Irven DeVore (October 7, 1934) is an
anthropologistAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
and
evolutionary biologistEvolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. Someone who studies evolutionary biology is known as an evolutionary biologist...
, and Curator of
PrimatologyPrimatology is the study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and primatologists can be found in departments of biology, anthropology, psychology and many others. It is a branch of Physical anthropology, which, in itself, studies the genus Homo, especially Homo sapiens...
at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
's
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and EthnologyThe Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Founded in 1866, it is one of the oldest and most renowned museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World and Mesoamerican ethnography...
. He also teaches at Harvard.
Professor DeVore was doing field research on the behavior and ecology of
baboonBaboons are African and Asian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger...
s in 1959, at the same time
Jane GoodallDame Jane Goodall, DBE is an English UN Messenger of Peace, primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist...
was doing her research on
chimpanzeeChimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s and
Robert ArdreyRobert Ardrey was an American playwright and screenwriter who returned to his academic training in anthropology and the behavioral sciences in the 1950s....
was writing
African Genesis, and has also studied the
SanThe San were the original inhabitants of Kalahari desert but were largely displaced by the more powerful Zulu and Xhosa tribes who came from the north. Only a few scattered bands remain. Together with the Khoikhoi they form the Khoisan group....
of southern
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
. DeVore was also an early supporter of the field of
sociobiologySociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines which attempts to explain social behavior in animal species by considering the Darwinian advantages specific behaviors may have. It is often considered a branch of biology and sociology, but also draws from ethology, anthropology, evolution,...
.
Professor DeVore has also appeared on many television programs as an expert or narrator.
Irven DeVore once said, "There is no excuse for boring students when you're talking about human nature.
Irven DeVore (October 7, 1934) is an
anthropologistAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
and
evolutionary biologistEvolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. Someone who studies evolutionary biology is known as an evolutionary biologist...
, and Curator of
PrimatologyPrimatology is the study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and primatologists can be found in departments of biology, anthropology, psychology and many others. It is a branch of Physical anthropology, which, in itself, studies the genus Homo, especially Homo sapiens...
at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
's
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and EthnologyThe Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Founded in 1866, it is one of the oldest and most renowned museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World and Mesoamerican ethnography...
. He also teaches at Harvard.
Professor DeVore was doing field research on the behavior and ecology of
baboonBaboons are African and Asian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger...
s in 1959, at the same time
Jane GoodallDame Jane Goodall, DBE is an English UN Messenger of Peace, primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist...
was doing her research on
chimpanzeeChimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s and
Robert ArdreyRobert Ardrey was an American playwright and screenwriter who returned to his academic training in anthropology and the behavioral sciences in the 1950s....
was writing
African Genesis, and has also studied the
SanThe San were the original inhabitants of Kalahari desert but were largely displaced by the more powerful Zulu and Xhosa tribes who came from the north. Only a few scattered bands remain. Together with the Khoikhoi they form the Khoisan group....
of southern
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
. DeVore was also an early supporter of the field of
sociobiologySociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines which attempts to explain social behavior in animal species by considering the Darwinian advantages specific behaviors may have. It is often considered a branch of biology and sociology, but also draws from ethology, anthropology, evolution,...
.
Professor DeVore has also appeared on many television programs as an expert or narrator.
Irven DeVore once said, "There is no excuse for boring students when you're talking about human nature. It's too interesting."
DEGREES:
B.A. 1956, University of Texas, Philosophy and Anthropology,
M.A. 1959, University of Chicago, Anthropology,
Ph.D. 1962, University of Chicago, Anthropology,
M.A. 1963, Harvard University, Honorary
AWARDS:
President, Section H (Anthropology), American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1988-89
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected 1968
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, elected 1967
Fellow, American Anthropological Association, elected 1962
The Walker Prize for Science, Museum of Science, Boston, 1970
Lifetime Achievement Award, Institute of Human Origins, New York, 1990
Teaching and Fellowships
- Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 1987-1992
- Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, since 1991
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 1992
- Professor of Anthropology and Biology, Harvard University, since 1969
- Visiting Lecturer, Human Biology, Stanford University, 1964 and 1966
- Lecturer in Anthropology, Harvard University, 1963
- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1962-63
- Fellow, Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, Berkeley, 1961
- Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1960-61
Offices in Professional Organizations (selected):
- Director, 1996-97, and Acting Director, 1994, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
- Trustee, 1974-present, Co-Chair, Science & Grants Committee, 1980-present, L. S. B. Leakey Foundation, San Francisco, California
- Board of Advisors, 1976-94, The Center for Field Research ("Earthwatch"), Belmont, Massachusetts
- Co-Founder and President, 1986-present, Dolphins of Shark Bay Research Foundation, Western Australia
- Board of Directors, 1973-94, Cultural Survival, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Advisory Council, Section H (Anthropology), 1987-90, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
- Advisory Council, 1979-83, Wenner-Gren Foundation, New York, New York
- Co-Founder, Kalahari Peoples Fund, 1970
- Executive Board, 1970-73, American Anthropological Association, Washington, D. C.
- Board of Directors, 1972-75, Foundations' Fund for Research in Psychiatry, New Haven
- Advisory Committee on Primate Research Centers, 1964-67, National Institutes of Health
- Board of Directors, 1968-72, Education Development Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Advisor, 1968-72, The Danforth Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri
- Board of Directors, 1971-73, Ninth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethological Sciences, Inc., Chicago
- Committee on Conservation of Nonhuman Primates, 1972-73, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Books
- Primate Behavior: Field Studies of Monkeys and Apes, ed., Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York.
- 1965 The Primates, with S. Eimerl (Series: LIFE Nature Library
The Life Nature Library was a popular series of hardbound books published by Time-Life between 1961 and 1965. Each of the 25 volumes explored a major topic of the natural world. They were intended for, and written at a level appropriate to, an educated lay readership.Each volume was written by a...
), Time-LifeTime Life is one of the world's creators and direct marketers of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales.Time-Life was founded in...
, New York.
- 1968 Man the Hunter, with Richard B. Lee, eds. Aldine Publ., Chicago.
- 1976 Kalahari Hunter-Gatherers, with Richard B. Lee, eds., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1982 Field Guide for the Study of Adolescence, with Beatrice Whiting, John Whiting, et al. A 200-page field manual prepared by the staff and post-doctoral trainees for use at the field sites in our cross-cultural study of adolescence; revision for publication as a general field guide is under consideration.
External links