Mario A. Avella's Avatar

Mario A. Avella

@marioavella

Soon to be a Paleoanthropologist... I hope. B.Sci. Biology (UNAM) / Biological Anthropology (ENAH-INAH) 🇲🇽/🇵🇹 I like fossils, history of science and human evolution. Currently at UNAM in México.

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27.10.2023
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Latest posts by Mario A. Avella @marioavella

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Young children spontaneously invent wild great apes’ tool-use behaviours Abstract. The variety and complexity of human-made tools are unique in the animal kingdom. Research investigating why human tool use is special has focused

Mind if I chime in? "Our findings support the notion that the last common ancestor of humans and great apes—living approximately 14 Ma—was already capable of the tool-use behaviours studied here" royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

02.02.2026 20:59 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 2
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The Importance of Biological Theory - Biological Theory Biological Theory -

I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!

doi.org/10.1007/s137...

30.01.2026 13:40 👍 87 🔁 42 💬 1 📌 2
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Research

With all this talk of cow tools now's a good time to mention my new paper with @abigaildesmond.bsky.social titled 'Why don't all animals use tools?' 🧪🛠️🐮

It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/

20.01.2026 09:12 👍 48 🔁 13 💬 1 📌 1
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And then there was us In 1987, the academic conference ‘Origins and Dispersals of Modern Humans: Behavioural and Biological Perspectives’ was held in Cambridge, UK. Subsequently referred to as the ‘Human Revolution’ confe...

rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🚨new article alert 🚨 I’ve been sorting through historical documents on the development of the Out of Africa theory with @chrisbstringer.bsky.social - this is the fascinating BBC radio transcript about the 1987 Human Revolution conference #AcademicSky

16.01.2026 09:13 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
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📣 Yonatan Sahle and I are delighted to invite abstracts for Session# 18 of the 17th PanAf Congress (July 26–31, 2026, Maputo, Mozambique). The session welcomes interdisciplinary contributions on the Middle and Late Pleistocene archaeology of eastern Africa. Submit your abstract by March 15, 2026.

16.01.2026 16:05 👍 8 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
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Top Stories in Human Evolution of 2025 - PLOS SciComm By Ryan McRae and Briana Pobiner 2025 has been quite the wild year! With more exciting stories in human evolution than we…

My colleague Ryan McRae and I wrote our annual round up of top discoveries in human evolution from this year for the @plos.org Sci Comm blog - enjoy! scicomm.plos.org/2025/12/19/t...

20.12.2025 02:02 👍 19 🔁 10 💬 2 📌 1

And check out the Chibanian puzzle SI in there too!! 😎😎

@mroksand.bsky.social

06.11.2025 15:09 👍 7 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Screenshot of the first page of a Philosophy of Science journal article titled “Tool Use Beyond Humans” by Gianmaria Dani and Grant Ramsey, published by the Philosophy of Science Association. The authors are affiliated with the Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science at KU Leuven, Belgium.

Abstract: 
The definition of tool use has long been debated, especially when applied beyond humans. Recent work argues that the phenomena included within tool use are so broad and varied that there is little hope of using the category for scientific generalizations, explanations, and predictions about the evolution, ecology, and psychology of tool users. One response to this argument has been the development of tooling as a replacement for tool use. In this article, we analyze the tool use and tooling frameworks. Identifying advantages and limitations in each, we offer a synthetic approach that suggests promising avenues for future research.

Screenshot of the first page of a Philosophy of Science journal article titled “Tool Use Beyond Humans” by Gianmaria Dani and Grant Ramsey, published by the Philosophy of Science Association. The authors are affiliated with the Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science at KU Leuven, Belgium. Abstract: The definition of tool use has long been debated, especially when applied beyond humans. Recent work argues that the phenomena included within tool use are so broad and varied that there is little hope of using the category for scientific generalizations, explanations, and predictions about the evolution, ecology, and psychology of tool users. One response to this argument has been the development of tooling as a replacement for tool use. In this article, we analyze the tool use and tooling frameworks. Identifying advantages and limitations in each, we offer a synthetic approach that suggests promising avenues for future research.

Defining non-human #ToolUse remains contested, complicating scientific generalization & inspiring the concept of “tooling.” Our new 📄 @philscijournal.bsky.social proposes a synthetic framework to advance research on 🔧 use & tooling 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #philsci #cogsci #evosky #HPbio

10.11.2025 14:15 👍 46 🔁 14 💬 1 📌 1
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Confounding fuels misinterpretation in human genetics | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences The scientific literature has seen a resurgence of interest in genetic influences on human behaviour and socioeconomic outcomes. Such studies face the central difficulty of distinguishing possible cau...

