impacts in terms of employment and economic costs, childcare and household labor, and domestic violence (Wenham, Smith, Davies et al.,  2020 ; Wenham, Smith, & Morgan,  2020 ). Stigma and blame are often racialized, as seen with reports of anti‐Asian bias during COVID‐19 (Dionne, Hayes, & Turkmen,  2021 ). Further, disease exposure risks and economic and employment losses also follow racial and ethnic lines, as there is a larger presence of minority employees in essential positions or occupations that face more exposure (e.g., Hawkins,  2020 ). With regards to pre‐existing health, much bioethical debate has centered around the allocation of limited resources based on perceptions of “quality of life” (e.g., Panocchia et al.,  2021 ). Even pandemics of diseases with, on average, short‐term illness can have long‐term health consequences from the effects of the disease itself, treatments, and public health interventions that might reduce accessibility and social support.

Rather than exploring these and other specific questions here, we instead raise broader issues that may provide inspiration for researchers to identify the ways in which their particular interests, theoretical frameworks, and methods may be used. Specifically, we discuss investigation of historical and cross‐cultural context, more engagement with the syndemics framework, the social and health impacts of stress and stigma, and important methodological and ethical issues.

6.1.1. Historical depth and cross‐cultural context

Singer and Rylko‐Bauer ( 2021 , p. 23) recently wrote that without commitments and efforts in global health towards, for example, prevention and preparation, upstream causes, local specificities, and equity, “we face the possibility of a world where pandemics–like environmental disasters–become recurring events….” While this call for a paradigm shift is apt, pandemics like COVID‐19 already are recurring events and will continue to be a threat into the future, even if health and economic inequalities can be reduced. Considering influenza‐like illnesses alone, there have been milder pandemics beginning in 1957 and 1968, in addition to the 1889, 1918, and 2009 pandemics already mentioned, as well as smaller events not typically classified as pandemics in 1947, 1976, and 1977 (Kilbourne,  2006 ). School closures and other major interventions also have been associated with outbreaks of other diseases such as polio and measles (Champredon, Shoukat, Singer, Galvani, & Moghadas,  2020 ; Meyers & Thomasson,  2020 ), while recent emerging infectious diseases that may have or develop epidemic/pandemic potential have spread to at least a few regions or countries (e.g., Ebola, Zika, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) (CEPI,  2021 ; Gavi,  2021 ). As Gaddy ( 2020 ) noted, anthropogenic climate change is associated with vector‐borne and other emerging infectious diseases, and the barriers between host species are likely lower than thought and will fall further as a result of ecological change and human encroachment into relatively untouched natural habitats. Even controlling for reporting effort, the number of emerging infectious disease events (defined as the original case or cluster of cases in human populations, and including re‐emerging diseases, such as multi‐drug resistant TB, and pathogens that have probably affected humans for some time but have recently increased in incidence or been identified) increased per decade between 1940 and 2004, with a peak in the 1980s associated with HIV/AIDS (Jones et al.,  2008 ). Further, antimicrobial resistance and vaccine hesitancy or anti‐vaccination movements have contributed to resurgences and outbreaks of re‐emerging diseases (Harper & Armelagos,  2010 ). It is no wonder that pandemic preparedness planners routinely warned that another global pandemic was a matter of when, not if, and such issues highlight the importance of learning from the past.

Past infectious disease pandemics have resulted in significant morbidity and mortality from the diseases themselves and potentially from effects of public health responses and social disruptions. Lower levels of screening and treatment for other health conditions due to reduced health care access and resources or increased avoidance (Czeisler et al.,  2020 ; Findling, Blendon, & Benson,  2020 ), or loss of prime‐aged caretakers of younger or older individuals (Mamelund et al., 2013), also may contribute to excess morbidity or mortality associated with pandemics. These impacts, as well as long‐term effects of illness or treatment, from one wave or pandemic help shape the population at risk for the next. Further, pandemics can affect fertility possibly through effects of infection but also through social and economic impacts, leading to baby booms or busts (Aassve, Cavalli, Mencarini, Plach, & Livi Bacci,  2020 ; Mamelund,  2004 ), and have potential transgenerational effects through impacts on maternal‐child health (Bogin & Varea,  2020 ; Gildner & Thayer,  2020 ). Short‐ and long‐term effects incorporating perspectives such as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and epigenetics are therefore important topics of consideration that can only be fully studied by drawing on data from past pandemics. For example, previous research has hinted that those who were in utero during the 1918 influenza pandemic had lower SES, lower educational attainment, and increased rates of disability compared to other birth cohorts (Almond,  2006 ; Helgertz & Bengtsson,  2019 ). Historically‐oriented studies that recognize the recurring pattern of pandemics and the potential for interactions of social and health factors during and between them are important for understanding demographic and ultimately evolutionary change in human populations.

Additionally, attention to historical and cross‐cultural context is important for understanding patterns of spread and disparities in outcomes, as pandemics unsurprisingly often go hand‐in‐hand with other large‐scale political, environmental, and/or social disruption. The obvious disruption of World War I may help explain variation in 1918 pandemic mortality between males and females. For example, mortality rates among males aged 15–44 were higher than those for females in areas of France farther away from the front, possibly because the men who remained in those areas during the war were more likely to be deemed medically unfit for the military and so more vulnerable to infection or complications. On the other hand, areas closer to the front or in neutral countries showed smaller differences or higher mortality among females (Zylberman,  2003 ). More recently, the spread and experiences of COVID‐19 in the US, such as higher mortality among Black populations, cannot be easily separated from either the country's history of systemic racism or large‐scale protests fueled by Black Lives Matter/racial justice issues particularly following the murder of George Floyd. Similar arguments can be made for different vaccination rates by state (Kates, Tolbert, & Orgera,  2021 ) and political divisions during the 2020 elections. Divorcing pandemics from their historical and social influences limits understanding of their determinants and consequences. On the contrary, consideration of such contexts may help disentangle contributing factors and elucidate consistent biological and social trends; here, more research into the relatively under‐studied and milder pandemics of the mid‐20th century may offer important insights.

Genetic and bioarchaeological analyses have been important means of researching infectious diseases and pandemics in prehistoric populations, and paleodemographic methods can be used to possibly differentiate attritional death profiles from catastrophic ones related to pandemics even in the absence of other archaeological or historical evidence (Castex & Kacki,  2016 ; Margerison & Knüsel,  2002 ). Additionally, samples stored at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and recovered from an Inuit woman buried in permafrost in Alaska enabled isolation, identification, and analysis of the 1918 flu virus (Taubenberger,  2003 ; Taubenberger, Reid, Janczewski, & Fanning,  2001 ). As mentioned previously, bioarchaeological analyses were also used to assess health of individuals in documented skeletal collections who died before, during, and after 1918 (Wissler,  2021 ). These examples suggest such approaches are suitable for identifying and studying more recent as well as older pandemics.

In addition, anthropological traditions of cross‐cultural comparative research and attention to smaller and geographically diverse populations would provide important insights into studies on morbidity, mortality, and other aspects of pandemics. As can be seen in the review above, the vast majority of pandemic research focuses on samples from North America; northern and western Europe, especially the UK and Norway; China and other East Asian countries; and to a lesser extent, Oceania. In contrast, fewer, if any, of the identified studies on disparities in outcomes during historical pandemics or COVID‐19 have focused on, for example, countries or regions in Africa, southern and eastern Europe, and other parts of Asia. While some of this under‐representation may be due to language barriers or literature search algorithms, there is nonetheless a lack, particularly from areas that historically have not had adequate disease surveillance and maintenance of vital records. Pandemics do not respect national borders, and the friction between international cooperation (e.g., in public health prevention and interventions) and national self‐interest is an important consideration in understanding unequal outcomes, especially between low‐ and high‐income countries. Even within countries, ethnic minorities or other subgroups may have highly dissimilar outcomes from the national averages, while differences along official boundaries such as state lines and more abstract boundaries such as rural versus urban divides also are important to consider.

6.1.2. Syndemics

The theoretical perspective of syndemics draws specific attention to the ways that multiple health conditions and deleterious social contexts synergistically interact to enhance poor health outcomes. This perspective is also inherently multi‐level, considering both individual‐ and population‐level interactions. Gravlee ( 2020 ) recently applied this concept to illustrate how, in the context of systemic racism and inequities in social and economic conditions, a higher burden of health conditions like hypertension and diabetes contributes to disparities in outcomes during COVID‐19, while the pandemic also can exacerbate these diseases in Black people. However, in offering a framework addressing causal pathways from large‐scale social forces to individual biology, Gravlee ( 2020 ) also noted conceptual and methodological challenges with syndemics theory, including the complexities involved with levels of analysis and generating testable hypotheses.

Indeed, in a recent scoping review of nearly 200 publications addressing syndemics, Singer et al. ( 2020 ) concluded that only 12% of the articles met the full criteria for true syndemics. Discussion of the other categories (e.g., potential syndemics, or harmful disease clusters) indicated that many of the remaining articles tended to fail in the biological aspects. For example, the authors noted that publications classified as potential syndemics did not fully articulate biological or biological‐social relationships or mechanisms of interaction. This finding represents a clear avenue for how biological anthropologists may contribute to the syndemics literature, including those involving pandemic diseases. Physiological mechanisms underlying biological interactions, especially those involving communicable diseases, are often easier to identify and describe than biosocial interactions (Singer et al.,  2020 ). For example, lung tissue damaged by TB provides additional surface for the influenza virus to take hold, which helps explain the associations between TB and 1918 influenza mortality (Shanks & Brundage,  2012 ). Singer et al.’s ( 2021 ) identification of the usefulness of local biologies for syndemics suggests one approach for investigating biosocial interactions, as the concept incorporates ideas from evolutionary and developmental biology that will be familiar to biological anthropologists (e.g., developmental plasticity and epigenetics). Similarly, embodiment of stressors related to, for example, stigma and discrimination is one of the more promising avenues of research.

6.1.3. Stigma, stress, and intersectionality

Throughout history, infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics have been blamed on or associated with marginalized groups such as racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, and members of different religions. Examples include Jewish people during the Black Death, the Chinese in San Francisco with smallpox and plague, immigrants in the US with multiple diseases including TB, men who have sex with men and other high‐risk populations with HIV/AIDS, and most recently anti‐Asian bias and discrimination during COVID‐19 (e.g., Bhanot, Singh, Verma, & Sharad,  2020 ; Cohn,  2007 ; Craddock,  1995 , 1999 ; Dionne, Hayes, & Turkmen,  2021 ; Kutner et al.,  2020 ; Markel & Stern,  2002 ; Shah,  2001 ). Heightened stigma during pandemics, as well as longer‐term systemic racism and other institutional biases, may lead to biological outcomes of disease and death through several pathways, including reduced access to or avoidance of health care, compounded by inadequate care and services due to discrimination within health care systems, as well as violence and embodiment (Brewis, Wutich, & Mahdavi,  2020 ). Work on embodiment in biological anthropology and social epidemiology has particularly focused on the ways that individual and generational experiences of stress and discrimination, particularly related to race, can get “under the skin”, contributing to disproportionately poorer outcomes for a range of biological and population health measures (Gravlee,  2009 , 2020 ; Krieger,  1999 ).

As Brewis et al. ( 2020 ) observed, stigma can produce physiological responses, which while not well studied in the context of infectious diseases, likely drive or contribute to health disparities. Such responses might make individuals more prone to infection or complications or result in slower recovery. Our review corroborates that stress, as well as general health measures like nutrition, have not been well‐studied with respect to outcomes during pandemics. Measures of relevant biomarkers therefore represent important research opportunities for biological anthropology and human biology. Brewis et al. ( 2020 ) also highlighted the importance of developing scales that measure social dimensions such as the impacts of stigma in space and time during epidemics.

Further, inaccurate associations of pandemic diseases with specific risk groups, including through media coverage, can prolong their spread and create further illness and death among majority and nonmarginalized populations. Members of such populations may not realize or accept that they are at risk, and thus ignore symptoms and neglect or refuse to properly follow public health recommendations. Moreover, authorities and governments may receive less pressure from constituents or approach diseases with less urgency and fewer resources if they are seen as problems restricted to minority populations with limited political power (e.g., Brewis et al.,  2020 ).

Finally, in contrast to syndemics articles which often lack full discussion of biological mechanisms and pathways, epidemiological literature often lacks full discussion of social variables, particularly in journals for clinical or medical sciences that are overwhelmingly prolific producers of such literature and likely to strongly influence public health practices and responses. Indeed, out of 14,588 publications about COVID‐19 retrieved from the Scopus database between January and May 2020, 75% were categorized into broad subjects of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology, and immunology and microbiology, while only 4% were classified as social sciences research (Pal,  2021 ). As noted above, variables such as sex and race are typically treated uncritically as biological realities in epidemiological research. In addition to giving short shrift to related social factors that might produce or explain disparities, this approach also leads to the neglect of populations that do not necessarily correspond with categories commonly used in analyses, such as some intersex, nonbinary, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Further, many epidemiological studies aim to assess independent associations of these and other variables (e.g., SES) with health disparities. However, intersectionality perspectives recognize how multiple systems of oppression interact to create different health experiences and outcomes (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall,  2013 ; Gkiouleka et al.,  2018 ; Vaiou,  2018 ). For example, morbidity and mortality rates of disabled Black women are likely to be markedly different from nondisabled White men in ways that cannot be easily or fully understood by considering each of those aspects independently. Anthropologists must not only continue to critique concepts of race, gender, disability, and what constitutes “good health” (including that disability does not inherently mean poor health), but also help develop theoretical approaches and data collection and analysis methods that will enable better investigation of such intersectional issues during pandemics (see Yaussy,  2022 , for a recent discussion of intersectionality in bioarchaeological research on pandemics).

6.1.4. Data collection and ethics

As a field, biological anthropology allows for interdisciplinary tools to investigate and integrate a wide array of data on factors underlying morbidity and mortality disparities. Expertise in the field extends across multiple scales from genetic analyses through individual‐, local‐, and population‐level variation to long‐term structural and institutional systems and, ultimately, human evolution. This broad skill set, combined frequently with training in four‐field anthropology and thus sociocultural aspects of human health, opens opportunities for the development and application of numerous methodological approaches. We highlight here a few key issues of data collection, analysis, and communication relevant to biological anthropological studies of pandemics.

First, as can be seen from the above review, much research on recent pandemics draws on data from hospitalized and/or lab‐confirmed cases. In addition to producing a bias towards more severe cases versus mild or asymptomatic ones, this focus also creates a bias in terms of which members of populations are more likely to have access to or be able to afford testing, treatment, and other health care services. Similarly, in archival research on historical pandemics, there is typically an over‐reliance on censuses and death records, which constitute “accidental” datasets, meaning they were created for purposes other than for which modern quantitative analyses use them (Swedlund & Herring,  2003 ). Issues inherent in archival research may include loss and damage of records, inaccurate or limited medical knowledge of the time, and under‐representation of segments of the population (e.g., the poor, illiterate, or migrants, as well as women and children). Further, considering the stigma associated with some infectious diseases, recorded causes of death may even be purposely inaccurate in some cases (e.g., Hardy,  1993 , on TB, and Szreter,  2014 , on syphilis in the 19th and early 20th centuries). Biological anthropologists can enhance the range and quality of data used in analyses by developing field‐based and other methods for collecting information on nonhospitalized cases and unrecorded deaths; evaluating potential sources of bias; and investigating local understandings of health, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, and measures of potential associated factors like SES (e.g., Weaver & Kaiser,  2020 ). For example, McDade and Sancilio ( 2020 ) discussed suitable field‐based tests for antibodies that can identify mild or asymptomatic cases, important for both immediate epidemiological purposes as well as for broader research incorporating biosocial frameworks, environmental data, and life history approaches.

On the other hand, field‐based data collection during active pandemics raises important concerns. While real‐time data collection and analysis may provide substantial benefits to communities in terms of public health surveillance and responses, biological anthropologists have a far greater ethical obligation to the communities in which they work not to introduce infectious diseases or contribute to their spread. This concern is particularly true considering many, although certainly not all, anthropologists traditionally live in and travel from higher‐income areas with adequate health care resources to conduct research in smaller, less privileged communities. Even if travel is not restricted during a pandemic, biological anthropologists should explore and develop alternative modes of data collection, including but not limited to interviews via video conferencing, analyses of digitized data, and collaboration with local researchers.

