Dr Robert Attenborough
Areas of expertise
- Anthropology 1601
- Biological (Physical) Anthropology 160102
- Anthropological Genetics 060401
- Epidemiology 111706
- Demography 1603
- Anthropology Not Elsewhere Classified 160199
Research interests
Human population biology, health (especially malaria) and nutrition in less developed countries; anthropological demography and population ecology; anthropological genetics; Papua New Guinea, Himalayas.
Researcher's projects
Papua New Guinea has been the focus of most of my recent research on health, nutrition and demography. This has been both at the level of nationwide and historical reviews, and of local research with Dr Don Gardner amongst the Mianmin of the highlands fringes of Sandaun (West Sepik) Province, where life expectancy is short, and health and child growth are generally poor, but where these also vary with local variation in altitude and ecology.
In a different kind of human biological research project (also ARC-funded), I have recently focused with Prof Simon Easteal and others on the anthropological genetics of Papua New Guinea. In this project we are exploring genetic variation in both the female and male lines for clues as to the long-range histories of Papuan-speaking populations: questions include how the island of New Guinea was originally populated; whether genetic variation correlates with linguistic variation; and whether particular population groups may have expanded with the expansion of language families agricultural practices.
In earlier research I studied population processes, ecology and nutrition in Zangskar valley, Jammu and Kashmir Province, northern India.
Publications
- Stibbard‐Hawkes, D, Attenborough, R, Mabulla, I et al. 2020, 'To the hunter go the spoils? No evidence of nutritional benefit to being or marrying a well-reputed Hadza hunter', American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 173, no. 1, pp. 61-79.
- Cox, S, Payne, C, Badolo, A et al. 2018, 'The nutritional role of insects as food: a case study of 'chitoumou' (Cirina butyrospermi), an edible caterpillar in rural Burkina Faso', Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 69 - 80.
- Stibbard-Hawkes, D, Attenborough, R & Marlowe, F 2018, 'A noisy signal: To what extent are Hadza hunting reputations predictive of actual hunting skills?', Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 639-651.
- Bergstrøm, A, Oppenheimer, S, Mentzer, A et al 2017, 'A Neolithic expansion, but strong genetic structure, in the independent history of New Guinea', Science, vol. 357, no. 6356, pp. 1160-1163.
- Attenborough, R 2015, 'What are species and why does it matter? Anopheline taxonomy and the transmission of malaria', in Alison M. Behie and Marc F. Oxenham (ed.), Taxonomic Tapestries: The Threads of Evolutionary, Behavioural and Conservation Research, ANU Press, Canberra, Australia, pp. 129-151.
- Attenborough, R & Gardner, D 2013, 'Life and Well-Being under Historical Ecological Variation: The Epidemiology of Disease and of Representations', in Cathy Banwell, Stanley Ulijaszek and Jane Dixon (ed.), When Culture Impacts Health: Global Lessons for Effective Health Research, Elsevier, USA, pp. 181-192.
- Attenborough, R 2010, 'Genes, languages and agriculture in New Guinea population history', in John Bowden, Nikolaus P Himmelmann & Malcolm Ross (ed.), A journey through Austronesian and Papuan linguistic and cultural space: Papers in honour of Andrew Pawley, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra, ACT, pp. 59-78.
- Attenborough, R 2009, 'Book Review: Tibetan transitions: historical and contemporary perspectives on fertility, family planning and demographic change', Journal of Population Research, vol. 26, no. 3/September, pp. 279-281.
- Attenborough, R 2007, 'Health changes in Papua New Guinea: from adaptation to double jeopardy?', in Ryutaro Ohtsuka & Stanley J. Ulijaszek (ed.), Health Change in the Asia-Pacific Region: Biocultural and Epidemiological Approaches, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 254-302.
- Pawley, A, Attenborough, R, Golson, J et al, eds, 2005, Papuan Pasts: cultural, linguistic and biological histories of the Papuan-speaking peoples, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra Australia.
- Attenborough, R 2005, 'Introduction to the chapters on biological anthropology and population genetics', in Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Jack Golson and Robin Hide (ed.), Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra Australia, pp. 673-692.
- Main, P, Attenborough, R & Gao, X 2005, 'The origins of the Papuans: the HLA story', in Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Jack Golson and Robin Hide (ed.), Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra Australia, pp. 757-770.
- Easteal, S, Whittle, B, Mettenmeyer, A et al 2005, 'Mitochondrial genome diversity among Papuan-speaking people of Papua New Guinea', in Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Jack Golson and Robin Hide (ed.), Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra Australia, pp. 717-728.
- Harley, N, Attenborough, R, Alpers, M et al 2005, 'The importance of social structure for patterns of human genetic diversity: Y-chromosome and mitochondrial genome variation in Papuan speaking people of mainland Papua New Guinea', in Andrew Pawley, Robert Attenborough, Jack Golson and Robin Hide (ed.), Papuan pasts: Cultural, linguistic and biological histories of Papuan-speaking peoples, Pacific Linguistics, Canberra Australia, pp. 729-756.
- Attenborough, R 2004, 'Population and resources: some hurdles for empirical research', Fenner Conference on the Environment 2004, Australian Academy of Science, Australia.
- Attenborough, R 2003, 'Book Review: Archaeogenetics: DNA and the Population Prehistory of EuropeAmerica Past, America Present Genes and Languages in the Americas and Beyond', American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 107, pp. 288-290.
- Attenborough, R 2002, 'Ecology, homeostasis and survival in human population dynamics', in Helen Macbeth, Paul Collinson (ed.), Human Population Dynamics: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 186-208.
- Main, P, Attenborough, R, Chelvanayagam, G et al. 2001, 'The Peopling of New Guinea: Evidence from Class I Human Leukocyte Antigen', Human Biology, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 365-383.
- Attenborough, R 2000, 'Energy and nutrient intake in an ecologically constrained Himalayan valley: a retrospective and prospective discussion', in Bhasin, M.K.; Bhasin, V. (ed.), Man-Environment Relationship, Kamla-Raj Enterprises, Delhi, pp. 181-188.