Joan B. Silk

Spearheaded the revolution in understanding of the mechanisms underlying mammalian females' health, longevity, and reproductive success. She had the insight to hypothesize that social bonds might have a significant effect on fitness when few other scientists were doing so, and that social bonds are the product of joint, not individual, action. Moreover, she developed the analytical tools required to describe these bonds (Silk et al. 2013, Evolutionary Anthropology). Her research, originally conducted on free-ranging baboons, is broadly important because it complements evidence that women with strong, stable social bonds live longer and experience less stress. She has studied the origins of cooperation in human and nonhuman primates, and compared the prosocial behavior of chimpanzees, children and adults. Her results, while controversial, have inspired a new field of research in which she remains very active. She is the co-author of How Humans Evolved, an introductory textbook on human origins which is now in its 7th edition;and co-editor of The Evolution of Primate Societies, a comprehensive summary of information about primate behavioral ecology and cognition.