Dr. Tesla Monson

Registration sign for NWEEHB

The moon shining over a cabin

Algae covers a pond surface

A person walks along a wooden bridge in a forest

Thanks to the Northwest Evolution, Ecology, and Human Behavior conference for hosting us this weekend! The beautiful Pack Forest experimental site next to Rainier was an incredible place to learn about science and talk anthropology. I hope to return next time!

Some of the highlights from IHES yesterday! We saw great talks by scholars in Anthropology, Art, and Psychology. We also had a timely panel session on early career scholars’ visions for the future. And we rounded it out with a pop up student art exhibit and an incredible performance by Danza Eterna!

New pop sci article on the hobbits of Flores! Their wisdom teeth provide evidence that they got small by slowing growth after birth.

https://theconversation.com/hobbits-of-flores-evolved-to-be-small-by-slowing-down-growth-during-childhood-new-research-on-teeth-and-brain-size-suggests-261257

Paleontology, botany, and birthing. All my favorite things in Zurich!

Students shine at Scholar’s week. News and Updates from the PEL website.

Check out our new Primate Evolution Lab website! Made by students, featuring students. You can keep up with our antics, check out our teaching resources (including 3D scans and models) and learn more about our programs! https://wp.wwu.edu/primate/2025/06/27/students-shine-at-scholars-week/ @wwu.edu

Petroglyphs in Sedona. Animal figures gather around a woman; a vortex spiral sits beneath them.

A three story archaeological dwelling made of bricks remains up against the water and wind smoothed cliffs of Sedona

A javelina cranium with large canine teeth

A sunset vista looking at the red rock formations of Sedona

Just returned from an epic sisters’ trip to Sedona, complete with archaeology, cave art, and javelina skulls! And pregnancy, the topic of my book, was never far away — this beautiful petroglyph has been described as a woman giving birth to creation (Hopi). #sedona #pregnancy #archaeology #history

@wwu.edu @leakeyfoundation.bsky.social
@ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social
@ucmpberkeley.bsky.social

First page of the paper

Figure 1. A phylogeny of primates in the study with photos of their crania

Figure 3. Comparison of extant and fossil primate tooth and palate lengths

New paper out today! The evolution of facial length and molar proportions in cercopithecid monkeys: Third molars are relatively longer in species with longer faces, and prognathism is convergent. Fossils tell a great story!

Read more to find out! Funded by NSF, Leakey, PAST, HERC and WWU

Another shoutout for the AABA meetings this year. It was great to be immersed in science! And super fun to have such a great @wwu.edu crew! @bioanth.org
See you next year!

Science communication has always been one of my passions. My Uni recently asked me to write a piece for faculty explaining the benefits of publishing sci-comm with an outlet like @us.theconversation.com - check it out here!

5 reasons for faculty to write for The Conversation

Were Twins the Norm in Our Primate Past? New research uncovers how the last common primate ancestors typically birthed twins until evolutionary pressures began to favor singletons.

Thanks to Sapiens for picking up our sci-comm piece on the evolution of twinning! https://www.sapiens.org/biology/twins-primates-human-evolution/ w/ @primatesjack.bsky.social funded by @leakeyfoundation.bsky.social

This is one of those desk papers that requires extra celebration upon release into the ether! Congrats everyone!!

Beautiful figures from our new paper, a work of epic proportions that spanned a decade. For anyone interested in African paleontology, taxonomy, evolution, or monkeys, I present….a papionin case study

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1481903/full

It’s great to see so many people excited about the science of twins!

With @primatesjack.bsky.social

Twins were the norm for our ancient primate ancestors − one baby at a time had evolutionary advantages Twins are pretty rare, accounting for just 3% of births in the US these days. But new research shows that for primates 60 million years ago, giving birth to twins was the norm.

New article out today in @us.theconversation.com ! Twins were the norm for our primate ancestors - what changed?

https://theconversation.com/twins-were-the-norm-for-our-ancient-primate-ancestors-one-baby-at-a-time-had-evolutionary-advantages-237420

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I would love to hear how the process is going for you! Hanging with fiction writers is awesome, but selling on proposal is a whole different journey. I can’t wait to read your book! Let’s catch up soon plzzzz

What people think my book is about🫄👶VS what it’s actually about 🦴🩻🦷
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When people hear my book is about pregnancy, they immediately think of What to Expect. But it’s more than that. Think Indy, think Sapiens, and get ready to learn a whole lot about teeth 😉😘😜

Hand drawn illustration of a fossil skull

Ok, trying this again. And now, student art!

Being hanging out in Germany for the Words Bones Genes Tools workshop. There were xmas markets, Paleo art, parties in castles, and oh so much more

Can’t wait to see this!

Meet the lab! From L to R, me! 2nd year MA students Jack and Tristen, UG extraordinaire Laura, and new 1st MA student Jewel! Here we are on our way to get a demo for the new desktop micro-CT that came in recently on our NSF-MRI grant (co-PI).

Last day to apply!

One more week to apply before we start reviewing apps. Negotiable start date. Come do science with us!

Perfect for my Skeletons and the Occult class that starts up tomorrow!

Career Opportunities at the University of Hawai'i | University of Hawai'i

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa is hiring! Tenure-track assistant professor in biological anthropology. Please share widely #AcademicSky

Howard University is searching for an Anthropologist to become the Director of the W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory, which includes several important African American anthropological collections. Please RT to help circulate!

bioanth.org/jobs/3698/

Cherry blossoms outside of Old Main on Western campus

Cascade mountain range towers over downtown Bellingham and the Salish Sea

Stair sculpture on campus

Sunny day on campus

JOB ALERT! Western (WWU)
We are hiring a postdoc to investigate primate craniofacial anatomy. This is a 2-year position. Must be willing to live in beautiful Bellingham + complete 4.5 months paid museum work (2024). The anticipated start date is Jan. 1, 2024.

https://hr.wwu.edu/careers?job=501152

Tesla and Jack in front of the NMNH

Jack 3D scanning a monkey cranium

First day of Leakey-funded data collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. And my grad student Jack’s first day working in a museum! He is going to spend 5 weeks here scanning hundreds of monkey skulls!! More photos to follow, I am sure!

Laura standing behind the laid out, articulated elk skeleton

Overhead view of the articulated elk skeleton

Super impressed by my student Laura’s summer project articulating a full elk skeleton. Thanks to Aly Rollins for supervising while I was in Spain all summer! Collections are the best way for students to learn osteology and anatomy! #WWU #WWUAnthro