Claudia Valeggia

Yale University | YU · Department of Anthropology

Communicating climate change projections to diverse stakeholders and addressing their concerns is crucial for fostering effective climate adaptation. This paper explores the use of storyline projections as an intermediate technology that bridges the gap between climate science and local knowledge in the Pilcomayo basin. Through fieldwork and interv...

Pubertal research has primarily focused on hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) regulation of puberty, though the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) is increasingly considered critical. Heightened HPA function proxied by increasing cortisol levels may play a role in accelerated pubertal timing. However, the extent to which cortisol vari...

Pre-registration of analysis plan.

This chapter reviews and synthesizes research on hormonal correlates of sexual maturation and adult reproductive function in owl monkeys and how those hormones respond to changes in the social and physical environment. We first briefly summarize the methods that have been utilized to assess hormone metabolite concentrations and the methodological c...

To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while neverth...

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and gonadal (HPG) axes partially regulate the timing of child-to-adult phenotypic transitions. 'Hormonal Coupling' describes relationships between 2+ hormones (e.g., cortisol, testosterone), leveraged to understand why HPA-HPG crosstalk is expected in adolescence. Evolutionary theorists suggest the HPA and H...

The Pilcomayo River is unique in several ways, including its massive sediment load, one of the world’s largest alluvial fans, and a constantly changing channel that occasionally blocks and overflows over vast areas. Most of the northern half of the Province of Formosa (Argentina) is covered by the vast wetland system known as the Bañado La Estrella...

Grupo de Trabajo 1: La antropología de las ciencias del clima en el Antropoceno » Palabras clave: bañado La Estrella-antropología del clima / cambio climático-Toba / Qom › Resumen: Al entrar en el Gran Chaco, el Pilcomayo se convierte en un río sin curso. Por su gran carga sedimentaria y estacionalidad, periódicamente colmata su lecho con sedimento...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between media, body norms, and body image among the Qom, a market-integrating indigenous population in Argentina that has historically idealized larger body sizes. Methods: With men and women (n = 87), we measured frequency of media/technology use through a Likert-type question...

Climate change and the Anthropocene pose numerous challenges for all sectors of humanity. For anthropology, one of them is how to use the deep situated knowledge on human-environment relations for adaptation to accelerated environmental change, especially in frontier communities that are both the traditional object of study of the discipline and th...

Background Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are an abundant class of compounds found in human milk and have been linked to the development of the infant and specifically the brain, immune system, and gut microbiome. Objectives Advanced analytical methods were used to obtain relative quantitation of many structures in approximately 2000 samples f...

Background and objectives Cesarean section may lead to suboptimal breastfeeding outcomes, though evidence has been mixed. Factors, such as premature birth, birth weight and maternal age may independently increase risk of cesarean and hinder breastfeeding initiation, while maternal preferences, support and sociostructural barriers may influence brea...

Mentorship contract and supporting information for article.

Background Quality mentorship is crucial for long-term success in academia and overall job satisfaction. Unfortunately, formal mentorship training is lacking, and there is little recourse for failed mentor–mentee relationships. Methods We performed a literature review to understand the current state of mentorship research with a focus on: (1) what...

Objectives We quantified variation in fecal cortisol across reproductive periods in Azara's owl monkeys (Aotus azarae) to examine physiological mechanisms that may facilitate biparental care. Specifically, we evaluated evidence for the explanation that owl monkeys have hormonal mechanisms to mobilize energy during periods when each sex is investing...

Objectives C-reactive protein (CRP) has been associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk in many populations but remains remarkably understudied in Pacific Islander populations. Here, we provide the first examination of correlates of CRP in adult Samoans (n = 108, ages 35–55 years) to test the hypotheses that CRP exhibits sex-depende...

Objectives: Current human infant urine collection methods for the field are problematic for the researcher and potentially uncomfortable for the infant. In this study, we compared two minimally invasive methods for collecting infant urine: organic cotton balls and filter paper. Materials and methods: We first collected urine from infants using t...

