Why do we blame the victim?
In a new study published in Evolution and Human Behavior, Washington University researchers explore what causes people to decline lending a helping hand. In many cases, they find a way to blame the victim, resolving inner conflict by finding shortcomings in the person needing help, according to the research.
Prehistoric mobility among Tibetan farmers, herders shaped highland settlement patterns, cultural interaction, study finds
Research by Michael Frachetti in Arts & Sciences and researchers at Sichuan University in China explores how and why ancient communities built social relationships and cultural identities across the extreme terrain in Tibet.
Old research, new readers
Some Source stories from years past continue to attract new readers. Here, we check in with WashU researchers in linguistics, psychology, engineering and other disciplines to learn more about their work and how the research has progressed.
Earliest evidence for domestic yak found using both archaeology, ancient DNA
Archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis discovered evidence for domestic yak in the Tibetan Plateau dating back 2,500 years.
New tool to enable exploration of human-environment interactions
In a new Science Advances report, a team of researchers led by Michael Frachetti in Arts & Sciences is calling for a strengthened commitment to transdisciplinary collaboration to study past and present human-environmental interactions, which they say will advance our understanding of the complex, entangled histories.
Sanz awarded Saint Louis Zoo Conservation Award
Anthropologist Crickette Sanz in Arts & Sciences was honored with the Saint Louis Zoo’s 2023 Conservation Award, which recognized her work with David Morgan to help ensure the long-term survival of chimpanzees and gorillas in the Congo Basin.
Some parasites turn hosts into ‘zombies’
While the flesh-eating undead portrayed on television are just fiction, there are clear examples of parasites that have evolved to manipulate their hosts, according to Theresa Gildner in Arts & Sciences.
WashU team to study virus transmission, human-wildlife interaction
Red colobus monkeys are the most threatened group of African monkeys. With a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a Washington University team will model viral transmission dynamics among red colobus monkeys and their human neighbors near Kibale National Park, Uganda.
The Boundaries of Ancient Trade
Kings, Commoners, and the Aksumite Salt Trade of Ethiopia
Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as archaeological evidence, “The Boundaries of Ancient Trade,” by archaeologist Helina Woldekiros in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, challenges long-standing conceptions of highly centralized sociopolitical and economic organization and trade along the Afar salt trail: one of the last economically significant caravan-based trade routes in the world.
Wiseman-Jones awarded Leakey Foundation grant
Lauren Wiseman-Jones, a graduate student of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences, is studying how wild mountain gorillas respond to social and human-caused stressors. She won a Leakey Foundation grant for the work.
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