Similar to concerns raised with other areas of anthropological research (e.g., issues related to NAGPRA) and in line with long‐held calls for inclusion such as the phrase “nothing about us without us” common in disability communities, research on pandemics should include the voices, expertise, and active participation of relevant populations. Activities to facilitate this participation include recruiting and training students, working with and crediting collaborators, and listening and responding to the views and concerns of nonacademic members of the populations. Concerns about data ownership or sovereignty (e.g., local knowledge about prevention and treatment of infectious diseases), especially with regards to Indigenous knowledge and data, must be carefully considered, as should how best to communicate research results so they can be beneficially applied to affected populations, while avoiding misrepresentation or misunderstanding by others (Tsosie, Yracheta, Kolepenuk, & Smith,  2021 ). As our review demonstrates, marginalized communities are historically and consistently more likely to become ill and die during pandemics, as well as suffer other social and economic consequences. Biological anthropologists involved in pandemic studies must therefore pay close attention to the ethical issues involved in researching disparities involving these individuals and communities.

7. CONCLUSION

Human biology, behavior, and the environment, along with historical, political, and economic influences, contribute to the emergence and spread of pandemics, as well as marked disparities in morbidity and mortality outcomes within and between different populations. Climate change, globalization, the threat of emerging infectious diseases, socioeconomic inequalities, host‐pathogen co‐evolution, and other factors make it likely that acute infectious disease pandemics will continue to occur. The complex, multi‐level components of pandemics cannot be addressed by single fields and instead require inter‐ and transdisciplinary research incorporating not just clinical medicine, epidemiology, and microbiology, but also history, demography, and other social sciences. Biological anthropologists are uniquely suited to cross the boundaries of different fields while also “speaking the language” of more traditional health workers and medical researchers involved in the development of public health policy and practice. A (biological) anthropology of pandemics forces us to acknowledge that we must consider the biological, social, and epidemiological factors on multiple scales from the individual to the global, while also comparing pandemic determinants, outcomes, and long‐term consequences cross‐culturally and historically. The COVID‐19 pandemic has reinforced observations of persistent health disparities while also revealing weaknesses in understanding and appreciating the sheer scale of pandemics and the role of humans in such global health emergencies. As COVID‐19 cases and deaths hopefully decline, more and more discussion in the media and daily life turns to the question of how and whether people's lives will and should go “back to normal.” One previous normal that should be avoided is the relative neglect of epidemics and pandemics in biological anthropology.

Dimka, J. , van Doren, T. P. , & Battles, H. T. (2022). Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies . Yearbook Biological Anthropology , 178 (Suppl. 74), 256–291. 10.1002/ajpa.24517 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

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195 Top Anthropology Topics For Great Thesis

Anthropology is one of the most interesting disciplines that you can pursue at the university level. The whole idea of exploring everything known about human beings, from their origins to evolution, is pretty exciting.

However, the study requires preparing multiple assignments, which can be pretty challenging because you need a deep understanding of biology, history, and culture. The first step, which is even more stressful when preparing an anthropology paper, is selecting the right topic. So, we are here to help.

In this post, we have a list of the best anthropology topics that you can use to get good grades. To help you increase the chances of scoring the best grade in your paper, we have also included a comprehensive guide on how to write your paper like a pro.

What Is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of humanity, and it is concerned about human biology, behavior, societies, cultures and linguistics in the past and present. The discipline stretches back to the study of past human species. Because of its broad nature, it is broken down into a number of units, with each focusing on a specific area:

Social anthropology: Focuses on patterns of human behavior. Cultural anthropology: This branch mainly focuses on culture, including values and norms in the society. Linguistic anthropology: Unlike the other two, this branch of anthropology targets determining how language impacts people’s lives. Biological anthropology: This branch focuses on studying the biological development of humans. Archaeological anthropology: This branch of anthropology is concerned with investigating humans in the past. In some jurisdictions, such as Europe, it is considered a full discipline like geography or history.

How To Write Best Quality Anthropology Research Paper

When your professors issue anthropology research paper prompts, one of the questions that you might have is, “how do I write a high level paper?” Here are the main steps that you can use to write a great college paper.

Step One: Understand the Assignment The biggest mistake that you can make is starting an assignment without understanding what it entails. So, read the prompt carefully and grasp what is needed. For example, does your teacher want a qualitative or quantitative research paper? For masters and graduate students, it might be a quantitative anthropology dissertation. Step Two: Select the Preferred Research Paper Topic The topic that you select is very important, and it is advisable to go for the title that is interesting to you. Furthermore, the topic should have ample resources to help you complete the paper smoothly. If there are no books, journals, and other important resources to prepare the paper, there is a risk of getting stuck midway. Once you select the topic, carry preliminary research to gather key points that you will use to prepare the paper. However, these points are not final and will need to get updated along the way. Step Three: Develop Your Research Paper Outline An outline defines the structure of the paper. It makes further research and preparing the paper pretty straightforward. Also, it eliminates the risk of forgetting important bits of the research paper. To make the paper more informative, make sure to add supportive information progressively. Step Four: Write the Thesis Statement of Your Paper The thesis statement of a paper is your stand about the topic that you are writing about. The statement comes in the introduction but will further be restated in conclusion. The information you present on the research paper will approve or disapprove your thesis statement. Step Five: Write the Draft Paper After gathering the information about the topic, it is time to get down and prepare the first draft. So, strictly follow the prepared outline to craft a good paper, starting with the introduction to the conclusion. If you are writing a dissertation, it might be good to tell your supervisor about the progress. Remember that a dissertation is more comprehensive than a research paper. To write a dissertation, you should start with the introduction, followed by the literature review, research methods, results, discussion, and finally, conclusion. Step Six: Write the Final Paper After finishing the draft, it is time to refine it further and make the work exceptional. Therefore, you might want to go through more resources to establish if there is anything more helpful to add. Finally, edit your paper and proofread the paper. You might also want to ask a friend to help with proofreading to identify mistakes that might have skipped your eye.

Next, we will highlight the leading anthropology topics that you should consider. So, pick the preferred one or tweak it a little to suit your needs.

Top 20 Anthropology Paper Topics

• How does the environment impact the color of a person?
• The advantages and disadvantages of eugenics in the 21st century.
• A closer look at the aging process in the western culture.
• What are the implications of physical labor on the physique of a person?
• Define the relationship between Kyphosis to human senescence
• Does smoking impact the appearance of a human being?
• Death caused by drowning: How to determine it through examination of physical and anatomical evidence.
• Existence of Homo Habilis is supported by modern facts.
• Compare two theories that explain the origins of human beings.
• A review of key beliefs about human body preservation in ancient Egypt.
• The role played by storytelling in different cultures.
• Applying anthropology as forensic science.
• Heroes in society.
• Closed societies.
• Emergency of terrorism into a culture.
• Feminism application in different cultures.
• A review of the concept of wellness in different cultures.
• What role does literature play in human development?
• Analyzing conflicts in Latin American and Asian cultures.
• Genetic engineering and anthropology: How are they related?

Interesting Anthropology Topics

• Investigating how religious beliefs impact the Hispanic cultures.
• A review of the evolution of sexual discrimination.
• The impact of culture on same sex marriages: A case study of LGBT community in France.
• A closer look at racism in modern societies.
• Causes of homelessness among the Hispanic communities.
• Causes and effects of homelessness among the Indian people in Asia.
• Comparing the strategies adopted to deal with homelessness in the US and India.
• Cultural anthropology and political science: How are they related?
• Identify and review two most important organizations when it comes to advancing anthropology.
• Peru’s Quechua people.
• Contemporary policy and environmental anthropology.
• What influences human social patterns?
• A review of the impact of western culture on indigenous people in North America.
• Analyzing the caste systems and ranking in societies.
• A review of ancient Roman culture.
• The evolution of the human ear.
• Comparing the evolution of man to the evolution of birds.
• What is the origin of modern humans?
• A closer look at the main issues in female circumcision.

Biological Anthropology Research Paper Topics

• Exploring the meaning of biological anthropology and its application in different fields.
• Analyzing how primatologists use primates to understand human evolution.
• How paleontologists use fossil records for anthropological comparisons.
• Biological anthropology: How does it explain human behavior development?
• Identify and review top geographical locations where anthropologists do their work: Why are these locations so important?
• Define the connection between social sciences and biological anthropology.
• The evolution of the primate diet.
• Analyzing the evolution of tapetum lucidum.
• A closer look at the extinction of giant lemurs in Madagascar.
• Human resistance to drugs: Human pathogen coevolution.
• How to determine the age of an animal using its bones.
• How does syphilis impact bones?
• Poaching and habitat destruction.
• The application of natural selection in the animal kingdom.

Good Cultural Anthropology Research Paper Topics

• Religious beliefs in the Asian cultures.
• Comparing religious beliefs in African and Aboriginal cultures.
• A review of the key cultural concepts in a culture of choice in Europe.
• Comparing the idea of worldview from the perspectives of two societies.
• Marriage in a traditional society of your choice.
• A review of early development of economic organizations.
• The role of women in Indian society.
• A closer look at the process of language acquisition in African culture.
• Missionary and anthropology: What is the relationship?
• What strategies would you propose to minimize ethnocentrism?
• How can society minimize the notion of cultural baggage?
• Culture shock: Insights on how to address it.
• Belief in magic in different societies.
• A review of the impacts of globalization on nutritional anthropology.

Anthropological Research Questions

• Should anthropology be merged fully with biology?
• Is DNA evidence accurate in criminology applications?
• How does the practice of anthropology application in China compare to that of the US?
• Use of radiological tools in anthropology: What is their level of effectiveness?
• What are the main hazards and risks of forensic anthropology?
• What effect do mythologies have in modern society?
• How does language acquisition impact the culture of a society?
• Body project change projects: What are the valued attributes?
• Halloween celebrations: How have they evolved over the years?
• What are the impacts of adaptive mutation?
• How did WWI and WWII impact human societies?
• What are the impacts of climate change on animal evolution?
• Location of crime: What can you learn about it?
• What are the impacts of long-term alcohol addiction on the human body?
• Magic and science: Are they related?

Easy Anthropological Ideas

• Development of anthropology in the 21st century.
• Important lessons about humans that can be drawn from anthropological studies.
• Anthropological issues in pre-capitalist societies.
• A closer look at folk roles and primitive society.
• Urban centers and modern man.
• How is automation impacting human behavior?
• How does biology impact human culture?
• Reviewing racial identity and stereotypes in society.
• Comparing ancient Aztec to Maya civilizations.
• Analyzing religious diversity in the United States.
• Comparing religious diversity in the UK and Italy.
• Why is studying anthropology important?
• Comparing different death rituals in different cultures on the globe.
• What is the relationship between literature and human development?
• Analyzing the influence of anthropology on modern art.
• How has social media impacted different cultures on the globe?

Linguistic Anthropology Research Topics

• What led to the emergence of linguistics anthropology?
• A review of the main theories in linguistic anthropology.
• Linguistics used by different communities in the same nation.
• Comparing sign and verbal communication.
• How did Dell Hymes contribute to linguistic anthropology?
• Language is the most important component among Bengal immigrants.
• Language endangerment: What is it?
• Comparing different categories of arts from an anthropological context for an Asian and Western country.
• The impact of colonization on the language of a specific society of your choice.
• Explore three different indigenous languages in America.

Controversial Anthropology Topics

• Social anthropology is not worth studying because it is very general.
• Human societies are cultural constructs.
• The past should be considered a foreign nation.
• What are your views of petro behavior in chimps?
• Man is natural killer
• Infant killing is an important evolutionary strategy.
• The war on infanticides: Which side do you support?
• Evaluating the concept of human morality.
• Should all the political leaders be required to undertake training in cultural anthropology?
• Human cleansing: Evaluating the driving factors in different societies.
• Analyzing the concept of political correctness in the 21st century.
• What are the earliest life forms to exist on the planet?

Medical Anthropology Research Topics List

• Comparing and contrasting physical and medical anthropology studies.
• Do we have evidence of evolution over the last 2000 years?
• Exploring the importance of anthropology in modern medicine.
• The health implications of adapting to ecology.
• Domestic health culture practices in two societies of choice.
• A review of clinical anthropology applications.
• Political ecology of infectious diseases.
• What is the relationship between violence, diseases and malnutrition?
• The economic aspect of political health in a country of choice.
• Perception of risk, vulnerability and illnesses: A case study of the United States.
• What are the main factors that drive good nutrition and health transition?
• The adoption of preventive health practices in society.
• Important cultural conditions that help shape medical practices.
• Comparing the medical practices during the colonial and post-colonial eras in a county of choice.
• Use of mitochondria in forensic and anthropology.
• Commercialization of health and medicine: What are the implications in society?
• Analyzing health disparity in a society of your choice.

Current Topics In Anthropology

• Using anthropology studies to determine the impact of political systems on different societies.
• Human rights of people who are convicted of crimes.
• What are the most important organizations when studying anthropology?
• A closer look at the dialect of a modern feminist.
• A study of current queer life in Germany.
• Implications of Barack Obama as the African American President.
• Reviewing the Pagan rituals and their impacts.
• Comparing aging in the west and growing old in the African setting.
• Cultural implications of deviant behavior in society.
• The new concept of childhood in the emerging economies.

Physical Anthropology Research Topics

• What does genetic hitchhiking mean?
• Analyzing the cephalization process.
• What is adaptive mutation?
• Altruism: Is it learnt or a natural trait?
• What is abiogenesis in human development?
• A study of Australian marsupial’s convergent evolution.
• Comparing stability of animals in stability and those in the wild.
• Evolution of different animals in different parts of the globe. What drives the differences?
• A review of physical anthropology trends.
• The future evolution of human beings.
• Physical anthropology: The human and digital culture.
• What really makes people human?

Special Anthropology Topics to Write About

• Enlightenment and Victorian Anthropological Theory.
• Race and ethnicity: The anthropologist’s viewpoint.
• A closer look at reciprocity in the native aboriginal communities in Australia.
• What is the relationship between Neanderthal and modern humans?
• Cultural anthropology versus sociology.
• Anthropology of Mormonism.
• What is the biggest change since WWI?
• What is reflexive anthropology?
• What is the main purpose of rituals in society?
• Comparing rituals around childbirth in Asia.
• Evaluating the connection between religion and myths in different societies.
• Comparing the 20th and 21st century’s method of collecting anthropological data.
• Why is medical anthropology so important today?
• The importance of Benin artifacts in the history of the world.
• The sociology theory: A review of its structure and shortcomings.
• Christian believes in anthropology.
• Comparing Anthropology of Europe to Anthropology of Africa.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of reflexivity use in ethnographic studies.

Forensic Anthropology Paper Topics

• What are the primary agents that cause biological changes in the human body?
• Are the biological change agents in a human being similar to those of other animals?
• Assessing the accuracy of carbon dating technology.
• Analyzing the latest improvements in crime detection technology.
• Analyzing evidence that supports evolution views of human beings.
• How does radioactivity impact different animals?
• The main signs of asphyxiation.
• A review of the latest archaeological dating methods: Are they effective?
• Mummification: How effective was the process as applied in Egypt?
• Importance of crime scenes in forensic anthropology.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of Buccal Swabs when profiling insides of cheeks.
• Criminal profiling: How effective is it in deterring a criminal’s traits?
• Footprint in the crime scene: What can they tell you?
• Soil comparison in forensic anthropology.
• Insect as important agents of body decomposition.
• How do you identify blunt force trauma?
• Comparing and contrasting penetrating and perforating trauma.
• Analyzing the Rigor Mortis method of establishing a person’s death.

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Top 300 Anthropology Research Topics

Welcome to a fascinating world of anthropology. DIve into our curated compilation of 300 engaging anthropology research topics that uncover the diversity of human societies and cultures. These topics span a wide range of fascinating subjects, from how people live and communicate to the ways they shape their communities and beliefs.

Explore cultural traditions across the globe, investigate the roots of human evolution, or solve the complexities of language and identity. Whether you’re mesmerized by ancient civilizations, modern urban societies, or the impact of technology on cultures, you’ll find thought-provoking ideas to spark your curiosity and inspire insightful exploration.

From examining social behaviors to understanding environmental adaptations, these research topics offer a doorway to understanding the rich diversity of humanity. Join us on this journey through anthropology’s vast kingdoms, where each topic invites you to solve the complexities of human existence, one subject at a time.

What Is Anthropology ?