Before the availability of artificial light, moonlight was the only source of light sufficient to stimulate nighttime activity; still, evidence for the modulation of sleep timing by lunar phases is controversial. Here, we use wrist actimetry to show a clear synchronization of nocturnal sleep timing with the lunar cycle in participants living in env...

Objectives Postpartum amenorrhea (PA) affects the length of interbirth intervals and thus is intimately related to human life history strategies. PA duration appears to be influenced by maternal energetic status. In humans, as in other mammals, sons are costlier than daughters. Thus, we hypothesize that, in energetically constrained environments, a...

Background As part of the ubiquitous nutritional transition indigenous are experiencing, the typical diet of most indigenous communities is being substituted by one with high-fat and high-energy-density foods. Domestic feeding transmits cultural factors through meaning and symbolism influential in food, preparation, and meal experiences, which in t...

Introduction: Indigenous peoples are undergoing profound Lifestyle changes that affect their health and the way they manage their diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the therapeutic itineraries followed by Qom mothers whenever they perceive their children are sick. Population and methods: The study was done in the Namqom peri-...

Key to the transition of humans from nomadic hunting‐gathering groups to industrialized and highly urbanized societies was the creation of protected and artificially lit environments that extended the natural daylight hours and consolidated sleep away from nocturnal threats. These conditions isolated humans from the natural regulators of sleep and...

As humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer to agricultural to highly urbanized post-industrial communities they progressively created environments that isolated sleep from its ancestral regulators, including the natural light-dark cycle. A prominent feature of this isolation is the availability of artificial light during the night, which delays th...

Subjective Social Status (SSS) is a robust predictor of psychological and physiological outcomes, frequently measured as self-reported placement on the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. Despite its importance, however, there are still open questions regarding how early into ontogeny SSS can be measured, and how well SSS measures can be e...

Indigenous populations in Latin America are among the most socially vulnerable groups and their children often suffer severe deprivation in terms of access to proper nutrition, water, and shelter. This study describes the nutritional status of Qom preschoolers in general, and by neighborhood area and family’s socioeconomic characteristics in a peri...

Objectives: Market integration seems to induce gender-specific generational change in health-related perceptions of body size. We predicted that among the Qom of Argentina, younger women would perceive comparatively thinner bodies as healthiest, demonstrating thin-idealizing body norms, and older women would retain culturally rooted perceptions of...

Risk and time preferences have often been viewed as reflecting inherent traits such as impatience and self-control. Here, we offer an alternative perspective, arguing that they are flexible and environmentally informed. In Study 1, we investigated risk and time preferences among children in the United States, India, and Argentina, as well as forage...

Objectives Relative to industrialized populations, men from subsistence groups exhibit lower testosterone values and more modest declines with age. Limited energy availability has been hypothesized to suppress testosterone production, particularly during young adulthood when testosterone levels are highest, resulting in a flatter trajectory of age-...

Profound racial health disparities in maternal and infant health exist in the USA. Discrimination based on race may contribute to these disparities, but the biological pathways through which racial discrimination acts on health are not fully known. Even less is known about these pathways during development. Examining how racial discrimination becom...

Objectives Cesarean delivery may increase childhood infectious morbidity risks via altered birth exposures and subsequent immune, microbial, and epigenetic development. Many Latin American indigenous populations experience dual burdens of infectious and chronic diseases, and are particularly vulnerable to rising rates of cesarean delivery and assoc...

Fecundity, the biological capacity to produce offspring, varies substantially within and between human populations. In both men and women, variation in fecundity has been associated with the functioning of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis and its associated hormonal levels. Female reproductive capacity is framed between menarche and menopaus...

This study provides the descriptive, anthropometric data of 194 children (aged 0-18 years) from a Wichi population located in the province of Formosa, Argentina. The objective of this study was to document growth and nutritional status in this indigenous people. Weight, height, and body mass index data were collected and the corresponding Z-scores...

