Tesla Monson

Tesla Monson

Associate Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University

Tesla Monson is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA where she runs the Primate Evolution Lab. Her lab researches primate evolution, life history, reproductive ecology and the growth and development of the skeletal system.

Latest articles by Tesla Monson

Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum holds his hand over a skull (C) that was found at a cave site called Liang Bua

Ancient Hobbits slowed down growth during childhood, showing that humans didn't always grow 'bigger and bigger brains'

By Tesla Monson, Andrew Weitz published

Hobbits of Flores evolved to be small by slowing down growth during childhood, new research on teeth and brain size suggests.

Human Evolution
a photo of two twin girls

Our ancient primate ancestors mostly had twins — humans don't, for a good evolutionary reason

By Tesla Monson, Jack McBride published

Twins are pretty rare, accounting for just 3% of births in the U.S. these days. But new research shows that for primates 60 million years ago, giving birth to twins was the norm.

Human Evolution