Augustin Fuentes

Agustn Fuentes completed a B.A. in Zoology and Anthropology, and an M.A.& Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. His current foci include cooperation and bonding in human evolution, ethnoprimatology and multispecies anthropology, evolutionary theory, and public perceptions of, and interdisciplinary approaches to, human nature(s).

Fuentes recent books include Evolution of Human Behavior (Oxford University Press, Centralizing Fieldwork: Critical Perspectives from Primatology, Biological and Social Anthropology (Co-edited, Berghahn press), Biological Anthropology: concepts and connections (McGraw-Hill), Monkeys on the Edge: ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (co-edited, Oxford University Press), and the forthcoming Race, Monogamy, and other lies they told you: busting myths about human nature (UC Press). Key recent articles include Naturecultural Encounters in Bali: Monkeys, Temples, Tourists, and Ethnoprimatology in Cultural Anthropology and The New Biological Anthropology: Bringing Washburns New Physical Anthropology into 2010 and beyond in the Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. Current research projects include the ethnoprimatology of Singapore, interdisciplinary approaches to understanding human nature(s), and an evaluation of the roles of cooperation, community, and niche construction in human evolution.

His research delves into the how and why of being human. Ranging from chasing monkeys in the jungles and cities of Asia, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining what people actually do across the globe, Professor Fuentes is interested in both the big questions and the small details of what makes humans and our closest relatives tick. Fuentes brings nearly two decades of training and research to his current book on busting myths about human nature.