Las comunidades originarias tienen una visión integral de la salud, en la que la dimensión espiritual ocupa un lugar importante y determinante de la misma. Entonces, la salud de estas poblaciones será la resultante del acceso a elementos fundamentales para su “buen vivir”, como el acceso a la tierra, la participación en la sociedad y la libertad pa...

English version accessible at: http://www.sap.org.ar/uploads/archivos/general/files_ae_alfonsodurruty_eng_14-8pdf_1533920914.pdf Version en Espanol: http://www.sap.org.ar/uploads/archivos/general/files_ae_alfonsodurruty_14-8pdf_1533920881.pdf

Background: Pubertal timing is in part mediated by environmental factors, with greater energy availability often associated with earlier or more rapid development. Many indigenous populations are undergoing socioeconomic change that may affect pubertal development and related health risks, necessitating fundamental longitudinal research on growth a...

Objectives The present study aimed at investigating the timing of birth across the day in a rural population of indigenous and nonindigenous women in the province of Formosa, Argentina in order to explore the variation in patterns in a non‐Western setting. Materials and methods This study utilized birth record data transcribed from delivery room r...

Reproductive senescence patterns have been scarcely studied in Neotropical primates. The few studies available on the hormonal profiles of aging female monkeys indicate that the decline of ovarian function in nonhuman primates may resemble the hormonal events associated with the perimenopause in women. In this study, we explore a reproductive hormo...

Pair-living and socially monogamous primates typically do not reproduce before dispersing. It is currently unclear whether this reproductive suppression is due to endocrine or behavioral mechanisms. Cooperatively breeding taxa, like callitrichids, may forego reproduction in natal groups because they reap inclusive fitness benefits and/or they are a...

Human milk contains essential micronutrients for growth and development during early life. Environmental pollutants, such as potentially toxic metals, can also be transferred to the infant through human milk. These elements have been well-studied, but changing diets and environments and advances in laboratory technology require re-examining these e...

Human milk trace metal concentrations. (CSV)

Objectives: The Toba/Qom of Namqom are an indigenous community native to the Gran Chaco region of northern Argentina. Historically seminomadic foragers, the diet of peri-urban community members has rapidly changed from high-protein, high-fiber to hypercaloric, processed. This study aims to understand the impact of this nutritional transition on as...

Objectives: This study describes and compares the growth strategies of rural (Western) and peri-urban (Eastern) Qom indigenous children from Argentina. Methods: Height and weight were cross-sectionally assessed in Western (n = 263) and Eastern Qom (n = 512) individuals aged 0-18.9 years. Height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and BMI-for-ag...

While we do not yet understand all the functions of sleep, its critical role for normal physiology and behaviour is evident. Its amount and temporal pattern depend on species and condition. Humans sleep about a third of the day with the longest, consolidated episode during the night. The change in lifestyle from hunter-gatherers via agricultural co...

Objectives: To estimate trends of undernutrition (stunting and underweight) among children younger than 5 years covered by the universal health coverage programs Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar. Methods: From 2005 to 2013, Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar collected high-quality information on birth and visit dates, age (in days), gender, weight (in k...

La ecología reproductiva humana (ERH) es un campo de la biología evolutiva que estudia la reproducción humana en el contexto de la ecología en la que se desarrollan y viven los individuos y las poblaciones. A diferencia de otras disciplinas que tratan con la reproducción humana, la ERH tiene como objetivo principal generar modelos que expliquen la...

Human reproductive ecology (HRE) studies human reproduction in the context of local ecological variables. The perspective of HRE is evolutionary, and its central goal is to provide models for explaining variation in reproductive patterns as adaptations to the environment. Reproductive function shows significant variation between and within individu...

