Dr Nikhil Chaudhary

Biography

I am a lecturer in Human Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology. I completed my PhD and postdoctorate research as a member of the Hunter-Gatherer Resilience project which examined the cultural and behavioural adaptations of hunter-gatherer societies in Africa and Asia. I work principally with the Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers - a Pygmy population residing in the rainforests of Northern Congo. My research thus far has explored the role of cooperative networks and non-kin relationships in human evolution; human life-history evolution; and the relationship between social structure and cultural transmission. I am currently planning a cross-cultural project examining how aspects of subsistence and social organisation affect psychological well-being; and another applying the behavioural ecology framework to understand variability in a variety of social processes, such as community cohesion and crime rates, across urban environments.

Research

Human Social Evolution and Cooperation

Applied Human Behavioural Ecology

Evolutionary Psychiatry

Mating Systems

Cultural Evolution

I am presently involved in the following research projects in:

2018 – 2021: Hunter-Gatherer Health and Wellbeing

Publications

Key publications:

Salali, G.D., Chaudhary, N., Bouer, J., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B. (2019). Development of social learning and play in BaYaka hunter-gatherers of Congo. Scientific Reports, 9, 11080.

Smith, D., Schlaepfer, P., Major, K., Dyble, M., Page, A.E., Thompson, J., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Mace, R., Astete, L., Astete, M., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B. (2017). Cooperation and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling. Nature Communications, 8(1).

Diekmann, Y., Smith, D., Gerbault, P., Dyble, M., Page, A.E., Chaudhary, N., Migliano, A.B., Thomas, M.G. (2017). Accurate age estimation in small-scale societies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(31), 8205-8210.

Page, A. E., Chaudhary, N., Viguier, S., Dyble, M., Smith, D., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Mace, R., Migliano, A. B. (2017). Hunter-Gatherer Social Networks and Reproductive Success. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 41598.

Migliano A.B., Page A., Gardenes, J.G., Salali G.D., Viguier, S., Dyble M., Latora, V., Chaudhary N., Thompson J., Smith D., Strods, J., Vinicius L., Mace R. (2017). Characterisation of hunter-gatherer networks and implications for cumulative culture. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(2), 0043 (cover story of the February 2017 issue).

Salali, G.D., Chaudhary, N., Thompson, J., Grace, O., van der Brugt, X.M., Dyble, M., Page, A., Smith, D., Lewis, J., Mace, R., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B. (2016). Knowledge sharing networks in hunter-gatherers and the evolution of cumulative culture. Current Biology, 26(18), 2516-2521.

Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Rey, A., Stevenson, E., Gerbault, P., Dyble, M., Page, A., Smith, D., Vinicius, L., Mace, R., Migliano, A.B. (2016). Competition for Cooperation: variability, benefits and heritability of relational wealth in hunter-gatherers. Scientific Reports, 6(8), 29120.

Page, A. E., Viguier, S., Dyble, M., Smith, D., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Mace, R., Migliano, A. B. (2016) Reproductive trade-offs in extant hunter-gatherers suggest adaptive mechanism for the Neolithic expansion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(17), 4694-4699.

Dyble, M., Salali, G.D., Chaudhary, N., Page, A., Smith, D., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Mace, R., Migliano, A.B. (2015). Sex equality can explain the unique social structure of hunter-gatherer bands. Science, 348(6236), 796-798.

Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Dyble, M., Page, A., Smith, D., Mace R., Migliano A.B. (2015). Polygyny without wealth: popularity in gift games predicts polygyny in BaYaka Pygmies. Royal Society Open Science, 2(5), 150054.

Other publications:

Deb A. & Chaudhary N. (2020). Anxiety. In depth entry in: Shackelford T., Weekes-Shackelford V. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer.

Page, A.E., Thomas, M.G., Smith, D., Dyble, M., Viguier, S., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Mace, R., Migliano, A.B. (2020). Testing adaptive hypotheses of alloparenting in Agta foragers. Nature Human Behaviour, 3, 1154-1163.

Smith, D., Dyble, M., Major, K., Page, A.E., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B., Mace, R. (2019). A Friend in need is a friend indeed: Need-based sharing, rather than cooperative assortment, predicts experimental resource transfers among Agta hunter-gatherers. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 40(1), 82-89.

Dyble, M., Thompson, J., Page, A., Smith, D., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Vinicius, L., Mace, R., Migliano, A.B. (2016). Networks of Food Sharing Reveal the Functional Significance of Multilevel Sociality in Two Hunter-Gatherer Groups. Current Biology, 26(15), 2017-2021.

Chaudhary, N. (2016). The Polygyny Threshold – key idea in: T. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer

Smith, D., Dyble, M., Thompson, J., Major, K., Page, A., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G.D., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A., Mace, R. (2016). Camp Stability Predicts Patterns of Hunter-Gatherer Cooperation. Royal Society Open Science, 3(7), 160131.