Table of Contents

Anthropology is the study of humans’ origins, societies, cultures, behaviors, and physical variations across time and space. It emphasizes understanding the diversity of human experiences and how societies function. Anthropologists explore various aspects of human life, from biological and evolutionary perspectives to cultural and social dimensions.

There are four primary subfields in anthropology:

• Cultural Anthropology: Focuses on understanding contemporary societies, cultures, customs, and practices.
• Archaeology: Studies past human societies and cultures by examining material remains, artifacts, and structures.
• Biological/Physical Anthropology: Investigates human biology, evolution, genetics, and primatology.
• Linguistic Anthropology: Explores the role of language in societies, communication, and cultural expression.

Anthropologists use diverse methods, including ethnography (participant observation), interviews, archaeological excavations, biological analyses, and linguistic studies, to uncover insights into human societies, their histories, and how they evolve over time.

Here we have compiled 300 research topics under different categories. From how languages evolve to what ancient artifacts tell us, these topics are like treasure maps guiding us to discover the wonders of human life. Ready to dive into stories of our past, present, and future? Let us start.

Top 15 Topics On Biological Anthropology Research Areas

• Human Evolutionary Genetics
• Primate Behavior and Ecology
• Forensic Anthropology
• Paleoanthropology Studies
• Human Osteology and Skeletal Biology
• Biological Adaptations to Environments
• Comparative Anatomy and Morphology
• Dental Anthropology Research
• Bioarchaeology Investigations
• Human Growth and Development
• Primatology and Conservation
• Disease and Health in Past Populations
• Population Genetics and Human Diversity
• Evolutionary Medicine and Anthropology
• Human Paleopathology

Top 15 Research Topics On Cultural Anthropology Research Topics

• Rituals and Symbolism in Culture
• Cultural Identity and Globalization
• Ethnographic Studies of Communities
• Gender Roles and Cultural Practices
• Material Culture and Society
• Language and Culture Interactions
• Folklore and Oral Traditions
• Cultural Heritage Preservation
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems
• Culture and Power Dynamics
• Urban Anthropology and City Life
• Cultural Diversity and Social Change
• Ethical Dilemmas in Fieldwork
• Diaspora Communities and Identity
• Religion and Cultural Practices

Top 15 Research Topics On Archaeological Anthropology Investigations

• Archaeogenetics and Human Origins
• Settlement Patterns and Urbanization
• Environmental Archaeology
• Ancient Technologies and Innovations
• Archaeological Excavation Techniques
• Paleoecology and Human Adaptations
• Cultural Transmission in Archaeology
• Dating Methods in Archaeological Studies
• Maritime and Underwater Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology Approaches
• Cultural Heritage Management
• Rock Art and Symbolism
• Archaeology of Death and Burial Practices
• Archaeology and Climate Change
• Site Preservation and Conservation

Top 15 Research Topics On Linguistic Anthropology Studies

• Language Acquisition and Development
• Sociolinguistics and Cultural Variation
• Language Revitalization Efforts
• Language and Identity Formation
• Ethnolinguistics and Cultural Contexts
• Historical Linguistics and Evolution of Languages
• Linguistic Relativity and Thought Patterns
• Multilingualism and Society
• Dialectology and Regional Variations
• Language Endangerment and Preservation
• Language Contact and Creole Formation
• Anthropological Approaches to Verbal Art
• Pragmatics and Cross-Cultural Communication
• Language and Power Dynamics
• Ethnography of Communication

Top 15 Research Topics On Medical Anthropology Focus Areas

• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health and Illness
• Traditional Healing Practices
• Biocultural Aspects of Disease
• Global Health and Healthcare Systems
• Medical Pluralism and Integration
• Mental Health and Cultural Perceptions
• Ethnomedicine and Herbal Remedies
• Health Disparities and Social Determinants
• Healing Rituals and Symbolism
• Maternal and Child Health in Cultures
• Anthropology of Infectious Diseases
• Indigenous Knowledge in Healthcare
• Alternative Medicine and Society
• Medical Ethnography and Fieldwork
• Healthcare Access and Marginalized Communities

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Economic Anthropology Research

• Market Systems and Exchange Networks
• Economic Development and Globalization
• Cultural Perspectives on Wealth and Value
• Informal Economies and Subsistence Strategies
• Gift-giving and Reciprocity in Societies
• Economic Anthropology of Gender
• Economic Anthropology of Labor and Work
• Money and Symbolism in Cultures
• Land Tenure Systems and Property Rights
• Resource Management and Sustainability
• Consumption Patterns and Consumerism
• Economic Anthropology of Entrepreneurship
• Economic Anthropology of Food and Agriculture
• Poverty and Inequality Studies
• Economic Anthropology in Urban Settings

Top 15 Research Topics On Social Anthropology Themes

• Kinship Structures and Family Dynamics
• Social Identity Formation and Group Relations
• Rituals and Ceremonies in Societies
• Power Dynamics and Social Hierarchies
• Community Studies and Social Networks
• Gender Roles and Social Constructs
• Ethnicity and Cultural Boundaries
• Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking
• Social Movements and Activism
• Urbanization and Social Change
• Socialization and Education Systems
• Marginalized Communities and Social Inclusion
• Collective Memory and Commemoration
• Media and Society in Anthropological Contexts
• Identity Politics and Intersectionality

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Psychological Anthropology Topics

• Cultural Perspectives on Mental Health
• Emotions and Cultural Expression
• Belief Systems and Psychological Well-being
• Cross-Cultural Studies on Trauma
• Rituals and Healing in Psychological Contexts
• Cultural Influences on Perception and Cognition
• Identity Formation and Psychological Processes
• Child Rearing and Psychological Development
• Stress and Coping Mechanisms in Cultures
• Cultural Variations in Personality
• Spirituality and Psychological Resilience
• Psychopathology and Cultural Interpretations
• Cultural Constructions of Happiness
• Intergenerational Transmission of Psychological Traits
• Culture, Mind, and Brain Interaction

Top 15 Research Topics On Evolutionary Anthropology Exploration

• Human Evolutionary Genetics and Adaptations
• Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Behavior
• Evolution of Human Communication
• Cultural Evolution and Transmission
• Evolutionary Medicine and Health
• Primate Evolution and Comparative Anatomy
• Evolution of Tool Use and Technology
• Evolutionary Ecology and Human Adaptations
• Evolutionary Psychology in Anthropological Context
• Evolutionary Aspects of Human Diet
• Co-evolution of Humans and Pathogens
• Evolution of Human Brain and Cognition
• Biocultural Evolution and Society
• Paleolithic Archaeology and Human Evolution
• Evolutionary Anthropology and Human Biodiversity

Top 15 Research Topics On Visual Anthropology Areas of Study

• Ethnographic Filmmaking and Storytelling
• Visual Ethnography and Cultural Representation
• Anthropology of Photography
• Visual Arts and Cultural Identity
• Media and Visual Culture in Anthropological Contexts
• Visual Documentation of Rituals and Traditions
• Film as Cultural Artifact in Anthropology
• Ethnographic Film Festivals and Discourse
• Visual Anthropology and Indigenous Perspectives
• Ethical Considerations in Visual Representation
• Digital Visual Anthropology
• Visual Media and Social Change
• Visual Methodologies in Anthropological Research
• Visual Anthropology and Museum Practices
• Aesthetics and Meaning in Visual Anthropology

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Urban Anthropology Research

• Urban Spaces and Everyday Life
• Urban Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Gentrification and Urban Dynamics
• Urban Poverty and Marginalized Communities
• Urban Development and Planning
• Urban Social Networks and Relationships
• Anthropology of Urban Public Spaces
• Informal Economies in Urban Contexts
• Cultural Diversity in Urban Neighborhoods
• Urban Health and Well-being
• Technology and Urban Anthropology
• Urban Youth Cultures and Identities
• Migration and Urban Settlements
• Urban Governance and Citizenship

Top 15 Research Topics On Environmental Anthropology Issues

• Human-Environment Interactions in Indigenous Societies
• Climate Change and Cultural Adaptations
• Environmental Conservation and Indigenous Knowledge
• Political Ecology and Resource Management
• Ethnobotany and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
• Environmental Justice and Marginalized Communities
• Anthropogenic Impact on Ecosystems
• Sacred Landscapes and Cultural Preservation
• Environmental Displacement and Resettlement
• Sustainable Development and Local Communities
• Ecological Anthropology and Biodiversity Loss
• Water and Sanitation in Cultural Contexts
• Anthropology of Natural Disasters
• Land Use and Cultural Perspectives
• Ethical Considerations in Environmental Research

Top 15 Research Topics On Applied Anthropology Focus Topics

• Applied Anthropology in Healthcare Settings
• Anthropology in Community Development Projects
• Cultural Competence in Social Work
• Anthropological Approaches to Environmental Conservation
• Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief
• Cultural Consultancy in Business and Industry
• Forensic Anthropology and Crime Investigations
• Ethnographic Evaluation in Public Policy
• Anthropology in Education and Curriculum Development
• Participatory Research Methods in Applied Anthropology
• Urban Planning and Community Engagement
• Cultural Heritage Management and Tourism
• Applied Anthropology in Conflict Resolution
• Technology and Innovation in Applied Anthropology
• Anthropology in Global Health Initiatives

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Gender and Sexuality in Anthropology

• Gender Roles and Social Norms
• Gender Identity and Cultural Constructs
• Sexuality and Cultural Expression
• LGBTQ+ Communities and Identity Politics
• Feminist Anthropology and Theory
• Masculinity Studies in Cultural Contexts
• Gender-Based Violence and Cultural Responses
• Intersectionality and Gender in Anthropology
• Gender and Power Dynamics
• Reproductive Health and Cultural Perspectives
• Sexuality Education and Cultural Variations
• Gendered Spaces and Social Hierarchies
• Gender and Economic Empowerment
• Ethnographic Studies on Gender Diversity
• Indigenous Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality

Top 15 Research Topics On Indigenous Peoples and Ethnography

• Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Preservation
• Ethnography of Indigenous Communities
• Indigenous Rights and Land Ownership
• Oral Traditions and Cultural Transmission
• Indigenous Health and Traditional Medicine
• Rituals and Ceremonies in Indigenous Cultures
• Indigenous Languages and Linguistic Diversity
• Indigenous Governance and Political Structures
• Environmental Ethics in Indigenous Societies
• Indigenous Education and Cultural Revitalization
• Indigenous Women’s Roles and Empowerment
• Cultural Heritage and Indigenous Identity
• Indigenous Activism and Social Movements
• Indigenous Art and Cultural Expression
• Resilience and Challenges in Indigenous Communities

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Anthropology of Religion Studies

• Rituals and Symbolism in Religious Practices
• Sacred Spaces and Pilgrimages
• Religion and Power Structures
• Religious Conversion and Adaptation
• Shamanism and Healing Practices
• Mythology and Religious Narratives
• Religious Pluralism and Coexistence
• Ethnography of Religious Communities
• Religion and Social Change
• Gender Roles in Religious Contexts
• Diasporic Religious Practices
• Religious Syncretism and Hybridity
• Religion and Environmental Ethics
• Supernatural Beliefs and Cosmology
• Ritualistic Performance and Symbolic Acts

Top 15 Research Topics On Migration and Diaspora Anthropology

• Identity Formation in Transnational Contexts
• Cultural Adaptation and Integration of Migrants
• Anthropology of Forced Migration
• Transnationalism and Global Diasporas
• Refugee Resettlement and Integration
• Gender Dynamics in Migration
• Remittances and Economic Impacts
• Homeland Connections and Diasporic Identities
• Social Networks and Support Systems in Diasporas
• Xenophobia and Discrimination Against Migrants
• Politics of Borders and Migration Policies
• Diasporic Cultural Practices and Traditions
• Second-Generation Diaspora Identities
• Urbanization and Diaspora Communities
• Diaspora Engagement in Home Countries

Top 15 Anthropology Research Topics On Anthropology of Power and Politics

• Political Rituals and Symbolism
• Power Dynamics in Social Hierarchies
• Political Economy and Social Inequality
• Political Authority and Legitimacy
• Political Activism and Social Movements
• Political Representation and Marginalized Groups
• Ethnography of Governance Systems
• Political Discourse and Media Influence
• Political Violence and Conflict Resolution
• Political Participation and Civic Engagement
• Power Structures in Indigenous Societies
• Politics of Memory and Commemoration
• Anthropology of State Formation
• Political Agency and Identity Politics

Top 15 Research Topics On Technology and Anthropological Studies

• Digital Cultures and Virtual Communities
• Ethnography of Online Spaces
• Technological Adaptations in Traditional Societies
• Surveillance and Privacy in Technological Contexts
• Anthropology of Artificial Intelligence
• Technological Innovations and Social Change
• Ethical Implications of Technology Integration
• Mobile Technology and Global Connectivity
• Cultural Perspectives on Robotics and Automation
• Anthropology of Wearable Technology
• Social Media and Identity Construction
• Technological Impact on Cultural Heritage Preservation
• Access to Technology in Marginalized Communities
• Cybersecurity and Cultural Perceptions
• Anthropology of Emerging Technologies

Top 15 Research Topics On Globalization and Anthropology Research Areas

• Transnationalism and Identity Formation
• Global Flows of Culture and Commodities
• Globalization and Indigenous Peoples
• Migration and Diaspora Studies
• Global Health and Medical Practices
• Globalization’s Impact on Language and Communication
• Cultural Hybridity in Globalized Contexts
• Globalization and Environmental Anthropology
• Global Economic Networks and Labor Mobility
• Cultural Imperialism and Resistance
• Globalization and Urban Anthropology
• Globalization’s Influence on Food Systems
• Technology and Global Cultural Exchange
• Globalization and Social Movements
• Globalization and Ethical Dilemmas

In wrapping up our big list of 300 anthropology research topics, remember, anthropology’s like a treasure chest filled with amazing things to explore. These topics offer a map to understanding people, cultures, and societies. They’re keys that unlock doors to ancient times, different beliefs, and how our world works today. 

Pick a topic that sparks your curiosity, dive in, and discover fascinating insights about humans and our diverse ways of living. Let these topics guide you on an adventure of understanding, questioning, and learning. So, grab your curiosity, pick a topic, and explore the exciting world of anthropology.

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Top 80 Biological Anthropology Research Paper Topics

Anthropology is a study that deals with the behavior of humans and primates. There are many branches of anthropology that are often given due consideration. However, research on biological anthropological topics would cover evolution patterns, the study of fossils, health, reproduction, and physiology of human and nonhuman primates alike. biological anthropology research topics are interesting because they walk you through the evolution story of intelligent beings. Below is a list of interesting biological anthropological topics you would want to explore.

Biology Anthropology Topics on Human Behavior

• The mating pattern of ancient human primates
• Is homosexuality as old as humanity?
• What are the gender differences between males and female primates?
• The similarities between human and nonhuman primates
• How nonhuman primates handle the death of a loved one?
• What were the primary causes of death among premodern primates?
• Why male dominance and strength is important among primates?
• The differences between the ancient and modern societal organization
• Primitive parenthood
• Comparing ancient primates’ genes to modern genes
• Why do humans evolve faster than nonhuman primates?
• War as a significant part of ancient primates

Interesting Biological Anthropological Topics on Human Evolution

• The skin's adaptation to harsh whether
• Did humans become less tough when life became easier?
• The human system and its interaction with eating raw food
• Hunting as a primary ancient occupation
• The differences between primitive and modern technology
• Human adaptive self-defense against predators
• How humans survived natural disasters like tsunamis
• Did the human immune system also adapt to the environment?
• Different ways that man develops means for comfortable living

Some Anthropology Topics on Primates

• The reproductive system of animal primates
• The features and characteristics of primates
• Why are humans classified under primates?
• How human primates evolved over the years?
• The survival techniques of primates
• Is the immune system of primates stronger?
• What did the food primates consist of?
• Why were human primates more reproductive?
• Primate species that have gone extinct
• What are the distinctions between primates and other mammals?
• Do all primates have a social structural organization?
• Evaluating the intelligence of apes
• Comparing the evolution of human and nonhuman primates
• How primates battled infection
• What was the mortality rate of primates?
• The physical similarities between monkeys and apes
• What are the different species of primates that exist?
• How did languages evolve?

