home department
- Anthropology Academic Department
- Contact Info
- 202-994-4245
Shannon Christa McFarlin Faculty Member
Positions
- Associate Professor of Anthropology, Anthropology , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 2010 -
- Assistant Professor, Anthropology , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 2011 -
- Biological Anthropology Major Advisor, Anthropology , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 2015 -
- Associate Research Professor, Anthropology , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 2008 - 2011
- Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Anthropology , Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 2007 - 2008
Research Areas
-
Affiliation
-
Publications
selected publications
-
abstract
- Body growth in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. 2015
- Linear enamel hypoplasia prevalence in wild Virunga mountain gorillas from Rwanda. 2015
- Glowacka H., Vogel E.R., Schwartz G.T., Ndagijimama F., Stoinski T.S., Mudakikwa A., McFarlin S.C. 2014
- Ontogenetic changes in inter-limb length and strength proportions in baboons (Papio cynocephalus) and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). 2014
- Skeletal evidence of infanticide in Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda 2014
- Histological examination of dental development in a juvenile mountain gorilla from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. 2014
-
academic article
- Body proportions and environmental adaptation in gorillas.. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2021
- Muscle attachment sites and behavioral reconstruction: an experimental test of muscle-bone structural response to habitual activity.. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2021
- Brief Communication: In vivo deciduous dental eruption in Lui Kotale bonobos and Gombe chimpanzees.. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2021
- Chest beats as an honest signal of body size in male mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).. Scientific Reports. 2021
- A 3D method for measuring stress lines reveals enamel growth variation in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.. Scientific Reports. 2021
- Skeletal aging in Virunga mountain gorillas.. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 2020
- Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas.. PLoS One. 2020
- Elevated activity levels do not influence extrinsic fiber attachment morphology on the surface of muscle attachment sites. Journal of Anatomy 236:827-839. 2020
- Faster growth corresponds with shallower linear hypoplastic defects in great ape canines. Journal of Human Evolution 137:102691. 2019
- Pelvic shape variation between gorilla subspecies: phylogenetic and ecological signals. Journal of Human Evolution 37:102687. 2019
- Male body size, dominance rank and strategic use of aggression in a group-living mammal.. Animal Behaviour. 2019
- Brief Communication: Incisor wear and age determination in mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2018
- Phylogenetic and environmental effects on limb bone structure in gorillas.. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2018
- Quantifying linear enamel hypoplasia in Virunga mountain gorillas and other great apes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2018
- Unexpected terrestrial hand posture diversity in wild mountain gorillas. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2018
- Body mass estimation in hominoids: age and locomotor effects. Journal of Human Evolution. 2017
- Body size growth and life history in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2017
- Toughness of the Virunga mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) diet across an altitudinal gradient. American Journal of Primatology. 2017
- A radiographic study of molar development in wild Virunga mountain gorillas of known chronological age from Rwanda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2017
- Ontogenetic scaling of fore- and hindlimb joint posture and limb bone cross-sectional geometry in grivets and baboons.. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2016
- Age-related changes in molar topography and shearing crest length in a wild population of mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2016
- New Approaches: Validation of two independent photogrammetric techniques methods for determining body measurements of gorillas. American Journal of Primatology. 2016
- Primary bone microstructure records developmental aspects of life history in catarrhine primates. Journal of Human Evolution. 2016
- Tooth wear and feeding ecology in mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 2016
- The evolutionary origin of the grauer gorilla.. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 2016
- A comparative analysis of Meissner corpuscles in the fingertips of humans and other primates.. Journal of Anatomy. 2015
- Locomotor activity influences muscle and bone growth but not attachment site morphology.. Journal of Human Evolution. 2015
- Ontogenetic changes in limb bone structural proportions in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).. Journal of Human Evolution. 2013
- Early brain growth in Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).. American Journal of Primatology. 2013
- Confocal scanning optical microscopy of a 3 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis femur. Scanning. 2009
- Lamellar bone is an incremental tissue reconciling enamel rhythms, body size, and organismal life history. Calcified Tissue International. 2009
- Ontogenetic patterning of cortical bone microstructure and geometry at the human mid-shaft femur. Anatomical Record. 2009
- Regional variability in secondary remodeling within long bone cortices of catarrhine primates: the influence of bone growth history. Journal of Anatomy. 2008
- Circularly polarized light standards for investigations of collagen fiber orientation in bone. The Anatomical Record: The New Anatomist. 2003
-
chapter
- Dental macrowear in catarrhine primates: variability across species. Dental wear in evolutionary and biocultural contexts. 2020
- Subsistence and Science: Faunal analysis of the Medical College of Georgia Site.. Bones in the Basement: Postmortem Racism in Nineteenth-Century Medical Training. 1997
- The Cutting Edge: Experimental anatomy and the reconstruction of nineteenth-century dissection techniques. Bones in the Basement: Postmortem Racism in Nineteenth-Century Medical Training.. 1997
-
conference paper
- Facial fluctuating asymmetry tracks genomic diversity among gorilla subspecies 2019
- Capturing 3-D locomotor kinematics in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) 2018
