Alyssa Crittenden

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Expertise: Anthropology, Nutrition, Human Behavioral Ecology, Hunters and Gatherers, Evolution of Childhood

Biography

Alyssa Crittenden is the Lincy Foundation Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UNLV, and a behavioral ecologist and nutritional anthropologist who works among the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania, East Africa.

Her research interests include the evolution of the human diet, the evolution of childhood, the development of children's prosocial behavior, and the origins of the division of labor between the sexes. She applies the principles of evolutionary theory to the study of human behavior and cultural diversity. Her work crosses several disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, ecology, nutrition, and human biology.

Published widely in top-tier academic journals, Crittenden's research on the role of honey in human evolution and her work on Hadza diet and the gut microbiome has found its way to popular venues, such as National Geographic, The Smithsonian, National Public Radio, and several documentaries which have been shown in film festivals around the world.

Education

Ph.D., Biological Anthropology, University of California, San Diego
M.A., Anthropology, University of California, San Diego
B.A., Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz

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food & nutrition, psychology & human behavior

Alyssa Crittenden In The News

Diversifying Restaurant Menus Suggest Taking a Look at What the World Eats

The Great Courses Daily

June 24, 2019

If you live in the United States, you might be surprised to see a Stroopwafel McFlurry in McDonald’s, but in the Netherlands it’s a staple dessert item on the fast food chain’s menu. It might also seem strange to order a Baja Blast with Ketel One in it. But if the test market is successful, the cocktail may be coming to a Taco Bell near you. Despite the spread of most foods to all four corners of the Earth, humans still have wildly different diets owing to our diverse cultures.

Is Honey Vegan? Why Bees Need It More Than We Do

LIVEKINDLY

June 3, 2019

Honey — it’s a popular “better-for-you” sweetener for tea and baked goods alike, but because it’s made by bees, the question of its vegan status is an on-going discussion in communities.

The end of the last hunter-gatherer?

Deutschlandfunk

November 20, 2018

The lifestyle of Hadza in Tanzania could soon be a thing of the past.

Farmers, tourists, and cattle threaten to wipe out some of the world's last hunter-gatherers

November 13, 2018

YAEDA VALLEY IN TANZANIA—As we hike down a rocky slope, through thorny acacias that snag our clothes and past the emaciated carcass of a cow, we hear people singing. We are approaching a small camp of Hadza hunter-gatherers, and our Tanzanian guide thinks they must be celebrating something.