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Katherine C. MacKinnon, Ph.D.

Professor

Courses Taught

Introduction to Anthropology; Biological Anthropology + Lab; Primate Social Behavior; Anthropology of Sex and Gender; Environmental Impact of the City; Special Topics: Food and Culture; Special Topics: Cultures of Latin America

Education

Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley

Research Interests

Professor MacKinnon is a biological anthropologist with research interests in human and non-human primate behavior; the evolution of social complexity; sustainability, conservation, ecotourism, and human–wildlife interconnections; and ethics in field primatology and anthropology. She has been involved in fieldwork since 1992, and has observed wild primates in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Honduras, Belize, Suriname, Colombia, Bali, and Zambia. Professor MacKinnon is currently developing an environmental anthropology project in Belize, and local projects in St. Louis on food and culture.

Publications and Media Placements

MacKinnon, K.C. and Bezanson, M. 2023. Ecological Niches and Behavioral Strategies of Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys. In: R. W. Sussman, D. Hart and I. C. Colquhoun (eds), The Natural History of Primates: A Systematic Survey of Ecology and Behavior. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 228-257.

Estrada, A., Garber, P.A., Rylands, A.B., Roos, C., Fernandez-Duque, E., Di Fiore, A., Nekaris, K.A.I., Nijman, V., Heymann, E.W., Lambert, J.E., Rovero, F., Barelli, C., Setchell, J.M., Gillespie, T.R., Mittermeier, R.A., Arregoitia, L.V., de Guinea, M., Gouveia, S., Dobrovolski, R., Shanee, S., Shanee, N., Boyle, S.A., Fuentes, A., MacKinnon, K.C., Amato, K.A., Meyer, A.L.S., Wich, S., Sussman, R.W., Pan, R., Kone, I., Li, B. 2017. Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter. Science Advances 3(1) e1600946.

MacKinnon, K. C. 2016. Do No Harm. In: D. Plemmons and A. W. Barker (eds), Anthropological Ethics in Context: An Ongoing Dialogue. Left Coast Press, pp. 75-89. 

MacKinnon, K. C. 2014. Contemporary Biological Anthropology: Integrative, Connected, and Relevant.  American Anthropologist 16(2):352-365.

Riley, E.P., MacKinnon, K.C., Fernandez-Duque, E., Setchell, J. M., Garber, P. A. 2014. Code of Best Practices for Field Primatology. Document hosted on the websites of the International Primatological Society and the American Society of Primatologists.
 
MacKinnon, K. C. and Riley E. P. 2013. Contemporary Ethical Issues in Field Primatology. In: J. MacClancy and A. Fuentes (eds), Ethics in the Field: Contemporary Challenges. Oxford, UK: Berghahn Books, pp. 98-107.


MacKinnon, K.C. 2013. Ontogeny of Social Behavior in the Genus Cebus and the Application of an Integrative Framework for Examining Plasticity and Complexity in Evolution. In: Clancy, K., Hinde, K., and Rutherford, J. (eds). Building Babies: Primate Development in Proximate and Ultimate Perspective. New York: Springer Press (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects), pp. 387-408.


MacKinnon, K. C. and Fuentes, A. 2012. Primate social cognition, human evolution, and niche construction: A core context for neuroanthropology. In: D. Lende and G. Downey (eds), The Encultured Brain: An Introduction to Neuroanthropology, M.I.T. Press, pp. 67-102.


MacKinnon, K.C. 2011. Field schools in Central America: Playing a pivotal role in the formation of modern field primatologists. In: J. MacClancy and A. Fuentes (eds), Centralizing Fieldwork: Critical Perspectives from Primatology, Biological Anthropology and Social Anthropology, Oxford, UK: Berghahn Books, pp. 200-224. 
 
MacKinnon, K. C. and Fuentes, A. 2011. Primates, niche construction, and social complexity: The roles of social cooperation and altruism. In: R. W. Sussman and R. C. Cloninger (eds): Origins of Altruism and Cooperation. New York: Springer Press (Developments in Primatology Series), pp. 121-143.

C. J. Campbell, A. Fuentes, K. C. MacKinnon, R. Stumpf, and S. K. Bearder (eds.), Primates in Perspective, 2nd Edition. 2011. New York: Oxford University Press. 864 pp.


MacKinnon, K. C. and Riley, E. P. 2010. Field primatology of today: Current ethical issues. American Journal of Primatology 72(9):749-753.