- Dental macrowear in catarrhine primates: variability across species. 2018
- Histological correlates of LEH defect expression in great apes. 2018
- Morphological variation in the pelvis of gorilla subspecies may not track ecomorphological predictions 2018
- Preliminary 3-D kinematic data of wild mountain gorilla terrestrial locomotion: using lab-based methods in ape environments. 2018
- The ontogeny of sexual dimorphism among known-aged Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and Gombe chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) 2018
- Dental emergence in wild Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Rwanda. 2017
- Facial fluctuating asymmetry in wild Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). 2017
- Histological examination of molar development in Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda 2017
- Ontogeny of morphological variation in the talar trochlea of Gorilla 2017
- Quantifying linear enamel hypoplasia in Virunga mountain gorillas and other great apes 2017
- Quantifying muscular response to habitual activity: Toward understanding muscle-bone interactions for anthropological behavioral reconstructions 2017
- Skeletal aging in mountain gorillas. 2017
- Phylogenetic and environmental effects on limb bone structure in Gorilla. 2016
- A preliminary radiographic analysis of dental development in Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (ABSTRACT) 2013
- Activity type and level influence growth rate, remodeling rate and diaphyseal geometry of cortical bone (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2013
- Locomotor ontogeny and limb bone length and strength proportions in mountain and lowland gorillas (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2013
- Molar wear in a wild population of known-age mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2013
- Hand and foot proportions of the mountain gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2012
- What can muscle insertions tell us about activity during life? Functional anatomy and development of the deltoid tuberosity in wild-type mice (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2012
- Skeletal pathology in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2011
- Evidence of perimortem trauma in free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2010
- Recovery and preservation of a mountain gorilla skeletal resource in Rwanda. (PUBLISHED ABSTRACT) 2009
-
conference poster
presentations
-
presentation
- In life and death: recovering evidence of life history in Virunga mountain gorillas., Invited Presentation to the Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University 2018
- Mountain Gorilla Skeletal Preservation and Research in Rwanda, Smithsonian’s Vertebrate Zoology Seminar Series 2012
- Out of the Mist and into the Light: Skeletal Preservation and Hard Tissue Research on Mountain Gorillas from Rwanda, Newcastle University, England – School of Dental Sciences, Oral Biology Seminar Series 2012
- Primate Skeletal Life Histories: Skeletal Preservation and Research on Wild Primates, Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program - Paleoanthropology Series 2011
- The Mountain Gorilla Skeletal Project, Karisoke Research Center, Research Seminar Series. 2010
- Ontogenetic variability in primary bone microstructure of Old World monkeys and apes, Bone Seminar Series, New York Center for Biomedical Engineering at the City University of New York 2007
-
-
Research
principal investigator on
- Growth and life history in wild mountain and western gorillas
- Mineralized tissue research on the life history of Virunga mountain gorillas awarded by National Science Foundation
- Postnatal ontogeny of wild gorillas: Towards a more comprehensive framework for interpreting fossil human life histories’
- Skeletal Preservation of Virunga mountain gorillas awarded by National Science Foundation
-
Teaching
teaching activities
- Evolution of Primate Life Histories (ANTH 3491)
- Evolution of Primate Life Histories - Graduate section (ANTH 6404)
- Foundations of Science Laboratory (SCI 101)
- Foundations of Science Laboratory (SCI 102)
- Gross Anatomy laboratory (ANAT 210)
- Gross Anatomy laboratory (PT 710)
- Histology laboratory (BIMD 714)
- Human Evolution Laboratory (ANTHP 101)
- Human Functional Anatomy (ANTH 3401)
- Human Microscopic Anatomy laboratory (ANAT 213)
- Human Morphology laboratory (BIMD 704)
- Human Variation (ANTHP 102)
- Independent Research (ANTH 3995 and HOMP 6995)
- Introduction to Biological Anthropology (ANTH 1001)
- Introduction to Laboratory Techniques in Paleoanthropology (ANTH 6491)
- Introductory Biology (Biology 141)
- Laboratory Methods in Hard Tissue Biology (ANTHP 895)
- Medical Gross Anatomy and Human Development laboratory (BMED 322)
- Primatology (ANTH 3411)
-
Service
reviewer of
- Anatomical Record (Journal)
- Journal/Book Chapter Reviewer (Journal)
- National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration (Journal)
- National Science Foundation (Journal)
- National Science Foundation - Major Research Instrumentation Panel (Journal)
professional service activities
- International Bone and Mineral Society Member
- International Society of Vertebrate Morphologists Member
- American Society of Primatologists Member 2015 - 2199
- International Primatological Society Member 2015 - 2199
- American Association of Physical Anthropologists Member 1997 - 2199
-
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. degree in Physical Anthropology, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, N.Y. 1996 - 2006
- B.A. degree in Anthropology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. 1996
awards and honors
- Best Poster Presentation Award, conferred by International Symposium on Dental Morphology, 2014
- Graduate Student Fellowship, conferred by New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, 2003
- Distinguished Scholar Dissertation Award - Dissertation Year Fellowship, conferred by Graduate Center of the City University of New York., 2003
- Robert E. Gilleece Fellowship, conferred by Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2000
-
Contact
full name
- Shannon Christa McFarlin
mailing address
-
Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology
Science and Engineering Hall, Suite 6000
800 22nd St NW
Washington, DC 20052
USA
GW Expert Finder utilizes up to four primary sources that shares data to populate individual profiles. Reference these FAQs for information on how to update your GW expert profile.
GW Expert Finder utilizes up to four primary sources that shares data to populate individual profiles. Reference these FAQs for information on how to update your GW expert profile.
