Cara Ocobock
@caraocobock.bsky.social
1.9K followers 2.2K following 110 posts
Associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. Human biologist, biological anthropologist, feminist human evolution, sports enthusiast. https://sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/
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caraocobock.bsky.social
Woman the hunter article just keeps making the rounds in far right circles (more than a year later). Hate mail is, & will continue to be, ever present in my life. Sadly, it’s going to get a lot worse. I stand firm by this work.

SciAm article for reference: www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong
The influential idea that in the past men were hunters and women were not isn’t supported by the available evidence
www.scientificamerican.com
caraocobock.bsky.social
Thank you for the kind words!
Reposted by Cara Ocobock
rebeccasear.bsky.social
“More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework and three-quarters of care work was conducted professionally for other households” [England]

phys.org/news/2025-10...
A woman's place was not in the home: Challenging the assumptions about women's work in early modern history
New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England's national economy before 1700.
phys.org
caraocobock.bsky.social
New paper out! This was a fun collaboration with Dr. Trent Holliday, Libby Cowgill, and Scott Maddux to work up a broad review on Neanderthal cold adaptations ranging from technological to physiological. This is a good one for teaching.

We referred to our collaboration as the "Coldies but Goodies"
Neandertal Cold Adaptation: Technological, Anatomical, and Physiological Responses to Cold Stress in One of Our Closest Fossil Relatives
Neandertals occupied western Eurasia for over 100 000 years, repeatedly enduring climates that ranged from seasonally cold to glacial. This paper reexamines the question of Neandertal cold adaptation...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Reposted by Cara Ocobock
humbioassociation.bsky.social
📢The Student Webinar Series is back!
Join Courtney Callidora Manthey and Madison Honig as they kick off the season with Dr. Christopher Bae (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) for a conversation on publishing as a grad student.
Don’t miss this great start to the series!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHmE...
Student webinar Series: Publishing for Students with Dr. Christopher Bae
YouTube video by Human Biology Association
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Cara Ocobock
humbioassociation.bsky.social
🎙️ New Sausage of Science Episode!
Meet Leela McKinnon, PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Toronto. Her research explores sleep health in Indigenous Wixárika communities in Jalisco, Mexico—focusing on how rural-to-urban migration impacts sleep and circadian rhythms.
Reposted by Cara Ocobock
humbioassociation.bsky.social
HBA is recruiting a Junior Service Fellow (Assistant Producer) for “The Sausage of Science.”
🗣️ Bilingual EN/ES required
🕒 ~6 hrs/mo | 🎧 Edit + schedule + show notes + social
💸 $750 HBA travel grant
Training provided.
Apply: email interest + CV + adviser letter to [email protected]
caraocobock.bsky.social
Doing well and keeping busy. I was on sabbatical all this last year, spending most of my time collecting data in Finland. I’m back in the classroom this fall.
caraocobock.bsky.social
Also, I still share the interview you did with Father Terry with all my BioAnth students. Thank you for creating that amazing resource!
caraocobock.bsky.social
Just so gross. I am the one with a salary! I feed my students at meetings.
caraocobock.bsky.social
Oh my goodness! That was my first semester at ND! How are you???
caraocobock.bsky.social
That person is a jerk.
caraocobock.bsky.social
Great! And we don’t intend for those templates to be definitive, just a starting point for people to modify to best suit their needs.
caraocobock.bsky.social
Hi, I coauthored a paper on mentorship and part of it included templates for just this thing. Here is a link where I summarize what we talk about and provide those templates at the bottom. If this doesn’t work, reach out and I can email everything. sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock...
Demystifying Mentorship – Cara Ocobock, Ph.D.
sites.nd.edu
caraocobock.bsky.social
New publication out on the relationship between resting metabolism and thyroid hormones among reindeer herders and office workers in northern Finland. Female reindeer herders have, again, stood out compared to the other groups.

Read more here: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock...
New Publication: Higher Resting Metabolism Is Associated With Increased Free Triiodothyronine Among Female Reindeer Herders in Northern Finland – Cara Ocobock, Ph.D.
sites.nd.edu
caraocobock.bsky.social
Written by me and Libby Cowgill
caraocobock.bsky.social
Ode to the Toad

Just hopping towards the pond to relax

Unfortunate victims of untimely attacks

Many will become tasty snacks

Or worse, flattened into tire tracks

By humans whose awareness is lax

For these r-selected friends, this is merely nature's tax

I fear these are the unfortunate facts
caraocobock.bsky.social
It’s too hot today.
A squirrel is trying to cool down in the Midwest heat wave by splooting on a wood bannister
Reposted by Cara Ocobock
amptheatrecompany.org
This Friday, our love story and comedy begins! Join us at 602 E Mishawaka Ave for a timeless tale like no other. Make your plans to see “Galatea,” this weekend and next weekend only.
Get tickets at amptheatrecompany.org/current-season
📷 by Miranda Manier

#michiana #mishawaka #michianatheatre
caraocobock.bsky.social
Forest encounters in Ivalo, Finland.
caraocobock.bsky.social
It should be colder and still have some snow for skiing, sadly it has been a warm winter.