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
Evolutionary Psychiatry
Applied Human Behavioural Ecology
Mating Systems
Cultural Evolution
I am presently involved in the following research projects in:
2018 – 2021: Hunter-Gatherer Health and Wellbeing
Publications
Knight, J.K., Salali, G.D., Sikka, G., Derkx, I., Keestra, S.M., Chaudhary, N.* (2021). Quantifying patterns of alcohol consumption and its effects on health and wellbeing among BaYaka hunter-gatherers: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE, 16(10): e0258384
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).
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).
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.
Page, A.E., Emmott, E.H., Dyble, M., Smith, D., Chaudhary, N., Viguier, S., Migliano, A.B. (2021). Children are important too: juvenile playgroups and maternal childcare in a foraging population, the Agta.Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, 376, 20200026.
Salali, G.D., Dyble, M., Chaudhary, N., Sikka, G., Derkx, I., Keestra, S., Smith, D., Thompson, J., Vinicius, L., Migliano, A.B (2020). Global WEIRDing: transitions in wild plant knowledge and treatment preferences in Congo hunter–gatherers. Human Evolutionary Sciences, 2, e24.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Teaching and Supervisions
I coordinate the following courses:
B2: Human Ecology and Behaviour
B15: Human Social Evolution: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Cooperation, Culture and Cognition
Other Professional Activities
Executive Committee member of Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group, The Royal College of Psychiatrists
