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.