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Dean Falk, Ph.D.
Hale G. Smith Professor of Anthropology
Florida State University
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Photograph by Ray Stanyard

An ancestral portrait of Dean Falk by Ray Stanyard
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Recent Publications and Writing Projects |
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| MOTHERESE: |
| 2006 |
Falk, D., invited New York Times Op-Ed Contributor: "Our Mother Tongue" (May 14, 2006) |
Dean Falk putting the baby (grandson Jacob Riddle) up. Photograph by Michael Riddle.
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| 2004 |
Falk, D. Prelinguistic evolution in early hominins: Whence motherese? (target article, commentaries, and response) Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27: 491-503 |
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| HOBBITS & MICROCEPHALICS: |
Virtual Skull Endocast of LB1 |
| 2007 |
Falk, D.; Hildebolt, C.; Smith, K.; Morwood, M.J.; Sutikna, T.; Jatmiko; Saptomo W.E.; Imhof, H., Seidler, H. & F. Prior. Brain shape in human microcephalics and Homo floresiensis. PNAS 104:2513-2518.
Request a Reprint of the Above Article
Supporting Online Material |
| 2006 |
Falk, D.; Hildebolt, C.; Smith, K.; Morwood, M.J.; Sutikna, T.; Jatmiko; Saptomo W.E.; Brunsden, B. & F. Prior. Response to comment on "The brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis" by Martin et al. Science 312:999c.
Abstract
Full Text |
| 2005b |
Falk, D.; Hildebolt, C.; Smith, K.; Morwood, M.J.; Sutikna, T.; Jatmiko; Saptomo W.E.; Brunsden, B. & F. Prior. Response to comment on "The brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis" by Weber et al. Science 310:236c. |
| 2005a |
Falk, D.; Hildebolt, C.; Smith, K.; Morwood, M.J.; Sutikna, T.; Brown, P.; Jatmiko, Saptomo W.E.; Brunsden, B. & F. Prior. The brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis. Science 308:242-245.
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| BRAIN EVOLUTION/CRANIAL RADIATORS: |
| 2007 |
Falk, D. History of Neuroscience: The Evolution of Broca's Area, IBRO History of Neuroscience |
| 2007 |
Falk, D. & R. Clarke. New reconstruction of the Taung endocast: A brief communication. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Early View (September 4, 2007) |
| 2007 |
Falk, D. Constraints on brain size: The radiator hypothesis. In J. H. Kaas (Ed), The Evolution of Primate Nervous Systems, Academic Press, Oxford, p. 347-354. |
| 2007 |
Falk, D. Evolution of the primate brain. In W. Henke, H. Rothe & I. Tattersall (Eds), Handbook of Palaeoanthropology Vol. 2: Primate Evolution and Human Origins, Springer-Verlag, p. 1133-1162. |
| 2007 |
Wu, X, Schepartz, L. A., Falk, D. & Wu, L. Endocranial cast of Hexian Homo erectus from South China . Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 130:445-454. |
| OTHERS: |
| 2008 |
Falk, D. Evolution of Language. To appear in The Harvard Companion to Evolution (Eds: M. Ruse & J. Travis), Harvard University Press. |
| 2006 |
Falk, D. & Seguchi, N. Professor C. Loring Brace: Bringing physical anthropology ("kicking and screaming") into the 21st century! Retrospectives on Eight Michigan Anthropologists (Ed: Derek Pomeroy Brereton), Michigan Discussions in Anthropology, Vol. 16:175-211, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. |
| 2004 |
Falk, D. Braindance, Revised and Expanded Edition. University Press of Florida. |
| 2003 |
Keenan, J., with Gallup, G. and D. Falk. The Face in the Mirror Ecco (Harper Collins). |
| 2002 |
Falk, D. Dig Deeper: Skulls and 'Minds'. BBC |
| 2001 |
Falk, D. and K. Gibson (eds) Evolutionary Anatomy of the Primate Cerebral Cortex. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
| 2000 |
Falk, D. Primate Diversity. New York: Norton. |
| 2000 |
Falk, D. Careers in science offer women an unusual bonus: immortality. Nature 407:833.. |
| 2000 |
Falk, D., Redmond, J. C., Jr., Guyer, J., Conroy, G. C., Recheis, W., Weber, G. W. and H. Seidler. Hominid brain evolution: A new look at old endocasts, J. Hum. Evol. 38:695-717. |
| 2000 |
L'Australopithèque Gracile Était-il Musicien? La Recherche, Novembre, 78-81. |
Research Interests and Activities
Paleoanthropology;
application of medical imaging technology to studies of endocasts,
evolution of brain and behavior in higher primates,
neurological & behavioral substrates that preceded the evolution of protolanguage,
origins of music and language
My research focuses on the evolution of the brain and cognition in higher primates, including humans. I am currently working with my long-time collaborators at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis on a comparative study of endocasts from the skulls of LB1 (Homo floresiensis) and fossil hominins. Endocasts reproduce details from the interior of the braincase that were imprinted by the exterior surface of the brain. This project is in collaboration with colleagues in Australia and Indonesia and has been supported by the National Geographic Society. I have also recently completed a book that develops and extends my 'putting the baby down' hypothesis, which associates the evolution of infant-directed speech ('motherese' or 'musical speech') with natural selection for walking on two legs (bipedalism) -- the key feature that distinguishes fossils of our ancestors from apes. Human parents' universal use of lullabies, rocking and cuddling, and baby talk are an early focus of the book. Later chapters ponder the emergence of our ancestors' first words, grammars, and syntax; how these may have become conventionalized within populations; and how the evolution of language paved our species' way for other creative endeavors such as art, music, and dance.
Teaching Specializations
primate behavior
paleoanthropology
evolution of the hominin brain and cognition
origins of music and language
Courses for 2007-2008
Fall 2007
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ANT 2511 - Introduction to Human Evolution and Prehistory (ANT 2511L, Laboratory) |
This year's graduate student assistants for the course and laboratories: left to right, Guy Hepp (standing), Ian Pawn and Maria Fashing (back), Angela Schauber and Tim Parsons (front).
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