Biology Anthropology Topics on Human Development

• The evolution of humans according to Darwin's theory
• Unique features of the iron age
• The differences between the iron age and the age of technology
• The racial distinction between humans
• How fossils determine the age of species?
• The features of the stone age
• The characteristics of human foraging
• The relationship between humans and caves
• The growth cycle of humans
• Why DNA is a significant part of humans?
• The history of racism amongst people
• Did ancient primes suffer from cancer?
• The human cycle of aging
• The evolution of human cosmetology
• The pace of human development beyond other primates
• How genes determine the offspring of humans?
• The science of human adaptation to her environment her environment
• The significant use of pyramids as an ancient tomb

Human Biology Research Topics for You

• The characteristics of the black death
• How man and medicine have evolved over the years?
• What are the differences between herbs and tablets?
• Analyzing the evidence of the transatlantic slave trade
• How infections become adaptive to antibiotics
• Difficult surgical procedures in the past
• How our ancestors handled cases of sickle cell anemia?
• The problem of leprosy
• Comparing Covid19 and previous outbreaks of the coronavirus
• Comparison between ancient and present medical tools
• Biological anthropology research topics on Paleoanthropology
• What are the benefits of studying human past?
• The rich culture of Egyptian mummification
• What are the differences between the earliest fossils and the present human skeletal system?
• What are the types of equipment used in excavation sites?
• The Asian practice of cremation and its significance
• The evidence that dinosaurs walked the earth
• What is the dating technique in Paleoanthropology?
• Are there fossils of species that have gone extinct?
• What are the skeletal structural differences between nonhuman and human primates?
• How are fossils preserved?
• The importance of dating in human history
• The differences between BC and AD in dating history

Conclusive notes

Biological anthropological topics are interesting and exciting to research. To begin, you should pick a topic from the list of topics here and enjoy your research.

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Featured project: Harvard University Skeletal Biology and Biomechanics Lab , Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

Current research projects include: morphometric and developmental studies of craniofacial growth in humans, hominids, and other mammals; experimental studies of the biomechanics of locomotion, especially running; experimental studies of the biomechanics of chewing; experimental studies on the influences of mechanical loading on bone growth and shape.

Example of a record from Anthropological Literature:

The ontogeny of cranial base angulation in humans and chimpanzees and its implications for reconstructing pharyngeal dimensions

Author(s): lieberman, daniel e., additional author(s): mccarthy, robert c., subject(s): human evolution | chimpanzees -- physiology -- comparative studies | skull base | pharynx | speech -- evolution, in: journal of human evolution, v. 36, no. 5, 1999. pp. 487-517, featured journals in biological anthropology.

Image from Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Bd. 4 (1872), Taf. VI, Der Chimpanse Molly des Berliner Aquariums

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Potential topics-- some suggestions

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Genetics Cystic Fibrosis Progeria Albinism Down’s syndrome Edward’s syndrome Cat Eye Syndrome Achrondroplasia Human genome project Sickle cell anemia Tay Sachs Antibiotic resistance: human and pathogen co-evolution CCR5 gene, AIDS, and potential previous disease exposure and selection Founders effect Old Order Amish the Eugenics Movement

Primate and Hominid Paleontology Ida – Darwinius masillae Evolution of Language Human Life Cycle Gigantopithecus Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) Neandertals Extinction of giant lemurs on Madagascar

Primate Adaptations Comparing bones of bipeds and quadrupeds Primate Diet Evolution Evolution of the tapetum lucidum

Other Topics in Human Evolution Exercise impacts on bone Hair—theories on loss in humans High altitude adaptation Tool use -humans/hominids -primates Evolution of the brain Evolution of language

Forensic Anthropology and Pathology Determining Age from Bones Forensic identification of genocide victims Effect of Syphilis on bones Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Scoliosis NAGPRA Spina bifida The Body Farm and the University of Tennessee

Primatology Chimp/Bonobo comparison Lemurs Tarsiers Gibbons Orangutans Gorillas Kanzi Koko Macaque Monkeys Black and White Colobus Monkey Aye-Aye Capuchins Proboscis monkeys Pygmy marmoset Slow loris Poaching, habitat destruction, and primates Bush babies Ape cognition and language abilities Baboons Howler monkeys

Biographical Jane Goodall Thomas Malthus and Populations Charles Darwin Profile Dian Fossey Birute Galdikas Harry Harlow and his experiments on monkey bonding Alfred Russell Wallace

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Related Guides

The Physical Anthropology Research Guide is an attempt to make the most relevant and appropriate resources and strategies readily available to you.  However, looking at other research guides offers the opportunity to discover complementary information and potentially approach your research in new, or unexpected ways.  All of the research guides available through the library are worth exploring, but below are the ones that might be most relevant to your work.

• A Guide to Anthropology Research by Ted Chaffin Last Updated Apr 30, 2024 168 views this year
• A Guide to Biology Resources by Sam Lindgren Last Updated May 6, 2024 426 views this year
• General Science by Michael Schaefer Last Updated Apr 30, 2024 89 views this year
• GIS (Geographic Information Systems) by Zach Szczepaniak Last Updated Apr 30, 2024 1955 views this year
• Finding Images by Jennifer Akins Last Updated May 13, 2024 363 views this year
• Sociocultural Anthropology by Ted Chaffin Last Updated Apr 30, 2024 92 views this year
• Managing your data by Jennifer Moore Last Updated Apr 30, 2024 491 views this year
• Anthropology
• Multidisciplinary
• Anthropology Plus Contains both Anthropological Literature from Harvard University and Anthropological Index, Royal Anthropological Institute, UK. Citations to articles and essays in anthropology and archaeology, from works published in En glish and other European languages, 19th century to present.
• AnthroSource Full text. Brings 100 years of anthropological material online, including current issues for 15 of the American Anthropological Association's most critical peer-reviewed publications; an electronic archive of all AAA journals; holdings information; seamless access to archival content housed at JSTOR for key AAA publications. Searchable.
• PrimateLit (online - 1997 - present) The PrimateLit database provides bibliographic access to the scientific literature on nonhuman primates for the research and educational communities. more... less... Coverage of the database spans 1940 to present and includes all publication categories (articles, books, abstracts, technical reports, dissertations, book chapters, etc.) and many subject areas (behavior, colony management, ecology, reproduction, field studies, disease models, veterinary science, psychology, physiology, pharmacology, evolution, taxonomy, developmental and molecular biology, genetics and zoogeography).
• Open Access Anthropology Journals Here is a selection of Open Access journals in anthropology and related fields. Journals with restricted access will not be listed
• Web of Science Journal index. Includes Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Updated weekly.
• PubMed PubMed comprises more than 21 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
• Scopus 'SciVerse Scopus is the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature.'
• Google Scholar Useful for looking for related articles and articles that have cited the found article.
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Searches free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. Currently covers over 3500 journals, with over 1200 searchable at the article level. All subjects.

Selected Journals

Below are some journals relevant to Physical Anthropology; we have online access to more recent issues, and in most cases, older issues in print. To find out if Washington University Libraries hold a journal you're interested in, please go to the library homepage and search by Journal Title.

Never, ever, ever, pay for an article. Even if we don't hold a journal locally, you can request articles via ILL! And fast!!!

• American Journal of Physical Anthropology
• American Journal of Primatology (Online 1996 - )
• American Journal of Primatology (print - 1988-1993)
• Folia primatologica (Online)
• Folia Primatologica (print - 1967-2008)
• Hormones and Behaviors
• International Journal of Primatology (1997 - 1 year ago)
• International Journal of Primatology (print 1980-1988)
• Primates (online - 1997 - present)
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Anthropology Research Topics And Writing Ideas For Students

Writing an anthropology research paper is in a lot of ways similar to writing an argumentative essay in other disciplines. Usually, the significant difference between these essays is how you support your idea. While you may use only literature to prove your point in an argumentative essay, you may need to employ textual proofs from artifacts, ethnographies, etc., in an anthropology essay.

Research in anthropology could be thrilling, particularly if you have many anthropology project ideas. Anthropology studies the evolution of human culture and therefore provides a wide range of anthropology essay topics that spill into history, biology, sociology, etc. Many anthropological research projects borrow from other social sciences. It is easy to feel that overwhelming grip on your chest if you’re unable to choose an anthropology research topic.

How to Write an Anthropology Research Paper

Guide how to write an anthropology research paper, the excellent list of 110 anthropology research paper topics, physical anthropology research paper topics, medical anthropology research paper topics, cultural anthropology research paper ideas, best cultural anthropology essay topics, biological anthropology research paper topics.

• Forensic Anthropology Research Paper Topics

Are you worried because you don’t know how to write an anthropology paper? Writing an anthropology paper could be so much fun if you can nail the basics. It is not as bad as people paint it to be, especially if you get writing help from our professional writers . With the right anthropology paper format, anthropology research topics, and anthropology research paper examples, you’re set to go!

If you’re a big fan of doing lots of things in a short time and with fewer efforts, then you’re in the right place. This guide is full of the tips and skills you need to arrange your ideas properly. It also contains anthropology paper examples, anthropology paper topics, and other life-saving tips you may need. Ready to know how to start an anthropology research paper? Let’s delve right in!

How do you get started on an anthropology research paper? Below is the most comprehensive list on the internet to get you home and dry in record time!

• Review the Assignment Guidelines
• Develop a Topic
• Outline your Paper
• Do some Library Research
• Write a Rough Draft
• Write the Paper
• Edit the Paper

We shall shortly expound on this list to help you better understand them.

• Review the Assignment Guidelines: your professor may give you some guidelines to follow. To avoid deviating from the instructor’s expectations, spend some time reviewing your assignment guidelines so that you know the exact things you need to accomplish. For example, confirm if there are any stated anthropology research methods and the likes. It is beneficial to have a writing schedule. If you have a lot of time in your hands before the submission time, spreading out the workload will help to ease some of the stress. If you’re naturally a binge writer, sit at your computer early and bleed!
• Develop a Topic:  search for some anthropology research paper ideas and choose from the vast array of anthropology research topics available. Select a topic that revolves around a guiding question. This topic should connect on a deeper level to the theme of the course. The length requirement for the paper will help you know if your topic is too big, too small, or just good enough. For a short paper, you may want to focus on a particular culture or event in the context of a broader topic. Ensure that your thesis focuses on anthropology and that it draws from anthropological theories or ideas. Now, do a quick search to confirm if there are scholarly materials available for this topic. It is easier to write a paper with some available references.
• Introduction/Abstract
• Library Research: now, start the research on your topic, preferably from course materials. A bibliography at the end of a relevant course reading is also a great way to get other related materials. Depending on the requirement of the assignment, feel free to search for other books or articles.
• Write a Rough Draft: during your research, endeavor to make proper jottings and references, which will form the rough draft of your essay. A rough draft will help you create dots that you will be able to connect later on.
• Title: Usually on a separate page and contains the abstract.
• Introduction/Abstract : A short paragraph showing the road map of your thesis.
• Body: Leverages your thesis and presenting your research in a detailed and logical structure.
• Conclusion: The conclusion is a short paragraph that summarizes your fundamental theme and substantiates your thesis.
• References: A citation of the resources you used in your paper. Follow the referencing style which your instructor chooses.
• Edit the Paper:  you may engage any of your friends to help you go through your essay. Make some final checks such as the length requirement, the format and citation style, spelling and grammatical errors, logical flow of ideas and clarity, substantial support of the claim, etc. Once you edit your paper, turn it in and accept an A+!

Without further ado, here are 110 anthropology research paper topics for free! With 18 topics each from the six main subcategories of anthropology, you can’t get it wrong!

• Eugenics — its merits and demerits in the 21st-century world.
• Human Origin: Comparing the creationist versus evolutionist views on the origin of man.
• Ancient Egypt: The preservation of their dead and underlying beliefs.
• Homo habilis: Investigating Contemporary facts supporting their past existence.
• Drowning: Clarifying the cause of drowning by examining the physical and anatomical evidence.
• Smoking and its effects on the physical appearance of humans over decades of indulgence.
• Physical labor: Exploring its long-term impact on the physical appearance of humans.
• The relationship of Kyphosis with human senescence.
• Aging in Western Culture.
• Skin color: Exploring the influence of the environment on human skin color across continents.
• Species and language: Focus on ways species evolve across the world and ways language acquisition affects and influences culture.
• Abiogenesis: Research about abiogenesis and how it affects human development
• Animal stability: How captive animals are different from those that live in the wild.
• Henry Walter: The ways Henry Walter contributed to the field of physical anthropology.
• Cephalization: The process of cephalization and what it entails.
• Genotype: The environment correlation study.
• Genetics: What does genetic hijacking mean?
• Altruism: Do people learn altruism or it is an acquired state.
• Applying the Concepts of Ethnozoology in medicine.
• Critically Assessing the fundamental posits of critical medical anthropology (CMA).
• The 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in Africa: Evaluating the success of control interventions.
• Exploring the applications of Ethnobotany in medicine.
• Nuclear disaster: A research into the life of survivors of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.
• HIV/AIDS: The reasons for prevalent societal infamy and the way forward.
• HIV/AIDS epidemic in Europe: Exploring the roles of commercial sex workers in the spread of the disease.
• Alternative medicine in China: A comparative review of its weaknesses and possible strengths in the light of Orthodox medicine.
• HIV/AIDS in Africa: A critical assessment of extensively troubled nations and populations.
• Depression in South-East Asia: Sheer social noise or severe threat?
• Adult’s onset diabetes: Research on how diabetes is a major health issue in aboriginal populations in The U.S and Canada.
• ARV rollout: The role of the ARV rollout and campaigns in Africa.
• Sexual diversity in Africa: Research on whether sexual diversity in Africa is being taken into account to help fight against AIDS.
• Chemicals and radiation waste: How the radiation waste and chemicals in the air are affecting people.
• Mercury poisoning: The effects of Mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan, and the measures to help put the situation under control.
• Health: The health ramifications of adapting to ecology and maladaptation.
• Health: Domestic healthcare and health culture practices
• Clinic: Clinical interactions in social organizations.
• Growth: Difference between growth and development.
• Engineering: Genetic engineering and what it entails.
• Marriage: Marriage rituals in different cultures.
• Magic: Belief in magic and the supernatural.
• Mythologies: The effects it has on modern culture.
• Anthropology: How to use anthropology as forensic science.
• Heroes: Studies of heroes in different societies.
• Education: How education differs around the world.

Cultural anthropology discusses human societies and their cultural origin, vacation, history, and development. Here is a look at cultural Anthropology topics:

• Women in Africa: The various challenging roles that women in Modern Africa play and how they handle it.
• Homelessness: How homelessness affects and influences the culture and social landscapes.
• India: Methods and measures that India is taking to deal with the issue of homelessness and measures they have put in place to deal with social landscapers.
• Political science: Highlight and discuss the link between cultural anthropology and political science.
• Superstition: Research ways that superstition affects the way of life.
• Sexual discrimination: The evolution of sexual discrimination and its effects in modern times.
• African cultures: Investigating how different religions and beliefs impact African culture.
• Northern Nigeria: How the basic religious beliefs that influence forced nuptials among the children in North Nigeria.
• Gay marriage: The background on gay marriage and how it influences the cultural and social backgrounds.
• Racism: Explain racism and its existence in modern times.
• Religious practices: Ways how religious practices and beliefs affect culture.
• Culture shock: What it is and ways that people can work through it.
• Ethnocentrism: Ways that you can use to minimize it.
• Ancestors: A view of ancestors in African culture.
• Religion: Religious practices in a particular society.
• Culture: About the Rabari culture in India
• Definition of culture
• How culture anthropology links to political science
• Alcoholism: Looking into the socio-economic and cultural history in Eastern Europe.
• Assessing the effects of radioactivity on populations affected by the nuclear disaster of 2011 in Fukushima Daiichi.
• Gay marriage: Exploring the biological aspects of same-sex weddings in North America.
• Minamata disease: A critical look into the origin, populations affected, and transgenerational impact of this disease on Japan.
• Asthma disease in Yokkaichi: A critical look into the cause, people affected, and transgenerational effect on Japan.
• Itai-Itai disease: A critical look into the cause, populations affected, and transgenerational effect on Japan.
• Nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: An investigation of the transgenerational effects on the health of affected victims to this present time.
• Cocaine use in America: A critical look into the health impact on American cocaine users.
• Making Marijuana use legal in America: Possible woes and beneficial outcomes.
• Cystic fibrosis: Justifications for its preponderance in white populations in America.
• Biological Anthropology: Research on the meaning and definition of biological Anthropology and how it influences different fields.
• Paleoanthropology: Explore ways Paleoanthropology uses fossil records to draw biological anthropology compassion and conclusions regarding human evolution.
• Human social structures: Explain the development of human social structures using biological anthropology.
• Biological anthropologies: Research on some primary geographical locations where biological anthropologies used to research their work.
• Human language: Research how biological anthropology helped in the development of human language and communication.
• Body projects: The changes and the valued attributes.
• Political ecology: The Vector-borne and infectious disease.
• Clinical Interactions: What are clinical interaction and social organization?