Indigenous populations worldwide are experiencing social, cultural, demographic, nutritional, and psychoemotional changes that have a profound impact on health. Regardless of their geographical location or sociopolitical situation, health indicators are always poorer for indigenous populations than for nonindigenous ones. The determinants of this g...

Access to electric light might have shifted the ancestral timing and duration of human sleep. To test this hypothesis, we studied two communities of the historically hunter-gatherer indigenous Toba/Qom in the Argentinean Chaco. These communities share the same ethnic and sociocultural background, but one has free access to electricity while the oth...

Lay Summary Adaptive immune proteins in mothers’ milk are more variable than innate immune proteins across populations and subsistence strategies. These results suggest that the immune defenses in milk are shaped by a mother’s environment throughout her life. Background and objectives Mother’s milk contains immune proteins that play critical roles...

This study aims to better understand the relationship between immune compounds in human milk and infant health. We hypothesized that the concentration of immune compounds in milk would relate to infant illness symptoms according to two possible theoretical paradigms. In the "protective" paradigm, high concentrations of immune compounds prevent infa...

All over Latin America, indigenous populations are rapidly changing their lifestyle. This work elaborates on the complex experience of indigenous people in transition. Poverty, discrimination, marginalization, and endurance are defining characteristics of their everyday life. Global health programs represent excellent opportunities for addressing t...

Background: The health problems associated with rapidly changing lifestyles in indigenous populations, e.g. cardiovascular disease, are becoming a public health concern. Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and analyse the metabolic conditions that define this syndrome, in an indigenous Toba commu...

As of six months of life, breastfeeding no longer covers an infant's energy or micronutrient needs, so appropriate complementary feeding should be provided. The objective of this study was to assess the time and adequacy for introducing complementary feeding in a Qom/Toba population and analyze the sociocultural concepts of families regarding compl...

As mudanças demográficas na população, muitas vezes, respondem às mudanças ambientais. Portanto, as características sociais, econômicas e culturais das populações indígenas produzem uma variedade de regimes demográficos. Enquanto na América Latina, em geral, e na Argentina, em particular, registrou-se um declínio significativo da fecundidade, as po...

As of six months of life, breastfeeding no longer covers an infant’s energy or micronutrient needs, so appropriate complementary feeding should be provided. The objective of this study was to assess the time and adequacy for introducing complementary feeding in a Qom/Toba population and analyze the sociocultural concepts of families regarding compl...

Results Objective Methods Conclusions Study population: Peri-urban village of Namqom, located 11 km West of the city of Formosa, northern Argentina. Originally hunter-gatherers, this Toba/Qom population has been settled and integrated into the local market economy since 1975. Design: Semi-longitudinal study conducted in 2010-2013 as part of a 5-yea...

Demographic transition in Latin America follows patterns similar to those observed in Europe. However, the demographic effects of modernization vary substantially, especially in indigenous groups. In the 1930s, the indigenous populations of the Gran Chaco region of Argentina began a modernization process that continues today. This study analyzes th...

Latin America has been registering a fast decrease in fertility rates since the mid-twentieth century. This change can be linked to the modernization process these populations have been undergoing. However, research with Latin American indigenous populations, which are undergoing relatively similar lifestyle changes, shows very different trends in...

Background: Nurses and midwives are in a prime position to provide mothers with valuable information and support; however, they can vary considerably in their knowledge of breastfeeding practices and their displays of support and encouragement of breastfeeding. Objective: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effect of nurses' knowl...

Summary Women's social networks and social power are increasingly seen as important factors modulating their health in sub-Saharan Africa. Polygyny, a common marital structure in many societies, mediates important intra-household relationships by requiring both competition and co-operation among co-wives. Using mixed methods, semi-structured questi...

The Neotropical owl monkeys (Aotus spp.) are a good model for evaluating the hypothesis that monogamy may arise if female reproductive cycles limit the mating potential of males. To evaluate this hypothesis, we first needed to assess the feasibility of using fecal sampling for monitoring the reproductive status of females. We collected fecal sample...