Herman Pontzer (Adaptable: How Your Unique Body Works and Why Our Biology Unites Us) is an evolutionary anthropologist, author, and associate professor at Duke University. Herman joins the Armchair Expert to discuss growing up at the end of a dirt road in a house his dad built, unpacking the dark history of anthropometry, and the ewok chapter of human evolution. Herman and Dax talk about why the brain is the most expensive organ in the body, how the first full human skeleton found being named after a Beatles song, and why people burn more calories being anxious. Herman explains the hockey stick inflection point of intelligence when we began hunting and gathering, why research on early humans debunks the paleo diet, and the story of the guy that accidentally killed the world's oldest living organism.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: Who is Herman Pontzer and what is his research about?
I think about the folks I grew up with. One of my best friends growing up, he's a union electrician, still lives back in Kersey, and he's got a great life. That was an avenue that is a wonderful way to go, but he would never have considered doing what I'm doing. It wasn't even on the radar. Who knows what this kid's going to do? But it is really kind of dichotomized that way.
It is.
Where'd you go to undergrad? Penn State. And then you did graduate school at Harvard? That's right. And when did you get in the anthro trajectory? Did you do any reading about me? I also was an anthropology major.
No, I know. I was going to tell you that I'm actually here from UCLA. You know the anxiety dream where you have the class that you never finished and they tell you you have an exam? I have it with me here. We're here to do this with you.
Okay, wonderful. This is great.
25 years out, let's see how I do.
Yeah. I want to see what's changed.
I think I'll do bad, and I think I'll be three standard deviations above what most people do. So how about that? There you go. Some humility and some arrogance. Yes. I've retained, I think, more than your average bear, but I'm probably wrong about a lot.
Were you excited about the physical anthro, the cultural anthro? Were you like floor field? How did you do it?
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of Lucy in human evolution?
Our leader who makes all the decisions.
Yeah.
All right. Let's do some facts.
Let's do some facts.
This is for Herman.
Oh, Herman.
I loved Herman. Learned a lot. Okay. Gigantopithecus.
Yes.
I have largest ape to ever live. Estimated to have stood about 10 feet tall and weighed over 500 pounds. Wow.
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