Forensic Anthropology Research Paper Ideas

• Radioactive Carbon dating: A critical assessment of the accuracy of this dating technique.
• Human Origin: Pieces of evidential support for Creationist and Evolutionist views on the origin of man.
• Assessing the accuracy of DNA evidence testing and matching on criminology.
• Neanderthals: Exploring environmental influences and migratory paths on their survival and appearance.
• Dating Techniques: A critical review of current archaeological dating techniques.
• Ancient Egypt Mummification: A critical look at the effectiveness of the methods used.
• Nuclear disaster: A research into the impact of radioactivity on life forms due to the atomic catastrophe Chernobyl in 1986.
• A critical look into recent evidence supporting the existence of Homo habilis in the past.
• Crime Scene Forensics: Recent advances in the detection of crime.
• Postmortem Changes: Investigating the primary agents responsible for biological changes in humans.
• Criminal procedure: Research a case with a confession scenario and highlight unique features of the case.
• Criminal procedure: Do your research on the criminal proceedings in a given area and what makes them effective.
• Computer forensic: Ways that the computer forensic help in preserving electronic evidence.
• Digital forensic: Research about the history and features of digital forensic.
• History: Ways that Israel presents itself as a leader in computer forensics.
• Oncology: The latest archaeological dating methods.
• DNA: How accurate is DNA evidence in the matching and testing criminology?
• Crime detention: The recent improvements of crime detection.

So here we are! Fifty juicy topics that are all eager to wear some flesh! Ready to have an A+? Let’s do it!

Are you stuck with writing your thesis? Just enter promo “ mythesis ” – that’s all you need to get a 20% discount for any anthropology writing assignment you might have!

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The drop-down boxes below give detailed information on the content of BioAnth papers. BioAnth papers are offered to students from different Triposes, who can sit them as part of both Part I and Part II depending on each Tripos.

Part I ( Archaeology , HSPS , and   PBS  students):

• B1  Humans in Biological Perspective

Part II ( Archaeology ,  HSPS ,  MedST/VetST ,  NST , and  PBS  students):

• B2    Human Ecology and Behaviour
• B3    Human Evolution
• B4    Comparative Human Biology
• B5    From Data to Interpretation
• B11 Quantitative modelling in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology
• B12 Human Palaeobiology
• B13  Evolutionary Medicine
• B14  The Co-Evolution of Humans and Stone Age Culture
• B17  Our Extended Family: Primate Biology and Behaviour 
• B18  Decoding the Skeleton

B1 – Humans in Biological Perspective

The paper covers major topics in Biological Anthropology, including non-human primate biology, evolution and behaviour, human origins, comparative perspectives on human health, growth and nutrition, and human genetic diversity. The paper introduces students to behavioural and gene-environment interactions, and the ecology and adaptations of modern populations in the context of their growth, health and cultural diversity. Specific topics covered include the diversity of primates, major patterns and processes in the evolution of humans, the burden of malnutrition and interrelationships with poverty, the role of nature and nurture in shaping the human mind, and insights into the genetic diversity within and between human groups.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Emma Pommeroy Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures Lent Term: 16 lectures Easter Term: 4 lectures

Assessment: three-hour exam

B2 – Human Ecology and Behaviour

This paper examines human behaviour from a comparative perspective, emphasising both the primate evolutionary context and the vast diversity within our species. The paper begins with a focus on non-human primates and introduces students to the core principles of primatology. Particular attention is paid to the interrelationships between foraging strategies, social systems and life-history. We then situate humans within the broader primate context by exploring how the shift to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle drove the evolution of our derived life-history and social behaviour. Finally, we consider evolutionary explanations for the astounding behavioural diversity across the entire spectrum of human societies, from industrialised market economies to small-scale farmers, pastoralists and foragers. Variation in mate choice, marriage systems, familial relationships and fertility rates among human populations is examined.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Sylvain Lemoine Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures Lent Term: 8 lectures & 3 seminars

B3 – Human Evolution

This paper is organised into two parts - an overview of human evolution in Michaelmas Term (16 lectures), and a set of 8 lectures focused on the evolution of modern humans and their interaction with other contemporary hominin species. In Michaelmas, the paper introduces students to human evolution, with an emphasis on the fossil record and the evolutionary principles that shaped the evolution of our lineage. The course will explore the apes of the Miocene, and discuss the controversies surrounding hominin origins; it will review the record for Pliocene hominins, focusing on evolutionary trends among the australopithecines, the appearance of morphological and technological innovations, and the role of African geography in shaping early hominin diversity; it will introduce the debate on the origins of the genus Homo , and explore the evolutionary geography of inter-continental hominin dispersals in the Pleistocene; finally, it will critically assess the fossil record for the evolution of multiple regional species in the later Quaternary, including our own, and explore the adaptive processes that led to this diversity. In Lent, the paper will focus on later hominins, the evidence for their behaviour and morphological adaptive trends, and the genetic evidence for inter-specific interactions.

Paper Coordinator: Prof Marta Lahr Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures Lent Term: 8 Lectures & 3 seminars

B4 – Comparative Human Biology

This paper examines the biology of our species in the context of non-human primate and wider mammalian variation. The paper covers diverse aspects of human biology, including anatomy, physiology, behaviour, cognition, growth patterns and life-history characteristics.

It considers the ways in which our biology differs from that of our closest living relatives, the non-human primates, as well as mammals and vertebrates more broadly. It also explores biological variation within and between human populations, drawing on evidence from both past and contemporary human groups by combining perspectives from the fields of Palaeoanthropology, Evolutionary Genetics, Osteoarchaeology and Human Biology. The paper considers not only how we vary, but why, discussing both the underlying evolutionary mechanisms (such as natural selection, neutral variation and epigenetics), as well as the developmental basis of the variation we observe.

Paper Coordinator: TBC Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures Lent Term: 8 Lectures & 3 seminars

B5 – From Data to Interpretation

This paper introduces students to quantitative data analysis and scientific computing.

This paper provides foundational skills for critical thinking, data handling, and quantitative analysis for archaeological and anthropological research. It covers theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of modern scientific research, enabling the identification of appropriate statistical analyses and relevant data required to address specific research questions. Lectures cover theoretical aspects pertaining to the logic of scientific arguments and the core principles of statistical inference, as well as key concepts of data handling, visualisation, and analysis. Practical sessions and supervisions provide hands-on experience for carrying out many of the analysis presented in the lecture primarily through the use of R statistical computing language.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Enrico Crema Michaelmas Term: 9 lectures & 7 ‘hands-on’ sessions Lent Term: 10 lectures & 6 ‘hands-on’ sessions

Assessment: Coursework

B11 – Quantitative modelling in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

This paper introduces students to applied statistical modelling in Archaeology and Biological anthropology through a “hands-on” approach via practical sessions using R statistical computing language. Topics covered include linear regression, generalised linear models, multilevel models, geometric morphometrics and causal inference. Each concept will be introduced by examining archaeological and anthropological case studies. Optional, targeted sessions on specific topics concerning data handling and visualisation will be available on moodle. The course does not have any specific pre-requisites, but students with no familiarity with basic statistical notions are advised to take a short online self-assessment quiz and contact the coordinator.

Paper Coordinator:  Dr Enrico Crema Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures & practicals

B12 – Human Palaeobiology

This paper focuses on major aspects of hominin and human palaeobiology, exploring the main innovations in our evolutionary history in the last 7 million years through in-depth discussions and debates. We will consider key themes such as the evolution of bipedalism, carnivory and technology, body size and life history, and encephalisation and language. Discussions will be based on introductory and advanced readings, so that all students (with or without previous background on human evolution) may participate.

Paper Coordinator: TBC Lent Term: 16 lectures & seminars

Assessement: two-hour exam

B13 – Evolutionary Medicine

Evolutionary medicine is an emerging field that promises to provide valuable insights into human health and disease. In this paper (B13), we will critically examine the central ideas of evolutionary medicine and the concept of evolutionary “mismatch”, before considering evolutionary perspectives on specific topics including human diet, exercise, and non-communicable disease, human-microbe interactions, reproductive health, and mental health. We will also explore the potential contribution that evolutionary approaches to human behaviour can make in helping to understand behaviour in a pandemic and the spread of beliefs that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Particular attention will be paid to the use of data from contemporary hunter-gatherer populations in the evolutionary medicine literature.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Mark Dyble Lent Term: 16 lectures & seminars.

Assessment: two-hour exam

B14 – The Co-Evolution of Humans and Stone Age Culture

Humans are unique among primates in their dependence on technology. This paper explores how and why hominins (incl. modern humans) became entirely dependent upon technology, and how the development of stone and organic tools over the last three million years can be used to unravel this story. After establishing a foundation in gene-culture co-evolutionary theory, we will explore how hominin anatomy and technology evolved together to produce our diverse fossil and artefact record. This includes focused discussion on hominin cognition, language, post-cranial anatomy, and subsistence behaviours, and how each was facilitated and influenced by material culture. Equally, we will discuss how the evolutionary trajectory of stone and organic technology was impacted by anatomical and cognitive developments in the human lineage. Further, we will investigate several major technological innovations and the role they played in the colonisation of highly diverse ecological settings across Africa, Eurasia and the Americas. This includes the use of fire, clothing, and projectile technologies, among others.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Alastair Key Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures & seminars.

B17 – Our Extended Family: Primate biology and behaviour

This paper explores the fascinating world of our closest relatives in the animal world - the diversity, evolution, ecology, and behaviour of non-human primates. Primates exhibit both unique features among mammals, such as their sociality, life history and potential for culture, but they also share with them patterns of adaptive radiations, extinction, dispersals and competition. Advanced primatology offers an opportunity to study current research topics that bring together the general approaches of evolutionary biology and the unique perspectives of primatologists.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Sylvain Lemoine Lent Term: 16 lectures & seminars

B18 – Decoding the Skeleton

This paper explores how we can investigate human biology, adaptation, evolution and variation from skeletons and fossils. Skeletons and fossils are frequently the only direct physical remains we have of past populations, and offer a crucial window on the biology and lives of our predecessors. We will consider the varied aspects of life in the past that we can infer from bones, including age at death, sex, body size, growth, activity, health, and taxonomy. We will explore the different methods employed in skeletal analyses, and the basis for the techniques we use: how variation in living reference populations for which we know patterns of aging, sexual dimorphism, growth, etc. enable to infer these characteristics from the skeletal remains. The paper also considers the challenges of applying these techniques based on modern populations to the fossil and archaeological records. In addition to traditional methods for estimating characters such as life span and health, we will also explore how more recent developments in fields such as palaeogenomics, palaeoproteomics, analyses of 3D morphology and work on dental calculus offer new ways in which to understand ancient lifeways and relationships among different individuals, populations and species.

Paper Coordinator: Dr Emma Pommeroy Michaelmas Term: 16 lectures & practicals

Dissertations in Biological Anthropology as part of the Archaeology Tripos  

Dissertations towards the completion of Part IIB in the Archaeology Tripos (Biological Anthropology Track or Biological Anthropology/Archaeology Joint Track) or as a Part II option/minor in the PBS or NST Triposes follow these regulations:

• A topic within the field of Biological Anthropology, approved by the Head of Department by the end of Michaelmas Term
• Not more than 10,000 words, including footnotes, figures, tables, and captions but not including appendices and bibliography.
• It may or not include original data collection and analysis (i.e., either in the form of a piece of original research, or in the form of an extended essay)

Dissertations in Biological Anthropology as part of BBS, Natural Sciences Tripos

Dissertations submitted towards the completion of Part II in the NST Biological and Biomedical Sciences ‘Major in Human Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour’ follow these regulations:

• A topic within the field of Biological Anthropology, approved by the division of Michaelmas Term
• Not more than 6,000 words, excluding tables, figures, and references.
• Not including original data collection and analysis (i.e., in the form of an extended essay)

Further guidance is available on the BBS Dissertation webpage .

Paper Coordinator:  BioAnth Part II Coordinator

Postal Address: Department of Archaeology Downing Street CB2 3DZ Cambridge

Information provided by: 

[email protected]

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Evolution Research Paper Topics

Writing an anthropology research paper? This list of evolution research paper topics provides some ideas for narrowing down your topic to a successful and manageable one. This page also outlines the various models of evolution that have been proposed, including the Darwinian theory and the most popular alternatives. It then outlines the early development of ideas about how life could have developed, including the Lamarckian theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. The development and publication of Darwin’s theory is described, along with the controversies following its publication. Efforts to promote alternative theories in the late nineteenth century are described and the implications of the various theories for ideas about human origins and social evolution noted. The article concludes with the emergence of modern Darwinism and later debates such as those arising from sociobiology and evolutionary developmental biology. Browse other anthropology research paper topics for more inspiration.

Ape biogeography Aquatic ape hypothesis Arboreal hypothesis Arc of evolution Australopithecines Biological adaptation Biological anthropology Biological anthropology and neo-Darwinism Catastrophism Charles Darwin Cladistics Creationism versus geology Darwin and Germany Darwin and India Darwin and Italy Darwinism versus Lamarckism Dinosaurian hominid Disbelief in evolution Dropithecus Dynamic integrity Evolution education controversy Evolution of primate brain Evolutionary anthropology Evolutionary epistemology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary ontology Evolutionary psychology Extinction Fossil record Fossils Galapagos Islands Gigantopithecus Hominid taxonomy Hominoids Homo antecessor Homo erectus Homo ergaster Homo habilis Homo sapiens Human canopy evolution Human evolution Human genetics Humans and dinosaurs India and evolution Issues in hominization Kenyanthropus platyops Kenyapithecus wickeri Lucy reconstruction models Mass extinctions Meganthropus Models of evolution Modern Darwinism Molecular evolution Monkey Trial [1925] Monogenesis versus polygenesis Morphology versus molecules in evolution Narmada man Natural selection Neandertal evidence Neandertals Neo-Darwinism Non-Darwinian evolutionary mechanisms Orangutan-human evolution Oreopithecus Organic evolution Origin of life Origin of Neo-Darwinism Primate extinction Primate genetics Primate morphology and evolution Russia and evolution Sahelanthropus tchadensis Sexual selection Social Darwinism State Darwin Museum, Moscow, Russia Theories Uniformitarianism Zinjanthropus boisei

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Models of Evolution

The term ‘evolution’ is derived from the Latin evolutio, denoting the unrolling of a scroll. In the eighteenth century it was applied to the growth of the embryo, then often described as the mere expansion of a preformed miniature. This application was retained up to the nineteenth century, by which time it was clear that the development of the embryo consisted of the progressive appearance of more complex structures. The philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer generalized the term by applying it to any process of natural progressive development, thereby creating the still common but inaccurate belief that all evolution must be progressive. In particular, Spencer applied the term to the development of societies and of life on earth.

Charles Darwin did not often use the term when describing his theory of the origin of species, but by the end of the nineteenth century, this had become the most common version of ‘evolution.’ However, Darwin’s theory did not imply an inevitable progression toward complexity, and much controversy has surrounded the association between evolution and progress. Darwin’s theory of natural selection now dominates biology and is being extended to many other domains; it is but one of a number of mechanisms that have been suggested to explain evolution, each of which has its own associated implications.

The Ladder of Progress

Perhaps the most popular model of evolution, and one that reveals the link with embryology, is of a linear hierarchy of stages of development from inception to maturity. Such a model simply assumes that all change is progressive and that there is only one direction of development. When applied to societies or species, the model can be adapted by supposing that many lines of development each ascend the same hierarchy but at different rates, so that the slow developers illustrate the ancestral stages already passed through by those at the top of the scale.

Evolutionary Trees

Although the ladder model is still popularly applied to the evolution of life on earth, and was once accepted in the social sciences, biologists and sociologists now realize that there is no single goal toward which evolution is developing – neither the human race nor Western civilization can be treated as the most mature phase of development. Evolution is better represented as a tree or a bush with many branches, each of which is constantly subdividing. The end product of one branch cannot be seen as the goal toward which all the others are ascending, and it is impossible for the end product of one branch to illustrate exactly the ancestral form of another branch. The living apes are not immature humans, because even if the common ancestor from which humans and apes have evolved would be classified as an ape, it would no longer be identical to any of the living ape species. If there is progress on the branching tree-model, it has to be defined in more sophisticated terms so that there are many different ways to become more complex.

