I am an anthropologist and writer with a focus on the evolution of the human brain and behavior. I also have research experience in medical anthropology, molecular genetics, nutritional anthropology, and the history of anthropology. Over the years I have published over 80 scientific research articles and papers, on a wide range of topics, in collaboration with dozens of coauthors. My research has been both lab- and field-based, with fieldwork conducted in Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Palau. I … Read More
From the blog
Chocolate milk childhood: Comfort in a cardboard container will never spoil
There are perfectly good nutritional reasons for New Brunswick’s decision to ban chocolate milk in schools (as well as all other flavoured milks and juices.) With overweight and obesity rates at 30 per cent in Canadian children between ages 5 and 17, it makes sense for schools and local governments … Read More
Book Clubs
Two of my books, The Omnivorous Mind: Our Evolving Relationship with Food (Harvard University Press) and Home: How Habitat Made Us Human (Basic Books) are appropriate for book clubs. If your club buys 8 or more copies of the book, I am happy to do a Skype session in which we can all discuss the book … Read More
Lecture Invitations
I was an award-winning university teacher for many years, and I still enjoy lecturing about my work. I have three basic lectures prepared (and which can be modified for specific audience interests) that are suitable for university undergraduates, companies, and other organizations or groups. If you are interested in arranging a talk, … Read More
Reviews
The Lives of the Brain: Human Evolution and the Organ of Mind
This book has fundamentally altered the way I view human beings. Anyone interested in neuroscience, hominid evolution, psychology, and human behavior in general will find it to be a most welcome addition to their home library. What a fascinating work.
M. Stew
Home: How Habitat Made Us Human
This important book by John Allen ranges from prehistory, in which the changing concept of ‘home’ played a major role in making us the humans we are, to modern times, in which eviction and homelessness are frequent horrors of the present. Allen thus alerts us to something we tend to overlook because we take it for granted: the central role in all our lives of our ‘homes.’
George A. Akerlof
Nobel Laureate in Economics
The Omnivorous Mind: Our Evolving Relationship with Food
A mind blowing book! … John S. Allen has taken my thinking about food to a whole new dimension! He brilliantly describes how we each build up our own internal Food Model, which helps us navigate the otherwise overwhelming complexity we face each day about what to eat and what not to eat.
John McLean
Author of The Low Carb Revolution