tbartlett@utsa.edu
Office: HSS 4.03.32
Phone: (210) 458-5712
Fax: (210) 458-5728
Courses
Taught
Vita
Statement of Research Interest
I received my BA in Anthropology from Grinnell College
in Iowa and my MA and PhD degrees in physical
anthropology
from Washington
University
in St. Louis. Before coming to the University of Texas at San
Antonio,
I taught at Dickinson
College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt
University and the University of
Arkansas.
The focus of my research is
the
behavioral ecology of the white-handed gibbon, a small arboreal ape
indigenous
to Southeast Asia. One of the central
questions in behavioral
ecology is the relationship between
feeding
ecology
and social organization.
With gibbons,
for
example, it is generally accepted that because they
are
under low
predatorpressure they are able to live in small
family
groups
and to selectively exploit small
foodpatches. Data
I have
collected
on
gibbons in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
challenges this view. On
the
contrary, my
observations
indicate that gibbons rely on large crowned
tree species throughout
the year.
My future research
will focus on
the
extent to which
gibbons defend these valuable feeding resources.
Since 1993 I have collaborated with Dr. Warren Brockelman
of Mahidol University, Bangkok. Long-term
observations
of
the gibbon population
at Khao Yai National Park have also revealed complex social relationships
between neighboring
gibbon family groups. I am currently preparing a manuscript
that describes the significance
of this research. Subsequent
papers will
focus on seasonal feeding behavior, range use, and sub-adult dispersal.
Finally, my initial interest in anthropology grew out
of an interest in the biological basis of human behavior. In
this
regard
I
have become increasingly concerned with the role of primatology within
anthropology, specifically,
how primate research is
used to forward arguments
about the adaptive value
of certain human behaviors. This
is an area I
intend to pursue more
actively in the future.
Teaching Statement
I have taught broadly in Anthropology, including cultural
anthropology and archaeology. For two summers I led
the Dickinson
College
Ethnographic Field School in Cameroon, West Africa. Program participants
spent six
weeks in the Southwest Province
of Cameroon talking to local
residents about various aspects of Cameroonian
life and culture. Past program
participants focused
on health care, urban migration, the changing role
of women,
and wildlife conservation. At UTSA I will teach a broad array
of courses
in physical anthropology covering issues
such as human evolution,
modern human biological variation, the evolution of human nature,
and primate
behavior
and ecology .