Darwin argued that branching evolution explains how we are able to classify species into groups within groups (species, genera, families, etc.). Two species descended from a common ancestor will still share many characters derived from that ancestor, and will share some characters with even more distant relatives. Darwin and his modern followers assume that each new character is developed only once, so all species exhibiting the character are descended from a common ancestor that also had the character. This assumption will be invalidated if there are cases where two lines of evolution evolve the same character independently (convergence or homoplasy). It will also be invalidated if there are even small-scale examples of ladder-like evolution, where several branches are constrained to evolve along the same pattern of development (parallelism).

The branching model had already been applied to the evolution of languages before Darwin and his followers used it to transform biology. Darwin’s key insight was that there was no natural mechanism that could force evolution along a single predetermined path. Evolution is driven not by progress but by the necessity for each species to adapt to its environment in an ever-changing world. Branching occurs because a single population can sometimes become divided by a geographical barrier, after which each isolated population will develop independently in response to the different adaptive pressures it encounters. Progress to a more complex structure is at best a by-product of adaptation and is never inevitable in any one branch; indeed, many species are the products of degenerative evolution. In the animal kingdom, two branches of evolution can seldom if ever rejoin via hybridization (although this does happen in plants). Here, there is a clear contrast with social and linguistic evolution, where mergings and borrowings are frequent.

Darwinism and Lamarckism

Two mechanisms of adaptive evolution have been suggested: natural selection (Darwinism) and the inheritance of acquired characters (Lamarckism). Darwin assumed that the species consists of a population of organisms that exhibit some degree of individual variation and that these variations are inherited – we now explain them as genetic differences produced by mutations. He argued that if the population is exposed to a new environment, some variants will by chance be able to cope better with the new conditions; they will survive and reproduce, transmitting their favorable characters to the next generation. Any that are less fitted to the environment will be unlikely to breed and may even die, so their characters are eliminated from the population. Over many generations, this process of natural selection (Spencer called it the ‘survival of the fittest’) will change the species to adapt it to the environment.

Some time before Darwin, J.B. Lamarck proposed that the inheritance of characters acquired during an organism’s lifetime could accumulate to give adaptive transmutation. An acquired character is produced by the organism’s behavior, which in the wild is usually a response to the environment. Thus, the ancestral giraffes, striving to reach the leaves of trees as an alternative source of food, were able to lengthen their necks, just as a weightlifter can acquire better developed muscles. If such characters are inherited, the next generation of giraffes would be born with longer necks and would then stretch them further. This mechanism was once popular in biology, and corresponds quite closely to how humans transmit new ideas to their descendants. However, where teaching and learning provide a natural mechanism for ideas to be transmitted, modern genetics has shown that there is no way in which acquired biological characters can be inherited. Lamarckism has been banished from biology: The giraffe got its long neck because those who by chance inherited the genes producing that trait reproduced faster than those who carried the genes for shorter necks. The genetic differences are the product of mutations that are random as far as the requirements of the species are concerned.

Nonadaptive Evolution

There are also several mechanisms of biological evolution that suppose that not all developments are adaptive. In the nineteenth century, many naturalists believed that evolution was the unfolding of a predetermined pattern, perhaps analogous to or controlled by the forces of embryological development. Such ideas gave rise to the theory of recapitulation, which supposes that the evolutionary history of the species is traced out by the development of the embryo (or ‘ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny’). This in turn suggests a model of evolution more in tune with the notion of a hierarchical ladder of development. The possibility that saltations (evolutionary jumps or macromutations) might have found new populations was once taken seriously even by geneticists. The theory of orthogenesis supposed that the species was somehow programmed to vary continuously in a particular direction, forcing groups of species to evolve in parallel. Such ideas are now largely discounted in biology, although the possibility that there might be constraints on the range of possible variation has recently been taken more seriously by the advocates of evolutionary developmental biology or ‘evo-devo.’ In the social sciences, the question of whether all cultural and social differences serve a practical purpose has been much debated, and this debate continues.

Pre-Darwinian Evolutionism

Darwin’s was not the first theory of evolution, although the publication of his Origin of Species in 1859 triggered the conversion of most scientists to evolutionism. Several earlier versions of the idea were proposed, and although rejected by conservative thinkers and most scientists, they did much to prepare the way for the reception of Darwinism (Bowler, 1989c).

Creation and Design

The early Church Fathers did not take the Genesis story of creation in the Bible literally, and it was the Protestant theologians of the seventeenth century who established the worldview that survives in modern ‘young earth’ creationism. Archbishop James Ussher published his much ridiculed calculation that the earth was created in 4004 BC. In such a climate of opinion, a form of natural theology flourished in which it could be argued that God had designed and created all the modern species just as we see them today, each with the structures and instincts appropriate for its intended habitat. John Ray and many other naturalists stressed the adaptation of species to their environment, and argued that similarities could be used to classify species because they expressed the rational order of God’s plan of creation – a view adopted by Carolus Linnaeus, who founded the modern system of biological classification (Greene, 1959). Others exploited the ancient concept of the ‘chain of being,’ in which the plan of creation was a linear hierarchy, with the human species at the top of the animal series. This was promoted without any sense of progression through time, although the influence of the chain was retained in some of the early theories of progressive evolution.

Evolution in the Enlightenment

The more radical thinkers of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment recognized that the Earth was much older than Ussher’s estimate and that the planet had changed considerably in the course of its history. Some explored the possibility that life had been produced by spontaneous generation from nonliving matter, and began to doubt that species remained unchanged through time. The French naturalist Georges Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, was especially influential in this respect, as were the materialist philosophers Denis Diderot and Baron d’Holbach (Roger, 1998).

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) published a theory of transmutation in his Zoonomia, arguing that all living things were derived from a simple origin and had become more complex through their striving to adapt to the environment. These views were echoed in a more sophisticated form in J.B. Lamarck’s Zoological Philosophy of 1809. Lamarck accepted that there was a basic progressive force driving living things to ascend the chain of being over many generations, but he accepted that no linear pattern is visible in the present animal and plant kingdoms, explaining the divergence as a consequence of life’s constant need to adapt to an ever-changing environment. He invoked the inheritance of acquired characters (described above) to explain this process, and his name has been associated with that mechanism ever since (Corsi, 1988).

The Fossil Record

Historians used to think that Lamarck was marginalized by his great rival, Georges Cuvier, who pioneered the study of fossil bones to reconstruct the history of life. Cuvier showed that there was a succession of populations in the course of the earth’s history but insisted that species disappear abruptly from the record through the action of geological catastrophes. He rejected transmutation but did not openly endorse the idea of divine creation – although the theory of a succession of creations was popularized by Cuvier’s British followers, including William Buckland. Although they had extended the Earth’s history, Cuvier and Buckland were convinced that the human race was a recent creation. Their work thus endorsed a view of human history in which there was no time for social evolution, many scholars still believing that language and the arts of civilization were taught to the earliest humans by their Creator.

Later historical work has shown that although the theory of successive creations was endorsed by the scientific establishment, more radical thinkers in both France and Britain were attracted to Lamarck’s theory (Desmond, 1989). Darwin, who developed his theory in the 1830s, concealed it for fear of being associated with this radical movement. Historians also now recognize that there was an alternative non-Darwinian theory of evolution emerging in Germany among the followers of J.F. Blumenbach. This stressed the model of preordained development and invoked the parallel with embryological development. The situation in Britain changed significantly following the anonymous publication of Robert Chambers’ Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation in 1844 (Secord, 2000). Chambers argued that an ideology of progress was just what the middle class needed to support its demands for reform, and provided a scientific foundation for this ideology based on the idea of progressive evolution. Although he presented evolution as the unfolding of a divine plan, his book’s open recognition that humans are transformed animals, and that the mind is a product of the expansion of the brain, caused an outcry from conservative thinkers. Over the following decade, however, Vestiges popularized the idea of progressive evolution, creating a space in which Darwin’s more scientific theory could have an impact.

The Development of Darwin’s Theory

Charles Darwin was converted to evolutionism by his discoveries on the voyage of HMS Beagle (1831–36) and returned to England determined to understand how the process worked. He soon discovered the mechanism of natural selection and continued to work on the various aspects of his theory in relative secrecy. Much controversy has surrounded Darwin’s discovery, because in addition to the many scientific factors influencing his thinking, he acknowledged the impact of Thomas Malthus’ principle of population, a product of the ideology of laissez-faire economics.

Scientific Influences

While studying at Cambridge, Darwin was attracted to William Paley’s Natural Theology of 1802, which restated the argument that species are adapted to their environment through the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator. On the voyage of the Beagle, his observations of South American geology converted him to Charles Lyell’s uniformitarian position, which accounted for all geological change in terms of the action of observable forces over vast periods of time. Biogeographical studies, especially those of the birds of the Galapagos Islands, forced him to rethink the idea of Divine Creation, because he saw that individual islands had each acquired a distinct species of immigrant families, such as the finches. On his return to England, he soon accepted a complete evolutionary philosophy and began to search for a mechanism (Browne, 1995).

Darwin saw that evolution must be a branching process and that the ultimate cause was the adaptation of isolated populations to different environments. He studied animal breeding and realized that breeders produce new varieties by selecting out individual animals with the required character and breeding only from these. Artificial selection draws on the natural and largely random variability of the population and allows only individuals with a selected character to breed, thereby enhancing that character in future generations. Darwin was soon looking for a natural equivalent of this process.

Malthus and Population

A vital step in Darwin’s thinking came when he read Malthus’ Essay on Population, which argued that populations breed so rapidly that they outstrip their food supply. Drawing on hints in Malthus, Darwin realized that population pressure must generate a struggle for existence in which many individuals die He was now able to argue that any better adapted variant would be more successful in the struggle and would be more likely to survive and reproduce, while poorly adapted variants would die, thus establishing the theory of natural selection described in Section Darwinism and Lamarckism. This gave Darwin the basis on which to erect a comprehensive account of evolution. The role played by Malthus’ ideologically loaded principle has, however, led to frequent charges that Darwin’s theory is itself a projection of laissez-faire values on to nature, with the consequence that the theory would be used to justify the competitive ethos of Victorian capitalism (Young, 1985). Much controversy also surrounds the degree of Darwin’s commitment to the idea of progress. Although the selection theory undermines the ladder model of progress, historians now accept that Darwin’s thinking was influenced by the assumption that competition is the driving force of a more general form of progress. However, it is clear that Darwin’s commitment to branching evolution went far beyond the conventional social values later linked to his theory, while his application of the population principle undermined Malthus’ own ideology, which was an attempt to discredit the optimism of social progressionists.

Darwin let only a few close contacts know of his theory, while continuing to work on exploring its scientific implications. He came to appreciate that, even in a stable environment, specialization would allow natural selection to continue the process of divergence by which species separate from close relatives. Eventually, he began to write up his ideas for publication but was interrupted in 1858 by the arrival of a paper by Alfred Russel Wallace describing a similar (although not identical) theory. The joint Darwin–Wallace papers were published in that year, while Darwin rushed to complete the Origin of Species (Browne, 2002).

Darwinism in Biology

The Origin of Species sparked an intense debate that soon led to the conversion of most scientists and educated people to evolutionism (Hull, 1973; Ruse, 1979). Despite initial opposition by conservative thinkers, the belief that the human race was the outcome of a progressive trend built into nature was accepted. In science, too, creationism was replaced by the expectation that all living species are the products of natural processes, and here, too, there was a widespread assumption that such processes guaranteed progress, even if superimposed on a branching model of development. The success of Darwinism needs to be assessed with care because the popularity of this developmental model of evolution meant that the more radical implications of Darwin’s thinking were evaded (Bowler, 1988). Far from welcoming the theory of natural selection, most nineteenth-century scientists, including some of Darwin’s leading supporters, were lukewarm about it. Opposition grew toward the end of the century, with many alternative mechanisms of evolution being tried out.

The History of Life

Much of the first generation of evolutionists’ efforts focused on reconstructing the course of the history of life on earth from anatomical, embryological, biogeographical, and fossil evidence (Bowler, 1996). Darwin himself treated this project with caution, but under the influence of the German biologist Ernst Haeckel, a whole generation of evolutionists strove to complete it. They had some successes, but the problems were much greater than they had anticipated and the project was sidelined by new developments in biology at the beginning of the twentieth century. Darwin had stressed the imperfection of the fossil record, but in a few important areas new discoveries helped to show how the major steps in evolution had taken place. Elsewhere, anatomical and embryological evidence was used to reconstruct evolutionary relationships. Darwin’s theory implied that it would be unlikely for the same character to develop independently in different lines of evolution, so similarity of underlying structure could be taken as evidence of common descent. Some non-Darwinian theories, however, postulated predetermined trends that might generate similar structures independently. In embryology, Darwin’s assumption that early stages of development would illustrate affinities was overtaken by Haeckel’s recapitulation theory, according to which earlier stages could actually illustrate ancestral adult forms. This way of thinking was a product of the progressionist way of thought, presupposing a privileged line of development toward maturity. Only in biogeography did it become clear that evolution was a highly irregular process, depending on the hazards of migration in a world where geological forces were constantly remolding the topography.

Natural Selection and the Alternatives

Historians have focused on the debates over natural selection, but this is more a product of our modern preoccupation with that mechanism than of its significance in late nineteenth-century biology. One much discussed theme centers on Darwin’s concept of heredity, which was quite unlike the model of unit character inheritance promoted by Mendelian genetics. It has even been argued that, without the concept of non-blending unit characters, natural selection was fatally flawed. It is true that Darwin was much concerned by Fleeming Jenkins’ 1867 review, which argued that if male and female parental characters blend in the offspring, the advantages of a well-favored ‘sport’ or mutation would be diluted rapidly. However, as A.R. Wallace pointed out, this objection is irrelevant if there is a continuous range of variation in the population, which is the case for most characters (Gayon, 1998).

In fact, many of the objections to natural selection were intended only to show that evolution must be a more purposeful process than any mechanism based on random variation would allow. One major alternative that now became popular was the Lamarckian theory of the inheritance of acquired characters, in which the animals’ own behavior directs their variation. Some objections to natural selection were aimed at the whole idea of adaptive evolution and were intended to show that some internally driven force directed the organisms’ variation. These were very much a product of the rival developmental tradition that had become popular earlier in the century, especially in Germany. The theory of orthogenesis supposed that variation was controlled by internal developmental forces that generated linear evolutionary trends, while the theory of saltations assumed that macromutations could somehow find new breeding populations (Bowler, 1983).

Human Origins and Social Evolution

Many religious thinkers objected to the idea that the human soul was the product of evolution from an animal ancestry. Much of this initial opposition was overcome by stressing the purposeful nature of evolution, allowing the appearance of humanity to be presented as the culmination of a divine plan (Moore, 1979). Darwin’s theory of evolution threatened this assumption, and in his Descent of Man of 1871, he argued that humans had evolved from African apes, which had stood upright as an adaptation to a new lifestyle on the open plains. Most late nineteenth-century accounts of human evolution, however, stressed the expansion of the brain as the main driving force of the process. At the same time, the idea of progressive evolution was applied to the history of human cultures and societies. Some evolutionists, including Spencer, stressed competition as the driving force of progress, leading to the charge that they were promoting a ‘social Darwinism’ designed to legitimize capitalist values. While Darwin’s theory was certainly associated with this movement, it was by no means the only scientific justification offered.

Cultural Evolutionism

Coincidentally with the Darwinian revolution, archaeologists undermined the belief that the human race was a recent creation, and exposed a vast period of prehistory in which our ancestors had used only stone tools. It was this initiative rather than any influence from Darwinism that led anthropologists such as Edward B. Tylor to equate modern ‘savages’ (i.e., people with relatively unsophisticated technology) with the ancestral stages through which civilized humans had passed in prehistoric times on their march toward a more mature culture. Cultural evolutionism was a product of the nineteenth-century developmental viewpoint, based on the ladder model of progress (Bowler, 1989a). Tylor himself did not accept that humans had evolved from apes, but other cultural evolutionists, especially John Lubbock, linked the two modes of evolution and argued that ‘savages’ were biologically as well as culturally primitive – living examples of the earlier stages in human biological and mental evolution. Herbert Spencer’s model of social evolution, while stressing ostensibly the divergent nature of evolution, still presented ‘lower’ races as surviving primitives incapable of matching the mental powers of the Anglo-Saxons.