Full OA paper here: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

07.11.2025 19:06 👍 13 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 1

It is an interesting article 👇🏽🤓

03.11.2025 14:30 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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S5 E11 - Steven Shapin on the Social Life of Scientific Knowledge Podcast Episode · The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science · 19/10/2025 · 50m

This week we welcome Prof. Steven Shapin to the pod!🎙️

We explore his journey through interdisciplinary spaces, revisit Leviathan and the Air-Pump 40 years on, and explore how credibility, trust and expertise are shaped by the fragmentation of expertise and (recent) political & cultural challenges

19.10.2025 10:25 👍 166 🔁 53 💬 7 📌 2
Line drawing of fossil human skull viewing face features

Line drawing of fossil human skull viewing face features

Bernard Vandermeersch and Ofer Bar-Yosef led excavation at Qafzeh Cave in 1967 when the burials of two skeletons were uncovered. Oafzeh 9 is an adult found in a flexed position, with the Qafzeh 10 child skeleton at its feet. Both lived sometime between 100,000 and 90,000 years ago. #inktober

19.10.2025 19:45 👍 29 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Compared to the costs of training LLMs, the education system is so cost effective, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly.

21.09.2025 13:23 👍 36 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 0

Excellent explainer on why private industry and venture capital can’t replace government funded basic science research.

21.09.2025 13:55 👍 111 🔁 40 💬 1 📌 0
Presentación del libro: Sex Is Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary.
Presentación del libro: Sex Is Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary. YouTube video by CEIICH UNAM

Nuestra conversación--- CEIICH UNAM www.youtube.com/watch?v=enQ6...

26.08.2025 12:22 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
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The Organism-Environment Pairing In this first systematic book-length examination of the organism-environment relationship in the life sciences, Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda addresses a crucia...

With great joy—and a touch of nervousness—I’m thrilled to share that my first academic monograph will be published by @mitpress.bsky.social in May 2026! It examines the organism–environment relationship in biology from an integrated #HPS perspective: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282... #evosky #philsky

21.08.2025 14:20 👍 261 🔁 49 💬 22 📌 3
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En la UNAM el 25 de agosto...presentación de mi libro
Sex is a Spectrum:The Biological Limits of the Binary...acompañanos

16.08.2025 15:09 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Material matters: raw material influences stone tool performance in capuchin monkeys Identifying the conditions that facilitate and shape tool use is a central focus in the field of human evolution and animal behaviour. Particular inte…

New paper! Material matters: raw material influences stone tool performance in capuchin monkeys 🐒 🔨🌰 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social @neoprego.org 🧪

04.08.2025 20:26 👍 14 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
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We’re excited to share that the #CROSSROADS VOLUME is published and also printed!🥳It features 28 contributions from the closing CROSSROADS symposium (Feb. 2022, Tübingen).
It took time, but was worth the wait!✨️Edited by K. Harvati & M. Ioannidou.
Congrats to all involved!🎉
Link: tinyurl.com/4s5mwdht

04.08.2025 08:19 👍 23 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 4
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End of a field season, no fossils, but beautiful views…

03.08.2025 01:19 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Emeritus Professor Charles Oxnard on the 27th of June at the age of 91. We extend our deepest condolences to Eleanor and their sons, Guy and Hugh, and to their extended families.

09.07.2025 04:55 👍 0 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Save the date! Interdisciplinary Workshop:
The Human Diversity Dilemma: Navigating the Intersection of Microbiomes, Ethics, and Society in Africa
#hpbio #histbio #philbio 🌱🐋
Check the Call for Abstracts for our special issue on our website: perspectivesrace.wixsite.com/the-human-di...

10.06.2025 07:59 👍 10 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 2
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Enamel proteins reveal biological sex and genetic variability in southern African Paranthropus Paranthropus robustus is a morphologically well-documented Early Pleistocene hominin species from southern Africa with no genetic evidence reported so far. In this work, we describe the mass spectrome...

Hello,

Our paper on enamel proteins from Paranthropus robustus has finally been peer reviewed, please have a read here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Paranthropus robustus has been puzzling scientists since its discovery in 1938 in South Africa, where a high number of fossils have been found.

29.05.2025 18:51 👍 79 🔁 42 💬 3 📌 4

If you're interested in philosophy of biology—particularly its intersections with #evolution, #paleosky, and comparative studies of #behavior, #cognition, and #culture —consider following @theramseylab.bsky.social! We're a cool group of philosophers with a broad range of expertise! #philsci #HPbio

10.04.2025 18:34 👍 64 🔁 24 💬 2 📌 0

A todas y todos los interesados en la Ecología (y sus distintas vertientes, incluso históricas 🤓), ¡los invito a inscribirse a este magnífico evento!

01.04.2025 18:09 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The course is conducted online via Zoom, and proficiency in Spanish is a prerequisite, as all sessions are conducted in Spanish. The costs are accessible (the full course is approximately 295 dollars, with the possibility of discounts and fee waivers).

01.04.2025 04:11 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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For those interested in the history and historiography of anthropology in Mexico, the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) offers an interesting diploma course.

01.04.2025 04:11 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Evolution of the Human Life Cycle, Revisited Click on the article title to read more.

Evolution of the Human Life Cycle, Revisited. Barry Bogin & Holly Smith onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

21.03.2025 17:43 👍 7 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0
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#RIP #Anthropology #Paleoanthropology #SciComm #Stem In #Memorandum

14.03.2025 18:45 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
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Neandertal capitate‐metacarpal articular morphology Neandertal capitate-metacarpal 2 and 3 articulations have been observed to differ in orientation and shape from those of more recent humans. To evaluate this, we tested for differences in capitate-me....

Neandertal capitate-metacarpal articular morphology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

11.03.2025 10:13 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0