Social Darwinism

Spencer is most often remembered, however, as the social philosopher who linked the idea of progress to the ideology of free enterprise individualism. As an exponent of laissez-faire, and the coiner of the term ‘survival of the fittest,’ it has been easy for critics to portray Spencer’s enthusiasm for struggle as the motor of progress as a direct application of the Darwinian selection theory to society, hence the image of him as the founder of ‘Social Darwinism.’ Spencer worried about the elimination of the unfit, but in biology he defended Lamarckism, and his enthusiasm for struggle came more from a conviction that competition would stimulate individual self-improvement (which in a Lamarckian scheme could be passed on to future generations). Darwin’s theory is thus only one of the scientific factors that stimulated the ideology of ‘progress through struggle’ – remembered preferentially because natural selection has now become the only mechanism by which that metaphor can be put into practice in biology (Bannister, 1979). In the later nineteenth century, there was more emphasis on the struggle between nations and races, which bypasses the central feature of natural selection within populations.

Modern Darwinism

By the end of the nineteenth century, the attempt to reconstruct the courses of biological and social evolution had run out of steam. The social sciences abandoned the evolutionary model and any suggestion that human behavior is predetermined by biological factors. Biologists began to study the actual processes of heredity and variation, leading to the emergence of Mendelian genetics. The geneticists destroyed Lamarckism, and although at first hostile to the selection theory, they were eventually convinced that genetic mutation was the source of the random variation that is the raw material of natural selection. By the mid-twentieth century, the ‘Modern Synthesis’ of Darwinism and genetics had come to dominate biology but remained controversial elsewhere.

The Modern Darwinian Synthesis

In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the statistician Karl Pearson developed a mathematical model of natural selection acting on the variations in a wild population (Gayon, 1998). Many biologists were now exploring the idea that new species were produced by saltations or macromutations, and it was partly from this tradition that the ‘rediscovery’ of Gregor Mendel’s laws of particulate inheritance emerged. Ignored since the 1860s, these laws postulated the existence of unit characters transmitted unchanged from one generation to the next. In 1900, Mendel’s laws were proclaimed as the basis for a new science of heredity, which William Bateson soon called ‘genetics.’ However, Pearson was already hostile to Bateson’s saltationism, while Bateson rejected Pearson’s commitment to continuity and adaptation. Genetics was thus perceived as a new alternative to Darwinism, although it destroyed the credibility of Lamarckism by suggesting that there is no plausible way in which acquired characters can affect the gene (Bowler, 1989b).

T.H. Morgan’s studies of genetic mutations showed that most macromutations are fatal, while small mutations simply add to the genetic variation in the population. Soon, Morgan conceded that natural selection would affect the reproductive success of the various genes. In the 1920s and 1930s, R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, and Sewall Wright brought together the statistical study of populations with the new genetics to create a science of population genetics based on the genetic theory of natural selection (Provine, 1971; Mayr, 1982). Naturalists such as Julian Huxley and Ernst Mayr now recognized that the adaptation of local populations to their environment was the most likely explanation of how species originate. The new selection theory was integrated with these wider developments to create what Huxley called the ‘Modern Synthesis.’

Later Developments

The Darwinian synthesis has dominated biology since the mid-twentieth century, although there have been numerous developments within it and some efforts to limit its applicability. Some modern thinkers now argue that the concept of natural selection can be applied to almost all areas where change is observed, sweeping away the whole idea of a universe that is the product of divine purpose. Conversely, the emergence of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) has renewed interest in the role of embryological factors in the creation of new characters and has thereby reinstated some topics that were central to the non-Darwinian programs of the nineteenth century (Amundson, 2005).

Perhaps the most controversial applications of modern biology are efforts to apply the theory of natural selection to human beings, especially in the area of social behavior. The science of sociobiology has been successful in explaining the social behavior of animals in terms of genetics and reproductive success, via the concept of the ‘selfish gene’ (Dawkins, 1976). However, E.O. Wilson’s efforts to apply sociobiology to human behavior by suggesting that we are driven by instincts implanted by natural selection have been greeted with much suspicion by social scientists and have also been dismissed as a revived ‘social Darwinism’ by the political left (Segerstrale, 2000). In more recent decades, sociobiology has been replaced by evolutionary psychology, which postulates that human behavior is shaped by inbuilt behavioral constraints evolved originally to deal with the environment in which the earliest modern humans evolved (Barkow et al., 1992). This approach depicts the mind as a collection of more or less independent modules controlling behavior, rather than as a generalized information processor. It is opposed by rival methodologies including human behavioral ecology and a new form of cultural evolutionism, both of which focus on the malleability of behavior and our ability to respond to current environmental and social pressures. The question of how much evolutionary biology can tell us about operations of the human mind thus remains controversial.

Anthropology and Evolution: Facts, Concepts, and Perspectives

As the comprehensive study of evolving humankind, anthropology is that discipline that is devoted to research in those areas that are relevant to understanding and appreciating Homo sapiens sapiens within the natural world (Bollt, 2009; Hublin, 2006). These areas range from genetics, paleontology, and archaeology to sociology, psychology, and linguistics. The more anthropologists search, the more fossils and artifacts they find that shed light on the emergence of our species over several million years. Each discovery helps to complete the developing picture of hominid evolution (Birx, 1988; Shubin, 2009; Tattersall & Schwartz, 2000). Of particular significance are those discoveries in primatology that clearly show the undeniable similarities between our human species and the four great apes in terms of genetics and psychology. Research in cross-cultural studies reveals the astonishing diversity of human thought and behavior from society to society throughout history.

In paleoanthropology, three discoveries have been especially important: Ardipithecus ramidus (“Ardi”), Astralopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”), and Homo florensiensis (“Hobbit”). Although interpretations of these three hominid species vary among anthropologists, who debate specific conclusions from the fossil specimens, there is no denying the empirical evidence itself. Today, it is exciting to speculate on what remarkable fossil specimens are still in the earth waiting to be discovered by future anthropologists.

A perplexing question still haunts some anthropologists: What is the uniqueness of our species? One answer offered was that the human animal is the only toolmaker— until it was discovered that chimpanzees make and use simple tools (as do a few other animals). A second reply was that only our species has self-consciousness that allows it to communicate through language—until ape studies showed that the pongids have self-awareness and are capable of learning symbolic communication. More recently, it has been argued that only humans stand erect and walk upright with a bipedal gait; that is, only humans are capable of sustained bipedality. However, chimpanzees and bonobos are able to walk erect for short distances. It seems that the only uniqueness of our species that separates us from the other living hominoids is about 6 million years of biological evolution (Rachels, 1999). Huxley, Haeckel, and Darwin himself got it correctly back in the 19th century: Man differs merely in degree rather than in kind from the great apes.

Religious Creationism or Scientific Evolutionism

During the 19th century, two fundamental questions remained to be answered: What is the age of this planet? Have species always been fixed throughout earth history? As evidence accumulated in geology and paleontology, it became increasingly obvious to naturalists that our planet is millions (actually billions) of years old and that species have changed over time (with most species eventually becoming extinct). This emerging evolution framework held devastating consequences for all orthodox conceptions of earth, life-forms, and our species. In 1860 at the University of Oxford, England, the infamous Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce confrontation exemplified the intense conflict between the new evolution paradigm in science and an outmoded static worldview in religion.

The fact of evolution challenged not only traditional science and philosophy but also natural theology. Darwin himself was disturbed by the materialist implications of his own evolution theory for religious beliefs. In fact, his wife, Emma, even felt compelled to delete all of her husband’s views on theology and religion from his Autobiography, which was published posthumously in 1887; not until 1958 did an unexpurgated edition of Darwin’s life, written by himself in 1876, appear in print (Darwin, 1969).

In England, to reconcile evolutionary science with Christian faith, religious naturalist Philip Gosse argued that God had placed fossils in the earth in order to merely suggest that organic evolution had taken place, although in reality (so thought Gosse) species are fixed and earth had been suddenly created only about 6,000 years ago. Not surprisingly, his bizarre but provocative book Omphalos: An Attempt to Untie the Geological Knot (1857) convinced neither scientists nor theologians.

During the 20th century, reacting to the materialist ramifications of organic evolution, some religionists argued against the new dynamic outlook by first defending biblical fundamentalism and then advocating so-called scientific creationism (Isaak, 2007). Both viewpoints gave priority to beliefs rather than to facts. In 1925 at Dayton, Tennessee, the infamous John Scopes “Monkey Trial” had best represented this ongoing clash between science and religion over the factual theory of organic evolution.

In an attempt to reconcile modern science with traditional theology, some religionists now maintain that the universe in general and evolution in particular manifest an intelligent design (Petto & Godfrey, 2007). Ultimately, this is a religious position not supported by scientific evidence. Despite all the ongoing attacks, continuing research in all areas of science (from genetics to paleontology) confirms the fact of evolution and the close biological relationship between our species and the great apes. In fact, an honest examination of human history clearly shows that even complex religious beliefs and theological systems have evolved, over thousands of years, from simplistic explanations for interpreting the natural world. No doubt, exciting discoveries in the future will further strengthen the evolution framework. Finally, in light of ongoing changes in human societies and their cultures, one wonders what the religious beliefs and theological systems of human beings will look like 2,000 years from now.

Evolutionary Humanism, Transhumanism, and Posthumanism

Grounded in science, reason, and an open-ended perspective, evolutionary humanism emphasizes the ongoing development of human beings within a strictly naturalistic framework. It maintains the unity of mental activity and the organic brain, and places our species totally within biological evolution. With optimism, evolutionary humanism argues for the improvement of our species in order to increase its health, happiness, and longevity (overcoming illness, disease, and physical disability). With the advances in science and technology since the middle of the 20th century, especially in genetics, the innovative ideas and pragmatic values of this movement for human enhancement would seem increasingly plausible for guiding our evolving species.

Extending the evolutionary framework, some scientists and philosophers see the human being as an unfinished species that will continue to change as a result of implementing nanotechnology and genetic engineering (Harris, 2007; Savulescu & Bostrom, 2009; Sorgner, 2006; Young, 2006). Both the ideas and values of transhumanism (going beyond the human of today) have been put forward by several visionary thinkers: Nick Bostrom, Fereidoun M. Esfandiary, Sir Julian S. Huxley, Michel Houellebecq, and Julian Savulescu (among others). Through human intervention, these thinkers argue, our species will be improved in its biological and psychological makeup, just as Homo sapiens of today is a biopsychological advance over Homo erectus of the distant past.

Reminiscent of Friedrich Nietzsche’s conception of the overbeing, some thinkers even speculate that the transhuman will be the “missing link” between the human of today and the posthuman of the remote future. In fact, the posthuman may even be a new species far beyond both humans and the following transhumans. Of course, one cannot imagine the nature of the posthumans. It is likely that these cosmic overbeings will travel to and live among the stars.

Exobiology and Exoevolution

In 1836, during the end of his 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin revisited the tropical Brazilian rainforest. He admired this lush environment and thought how great it would be, if it were ever possible, to experience the scenery on another planet. Therefore, at least once, the young naturalist glimpsed the forthcoming science of exobiology or astrobiology as the search for life-forms on other worlds (and if they are found, their study).

In the history of philosophy, major thinkers like Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) envisioned living beings inhabiting other planets. Today, with advances in technology, scientists are seriously scanning the heavens in hopes of detecting indisputable evidence that organisms exist elsewhere in sidereal reality (Boss, 2009; Lamb, 2001). The size and age of this material universe, with its billions of galaxies each having billions of stars, argues for the existence of countless planets. If the same physical laws and chemical elements pervade this cosmos, then it seems reasonable to assume that earthlike worlds harbor life-forms among the stars, perhaps even sentient beings similar to or even advanced beyond ourselves.

In our own solar system, the earth has those necessary natural conditions that have allowed for the origin and evolution of biological forms over the past 4 billion years. Beyond this solar system, extrasolar planets may have similar life zones that permit the existence of organisms. Thus, planetology becomes cosmology as the probability of and interest in biological evolution are extended to include this entire universe. Likewise, exobiology implies exoevolution, that is, the evolution of life-forms on different worlds, where organisms are adapting to changing habitats far different from those environments on earth (Birx, 2006b). In the distant future, both exobiology and exoevolution may offer intriguing areas for scientific research.

Even if forms of life are never found elsewhere in this universe, it does not mean that they do not exist on worlds that will remain beyond the detection of our human species (Webb, 2002). Moreover, organisms may have existed in the remote past before the formation of the present galaxies or will emerge in the distant future in new galaxies. And there may have been, are, or will be other universes with life-forms very similar to or far different from those organisms that have inhabited or are now inhabiting earth. One can only speculate on what the consequences might be if our human species ever encounters superior intelligent beings evolving among the stars.

Since the convincing writings of Charles Darwin, interpretations of organic evolution have evolved from the narrow materialism of early evolutionists to the comprehensive naturalism of modern neo-Darwinists. Advances in those special sciences that support biological evolution include ongoing discoveries in paleontology, comparative biology, anthropology, and population genetics, as well as more accurate dating techniques in geology and biochemistry. Progress in these special sciences is an increasing challenge to vitalistic, spiritualistic, and mystical interpretations of our species and organic evolution.

Two exciting and promising but controversial areas in modern evolution research are transhumanism and exoevolution. With the rapid advances in nanotechnology and genetic engineering, an increasing ability to design the DNA molecule will allow humans to alter and improve species, including our own, and to design new organisms for specific purposes both on earth and in outer space; as such, one may speak of emerging teleology in terms of human intervention and technological manipulation. The successful journey of human beings into outer space will require our species to adapt to and survive in different environments, both artificial and natural. If life-forms are discovered elsewhere in this universe, then scientists and philosophers will be able to study the evolution of organisms on other worlds.

Quo vadis, Homo sapiens? In those countless centuries to come, the human being may even transform itself into a new species, Homo futurensis. Of course, designer evolution will require establishing ethical guidelines while promoting open inquiry. For now, the primary focus must be on those steps that need to be taken to ensure the continued biodiversity of life-forms on this planet, including the ongoing fulfillment of humans on this earth before they venture to the stars.

Bibliography:

• Amundson, R., (2005). The Changing Role of the Embryo in Evolutionary Thought: The Roots of Evo-Devo. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Bannister, R.C., (1979). Social Darwinism: Science and Myth in Anglo-American Social Thought. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA.
• Barkow, J.H., Cosmides, L., Tooby, J. (Eds.), (1992). The Adapted Mind. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Birx, H. J. (1988). Human evolution. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
• Birx, H. J. (2006a). Evolution, arc of. In H. J. Birx (Ed.), Encyclopedia of anthropology (Vol. 2, pp. 881–882). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Birx, H. J. (2006b). Exobiology and exoevolution. In H. J. Birx (Ed.), Encyclopedia of anthropology (Vol. 2, pp. 931–934). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Bollt, R. (2009). Anthropology. In H. J. Birx (Ed.), Encyclopedia of time (Vol. 1, pp. 23–30). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Boss, A. (2009). The crowded universe: The search for living planets. New York: Basic Books.
• Bowler, P.J., (1983). The Eclipse of Darwinism: Anti-Darwinian Evolution Theories in the Decades around 1900. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
• Bowler, P.J., (1988). The Non-Darwinian Revolution: Reinterpreting a Historical Myth. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
• Bowler, P.J., (1989a). The Invention of Progress: The Victorian and the Past. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
• Bowler, P.J., (1989b). The Mendelian Revolution: The Emergence of Hereditarian Concepts in Modern Science and Society. Athlone, London.
• Bowler, P.J., (1989c). Evolution: The History of an Idea. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
• Bowler, P.J., (1996). Life’s Splendid Drama: Evolutionary Biology and the Reconstruction of Life’s Ancestry, 1860–1940. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Browne, J., (1995). Charles Darwin: Voyaging. Jonathan Cape, London.
• Browne, J., (2002). Charles Darwin: The Power of Place. Jonathan Cape, London.
• Corsi, P., (1988). The Age of Lamarck: Evolutionary Theory in France, 1790–1830. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
• Darwin, C. (1969). Autobiography (N. Barlow, Ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. (Original work published 1887, unexpurgated version published 1958)
• Dawkins, R., (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Desmond, A., (1989). The Politics of Evolution: Morphology, Medicine and Reform in Radical London. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Gayon, J., (1998). Darwinism’s Struggle for Survival; Heredity and the Hypothesis of Natural Selection. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
• Greene, J.C., (1959). The Death of Adam: Evolution and Its Impact on Western Thought. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA.
• Harris, J. (2007). Enhancing evolution: The ethical case for making better people. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Hublin, J.-J. (2006). Evolutionary anthropology. In H. J. Birx (Ed.), Encyclopedia of anthropology (Vol. 2, pp. 913–919). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Hull, D.L., (1973). Darwin and His Critics: The Reception of Darwin’s Theory by the Scientific Community. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
• Isaak, M. (2007). The counter-creationism handbook. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Lamb, D. (2001). The search for extraterrestrial intelligence: A philosophical inquiry. New York: Routledge.
• Mayr, E., (1982). The Growth of Biological Thought. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
• Moore, J.R., (1979). The Post-Darwinian Controversies: A Study of the Protestant Struggle to Come to Terms with Darwin in Britain and America, 1870–1900. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
• Petto, A. J., & Godfrey, L. R. (Eds.). (2007). Scientists confront creationism: Intelligent design and beyond. New York: W. W. Norton.
• Provine, W.B., (1971). The Origin of Theoretical Population Genetics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Rachels, J. (1999). Created from animals: The moral implications of Darwinism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Roger, J., (1998). The Life Sciences in Eighteenth-century French Thought. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
• Ruse, M., (1979). The Darwinian Revolution. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Savulescu, J., & Bostrom, N. (Eds.). (2009). Human enhancement. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Secord, J., (2000). Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Segerstrale, U., (2000). Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and Beyond. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
• Shubin, N. (2009). Your inner fish: A journey into the 3.5-billion-year history of the human body. New York: Random House.
• Sorgner, S. (2006). Transhumanism. In H. J. Birx (Ed.), Encyclopedia of time (Vol. 3, pp. 1375–1376). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Tattersall, I., & Schwartz, J. H. (2000). Extinct humans. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Webb, S. (2002). Where is everybody? Fifty solutions to the Fermi paradox and the problem of extraterrestrial life. New York: Copernicus Books.
• Young, R.M., (1985). Darwin’s Metaphor: Nature’s Place in Victorian Culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
• Young, S. (2006). Designer evolution: A transhumanist manifesto. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

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Published by Robert Bruce at August 29th, 2023 , Revised On September 5, 2023

Biology Research Topics

Are you in need of captivating and achievable research topics within the field of biology? Your quest for the best biology topics ends right here as this article furnishes you with 100 distinctive and original concepts for biology research, laying the groundwork for your research endeavor.

Table of Contents

Our proficient researchers have thoughtfully curated these biology research themes, considering the substantial body of literature accessible and the prevailing gaps in research.

Should none of these topics elicit enthusiasm, our specialists are equally capable of proposing tailor-made research ideas in biology, finely tuned to cater to your requirements. 

Thus, without further delay, we present our compilation of biology research topics crafted to accommodate students and researchers.

Research Topics in Marine Biology

• Impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems.
• Biodiversity and adaptation of deep-sea organisms.
• Effects of pollution on marine life and ecosystems.
• Role of marine protected areas in conserving biodiversity.
• Microplastics in marine environments: sources, impacts, and mitigation.

Biological Anthropology Research Topics

• Evolutionary implications of early human migration patterns.
• Genetic and environmental factors influencing human height variation.
• Cultural evolution and its impact on human societies.
• Paleoanthropological insights into human dietary adaptations.
• Genetic diversity and population history of indigenous communities.

Biological Psychology Research Topics 

• Neurobiological basis of addiction and its treatment.
• Impact of stress on brain structure and function.
• Genetic and environmental influences on mental health disorders.
• Neural mechanisms underlying emotions and emotional regulation.
• Role of the gut-brain axis in psychological well-being.

Cancer Biology Research Topics 

• Targeted therapies in precision cancer medicine.
• Tumor microenvironment and its influence on cancer progression.
• Epigenetic modifications in cancer development and therapy.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors and their role in cancer immunotherapy.
• Early detection and diagnosis strategies for various types of cancer.

Also read: Cancer research topics

Cell Biology Research Topics

• Mechanisms of autophagy and its implications in health and disease.
• Intracellular transport and organelle dynamics in cell function.
• Role of cell signaling pathways in cellular response to external stimuli.
• Cell cycle regulation and its relevance to cancer development.
• Cellular mechanisms of apoptosis and programmed cell death.

Developmental Biology Research Topics 

• Genetic and molecular basis of limb development in vertebrates.
• Evolution of embryonic development and its impact on morphological diversity.
• Stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine approaches.
• Mechanisms of organogenesis and tissue regeneration in animals.
• Role of non-coding RNAs in developmental processes.

Also read: Education research topics

Human Biology Research Topics

• Genetic factors influencing susceptibility to infectious diseases.
• Human microbiome and its impact on health and disease.
• Genetic basis of rare and common human diseases.
• Genetic and environmental factors contributing to aging.
• Impact of lifestyle and diet on human health and longevity.

Molecular Biology Research Topics 

• CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology and its applications.
• Non-coding RNAs as regulators of gene expression.
• Role of epigenetics in gene regulation and disease.
• Mechanisms of DNA repair and genome stability.
• Molecular basis of cellular metabolism and energy production.

Research Topics in Biology for Undergraduates

• 41. Investigating the effects of pollutants on local plant species.
• Microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning in a specific habitat.
• Understanding the genetics of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
• Impact of urbanization on bird populations and biodiversity.
• Investigating the role of pheromones in insect communication.

Synthetic Biology Research Topics 

• Design and construction of synthetic biological circuits.
• Synthetic biology applications in biofuel production.
• Ethical considerations in synthetic biology research and applications.
• Synthetic biology approaches to engineering novel enzymes.
• Creating synthetic organisms with modified functions and capabilities.

Animal Biology Research Topics 

• Evolution of mating behaviors in animal species.
• Genetic basis of color variation in butterfly wings.
• Impact of habitat fragmentation on amphibian populations.
• Behavior and communication in social insect colonies.
• Adaptations of marine mammals to aquatic environments.

Also read: Nursing research topics

Best Biology Research Topics 

• Unraveling the mysteries of circadian rhythms in organisms.
• Investigating the ecological significance of cryptic coloration.
• Evolution of venomous animals and their prey.
• The role of endosymbiosis in the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
• Exploring the potential of extremophiles in biotechnology.

Biological Psychology Research Paper Topics

• Neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory formation.
• Impact of sleep disorders on cognitive function and mental health.
• Biological basis of personality traits and behavior.
• Neural correlates of emotions and emotional disorders.
• Role of neuroplasticity in brain recovery after injury.

Biological Science Research Topics: 

• Role of gut microbiota in immune system development.
• Molecular mechanisms of gene regulation during development.
• Impact of climate change on insect population dynamics.
• Genetic basis of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
• Evolutionary relationships among vertebrate species based on DNA analysis.

Biology Education Research Topics 

• Effectiveness of inquiry-based learning in biology classrooms.
• Assessing the impact of virtual labs on student understanding of biology concepts.
• Gender disparities in science education and strategies for closing the gap.
• Role of outdoor education in enhancing students’ ecological awareness.
• Integrating technology in biology education: challenges and opportunities.

Biology-Related Research Topics

• The intersection of ecology and economics in conservation planning.
• Molecular basis of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria.
• Implications of genetic modification of crops for food security.
• Evolutionary perspectives on cooperation and altruism in animal behavior.
• Environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Biology Research Proposal Topics

• Investigating the role of microRNAs in cancer progression.
• Exploring the effects of pollution on aquatic biodiversity.
• Developing a gene therapy approach for a genetic disorder.
• Assessing the potential of natural compounds as anti-inflammatory agents.
• Studying the molecular basis of cellular senescence and aging.

Biology Research Topic Ideas

• Role of pheromones in insect mate selection and behavior.
• Investigating the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Impact of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions.
• Genetic diversity and conservation of endangered species.
• Evolutionary patterns in mimicry and camouflage in organisms.

Biology Research Topics for Undergraduates 

• Effects of different fertilizers on plant growth and soil health.
• Investigating the biodiversity of a local freshwater ecosystem.
• Evolutionary origins of a specific animal adaptation.
• Genetic diversity and disease susceptibility in human populations.
• Role of specific genes in regulating the immune response.

Cell and Molecular Biology Research Topics 

• Molecular mechanisms of DNA replication and repair.
• Role of microRNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
• Investigating the cell cycle and its control mechanisms.
• Molecular basis of mitochondrial diseases and therapies.
• Cellular responses to oxidative stress and their implications in ageing.

These topics cover a broad range of subjects within biology, offering plenty of options for research projects. Remember that you can further refine these topics based on your specific interests and research goals.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What are some good research topics in biology?

A good research topic in biology will address a specific problem in any of the several areas of biology, such as marine biology, molecular biology, cellular biology, animal biology, or cancer biology.

A topic that enables you to investigate a problem in any area of biology will help you make a meaningful contribution. 

How to choose a research topic in biology?

Choosing a research topic in biology is simple. 

Follow the steps:

• Generate potential topics. 
• Consider your areas of knowledge and personal passions. 
• Conduct a thorough review of existing literature.
•  Evaluate the practicality and viability. 
• Narrow down and refine your research query. 
• Remain receptive to new ideas and suggestions.

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For several years, Research Prospect has been offering students around the globe complimentary research topic suggestions. We aim to assist students in choosing a research topic that is both suitable and feasible for their project, leading to the attainment of their desired grades. Explore how our services, including research proposal writing , dissertation outline creation, and comprehensive thesis writing , can contribute to your college’s success.

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Math discovery provides new method to study cell activity, aging

New mathematical tools revealing how quickly cell proteins break down are poised to uncover deeper insights into how we age, according to a recently published paper co-authored by a Mississippi State researcher and his colleagues from Harvard Medical School and the University of Cambridge.

Galen Collins, assistant professor in MSU's Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, co-authored the groundbreaking paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , or PNAS , in April.

"We already understand how quickly proteins are made, which can happen in a matter of minutes," said Collins, who is also a scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. "Until now, we've had a very poor understanding of how much time it takes them to break down."

The paper in applied mathematics, "Maximum entropy determination of mammalian proteome dynamics," presents the new tools that quantify the degradation rates of cell proteins -- how quickly they break down -- helping us understand how cells grow and die and how we age. Proteins -- complex molecules made from various combinations of amino acids -- carry the bulk of the workload within a cell, providing its structure, responding to messages from outside the cell and removing waste.

The results proved that not all proteins degrade at the same pace but instead fall into one of three categories, breaking down over the course of minutes, hours or days. While previous research has examined cell protein breakdown, this study was the first to quantify mathematically the degradation rates of all cell protein molecules, using a technique called maximum entropy.

"For certain kinds of scientific questions, experiments can often reveal infinitely many possible answers; however, they are not all equally plausible," said lead author Alexander Dear, research fellow in applied mathematics at Harvard University. "The principle of maximum entropy is a mathematical law that shows us how to precisely calculate the plausibility of each answer -- its 'entropy' -- so that we can choose the one that is the most likely."

"This kind of math is sort of like a camera that zooms in on your license plate from far away and figures out what the numbers should be," Collins said. "Maximum entropy gives us a clear and precise picture of how protein degradation occurs in cells."

In addition, the team used these tools to study some specific implications of protein degradation for humans and animals. For one, they examined how those rates change as muscles develop and adapt to starvation.

"We found that starvation had the greatest impact on the intermediate group of proteins in muscular cells, which have a half-life of a few hours, causing the breakdown to shift and accelerate," Collins said. "This discovery could have implications for cancer patients who experience cachexia, or muscle wasting due to the disease and its treatments."

They also explored how a shift in the breakdown of certain cell proteins contributes to neurodegenerative disease.

"These diseases occur when waste proteins, which usually break down quickly, live longer than they should," Collins said. "The brain becomes like a teenager's bedroom, accumulating trash, and when you don't clean it up, it becomes uninhabitable."

Dear affirmed the study's value lies not only in what it revealed about cell protein degeneration, but also in giving scientists a new method to investigate cell activity with precision.

"Our work provides a powerful new experimental method for quantifying protein metabolism in cells," he said. "Its simplicity and rapidity make it particularly well-suited for studying metabolic changes."

Collins's post-doctoral advisor at Harvard and a co-author of the article, the late Alfred Goldberg, was a pioneer in studying the life and death of proteins. Collins noted this study was built on nearly five decades of Goldberg's research and his late-career collaboration with mathematicians from the University of Cambridge. After coming to MSU a year ago, Collins continued collaborating with his colleagues to complete the paper.

"It's an incredible honor to be published in PNAS , but it was also a lot of fun being part of this team," Collins said. "And it's very meaningful to see my former mentor's body of work wrapped up and published."

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Mississippi State University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Alexander J. Dear, Gonzalo A. Garcia, Georg Meisl, Galen A. Collins, Tuomas P. J. Knowles, Alfred L. Goldberg. Maximum entropy determination of mammalian proteome dynamics . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 2024; 121 (18) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313107121

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Debating the Status of Viruses: are they Truly Living Organisms?

This essay about the biological status of viruses engages in a rigorous debate on whether they should be considered living entities. It examines viruses’ lack of autonomous functions, dependence on host cells, genetic complexity, and evolutionary capabilities. By discussing their roles in genetic diversity and ecosystem dynamics, the essay evaluates philosophical and biological perspectives on life, challenging traditional definitions. It concludes that the living status of viruses is a complex, unresolved question that continues to enrich our understanding of biological systems.

How it works

In the fascinating domain of biological research, the ambiguous nature of viruses sparks robust discussion among scholars and thinkers. These tiny agents, straddling the line between life and non-life, challenge our traditional concepts of what it means to be alive. The question arises: are viruses merely complex assemblies of molecules, or do they embody the vital features of living beings? This exploration delves deep into the complexities of virology, examining the ambiguous zone that separates living entities from inanimate matter.

At a cursory look, viruses seem like simple entities, lacking the metabolic systems and cellular structures that are hallmarks of life.

They do not independently grow, reproduce, or metabolize, but instead, depend entirely on the cellular machinery of their hosts to multiply. However, beneath their straightforward exterior exists a realm of genetic sophistication and evolutionary agility.

One perspective maintains that viruses are not living organisms but rather elaborate biological constructs. They are the master engineers of infection, commandeering the cellular mechanisms of hosts to carry out their replication. This view paints viruses as intricate biological devices, designed to manipulate host vulnerabilities for their own proliferation.

On the other hand, some argue that viruses display clear life-like characteristics. They harbor genetic information, either DNA or RNA, within a protective protein coat and carry the blueprint for their own replication. Additionally, viruses are subject to mutation and natural selection, evolving over time in response to environmental changes. Advocates of this view argue that these traits align with the essential qualities of life.

The debate becomes more complex when considering viruses’ behaviors and interactions within their environments. Viruses show remarkable specificity in choosing host cells and utilize complex methods to overcome cellular defenses. They engage in detailed molecular interactions with host systems, altering cellular functions to aid their replication and spread.

Moreover, viruses are integral to the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of environments. They facilitate horizontal gene transfer, promoting genetic variability among organisms, and impose selective pressures on hosts, influencing evolutionary developments and the directions of species evolution.

From a philosophical standpoint, discussions about viruses touch on broader questions about the essence of life and its criteria. Traditional life definitions focus on metabolism, growth, and reproduction, but viruses prompt us to reconsider these criteria, challenging established biological paradigms.

In conclusion, whether viruses are considered living beings remains a complex issue that eludes straightforward classification. This prompts a more nuanced examination of biological intricacies. Regardless of whether we view viruses as complex molecular constructs or entities with life-like properties, their role in influencing the tapestry of life is profound. As virological research progresses, we continue to expand our understanding of life, pushing beyond traditional boundaries to appreciate the full spectrum of biological phenomena.

Cite this page

Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms?. (2024, May 21). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/

"Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms?." PapersOwl.com , 21 May 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms? . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/ [Accessed: 27 May. 2024]

"Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms?." PapersOwl.com, May 21, 2024. Accessed May 27, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/

"Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms?," PapersOwl.com , 21-May-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/. [Accessed: 27-May-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Debating the Status of Viruses: Are They Truly Living Organisms? . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/debating-the-status-of-viruses-are-they-truly-living-organisms/ [Accessed: 27-May-2024]

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